Having flown from Oakland Friday
afternoon, I was met at LAX by Evelyn DeChantillon and we in turn met Vi Grasso
with whom we carpooled some 350 miles to the Mormon roadhead. After sleeping
for 5 hours (actually dozing - we were directly beneath a railroad trestle and
the "Vampire Special" appeared each 2 hours until dawn, never to be seen again)
we grudgingly responded to Doug's cheerful wakeup call at 6 AM. We didn't
understand his mood until we found he'd flown in to Las Vegas at 3 PM the day
before! The short day and the long, basically cross country climb called for
our early start of 6:45 AM. None of the other potential participants having
appeared, the 4 of us set out for the roadhead in Vi's Jimmy at 6:45 and after
some searching and navigating, arrived at the Mormon roadhead at 8 AM. After
Evelyn and I wolfed down our breakfast (Vi only had a banana!) we started
hiking at 8:30. The climb begins at the end of a fair 4WD road at the 4,200
foot level noted by "prospect" on Rox NE 7.5" topo map. The climb proceeds up a
wide gully in a southeasterly direction for approximately 1 mile to about 5,200
feet. At this point we attained a ridge and followed it east for a mile and
then northeast about 2 miles to the 7,414 foot summit at 11:30 AM. There were
some ups and downs, but the superb views of steep walled canyons and some low
3rd class rock scrambling made the peak worthy of list addition consideration.
We therefore recommend that the management committee include this proposal on
the 1991 DPS ballot. After a leisurely lunch and enjoying views of the entire
Mormon range and over to Lake Mead and the Virgin Peak area, we descended in
the same direction for 2 miles, but then decided cut off some distance by
heading NW instead of W and then N. While this route afforded more intimate
views of the surrounding cliffs and presented some route finding challenges it
really didn't save time and is only recommended if there is ample time
remaining. We arrived at the car at 4 PM and then proceeded to the Virgin
roadhead. We arrived 6 PM at a scenic, sheltered area near Quail Point where we
camped. Quail point is at the end of the paved road described in the DPS
Climber's Guide. The quiet, moonless night provided a nice ambience for our
campfire and the spirits and food that followed.
At 7 AM the next
morning, we drove to the Virgin roadhead (actually the road continues beyond
where we parked) and we continued on foot up the road to a point approximately
1-1/2 miles ESE of Virgin |