October 4, 1980
2109 10th Street #3
Sacramento, CA 95818

Barbara Reber
P.O. BOX 1911
Newport Beach, CA 92663

Dear Barbara,
I am following up on your suggestion about suggesting new peaks for the list or maybe for exploratory purposes.

NEVADA RANGES Matterhorn Peak 10,839
This summit is located in Nevada's only designated wilderness area, the Jarbidge Wilderness, Located near the Nevada-Idaho border, the trailhead is several hours drive north of Elko, involving dirt, roads (passable to most passenger cars) crossing 8,000 foot passes which may not be open before July, due to snow or mud. It is wise to have a detailed map showing the roads in the area, as there are a few junctions on the way. The Main road, which leads to Jarbidge, a living ghost town, offers a excellent view of the entire ridge along which the Matterhorn is situated with several other 10,000' peaks with drops of 500' to 750' between them (just guessing). There are a number of high desert pristine lakes in the area of the peaks. We camped at Emerald, probably the best one and an excellent base camp also. The trailhead is at about 7500' and a trail leads over a pass 8 mi. here.
Jarbidge may also be reached by driving north from Wells and a good asphalt road turns off into Idaho by which a Hot Springs Resort is reached. From there, a good dirt road leads south along the Jarbidge River to the trailhead.
As far as the geology goes, the rock is metamorphic, probably shale, and the slopes are sparsely vegetated with an unknown species of pine.
Nevada Magazine recently printed an article by Dick Dorworth describing a ski tour there. Topo maps are of the last century, and forest service maps are available.

King Lear 8923
This summit is distinguished by its remoteness, rising above the Black Rock Desert, perhaps one of Nevada's largest primitive deserts. Access is possible by a variety of horrendously long drives on dirt roads (up to 50 mi.) The best road is from the north (Hwy. 140), the next best from Winemucca, a confusing maze of ore hauling roads besets the southern approach from Lovelock, and the drive from Gerlach just to Sulphur, a ghost town south of the peak, took 5 hrs. All of these roads have been traveled by passenger car. Perhaps the optimal time to do the peak would he in April or early May. We climbed them Memorial Day weekend, when temperatures were tolerable when clouds roiled over. The peak appears to be a rather unappealing, dry, hot mass or dirt and rock, but within the range is indeed a surprise. A side canyon marked, by a lone cottonwood marks the route up the peak, approached from the West. There was flowing water, quite potable and ice-cold, flowing from the last remnants of snow high on the mountain. This canyon is followed past the last stand of cottonwoods (a nice, novel campsite) to a draw to the right (south) which also has flowing water to a remarkably high elevation. Soon the ridge is gained and the summit crags come into view. Rather confusing, the routes seem to get easier as one traverses to the south before climbing straight up. Some third-class chutes lead to the top of a band of cliffs just below the top. The rock here is the usual desert crud, but suffices for handholds and footperches.
 
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