SCHEDULED TRIPS

MITCHELL and PROVIDENCE - Paul Nelson A strenuous trip was advertised and strenuous it was. But for experienced desert peakers in good condition this is a most rewarding climb. One can bag two fine peaks on an adventurous and beautiful day. Our route was up the usual ridge to Mitchell from Bonanza King Mine, then over the main ridge to Providence, This ridge is low third class in spots and somewhat up and down. I would recommend doing this traverse in the same north to south direction as there is a series of limestone cliffs to be crossed that are visible only from the north. From the south the routes through these cliffs would not be easy to find and much time would be consumed in route finding. Upon reaching the base of Providence, there is an obvious open chute that is very climbable and will bring you out, after a steep 1000 feet, just a few feet east of the peak. The descent of Providence was made down the steep canyon that leads down from the east side of the peak. This canyon comes out at Mitchell Caverns where a car should have been left for the drive back to the starting point. This traverse can be made by a well conditioned climber in 8 hours without rushing. We had 17 people make the loop, including our newest emblem holder, the unstoppable Fred Bode. Because of the size of the group, it took us about ten hours but all were out by dark. Sunday, as is typical of most DPS trips, the group had dwindled. Eight people climbed Old Woman in the morning and three of those who would just not quit did Marble that afternoon. This four peak weekend was blessed with good company and clear, warm climbing weather. KOFA EXPLORATORY - Gene Gail Neko Colevins' car got into a serious disagreement with a fire plug and Gordon MacLeod had to work all weekend, so Gene Gail and Bob Herlihy suddenly became the leaders of this trip. After assembling at Quartzite the group caravaned toward Kofa. On the road in from the pavement Jim Sinnett's car quit functioning. Ten or so men leaned over the motor and agreed that Jim needed new points and a coil, so he dropped out of the climb and headed for town for new parts. Unable to locate them for his alien car, he became a bit apprehensive, but his female companion asked him to try cleaning the points before panicking further, upon which the car ran perfectly. In order to accommodate all climbers, Gene and Bob divided the group, Bob taking the emblem hungry up Kofa and Gene taking the exploratory ones. Jack Bradford furnished a belay for Bob's group and they soon made the peak up the direct Palm Canyon route. Gene led the other group, with Bill Banks out in front, to the first east-west ridge north of and separate from the Kofa massif. This contained a high sloping peak that was climbed from the northeast after traversing the base of a south facing cliff about 300 feet below the top. The highest point in this ridge system is a thumb shaped peak standing high enough in the sky to be prominent on the skyline as seen from the paved road. Approaching, it appeared impossible without direct aid, but there turned out to be a third class route. From the northeast shoulder, a short class three chimney at the top of easy ledges leads to an 18 inch shelf that goes down to the left, then up into a gully that leads around to the left and up to the peak. There were no sign of previous ascents, but perhaps all our predecessors were as neat as we were. On Sunday the group caravaned to the west of Castle Dome, and Gene offered to lead a route he had climbed years before which leads directly up the west face. Don MacLean tried his forehead out on a rock as we worked our way up a steep canyon, and more

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