COGITATIONS OF A CALLOUSED CLIMBING COUPLE- John Vitz and Jerry Haven Here are some thought on routes, roadheads, and reports that we thought might be interesting to newcomers to our Section. We have done most of our Desert Peaking by trusting to luck (much bad) and to trial and error (mostly the latter), but in our aimless wanderings we have recorded a few notes: Old Dad Mtn- Rather than proceeding around to the northwest corner of the peak, it is possible to do old Dad from the south. The roadhead here eliminates the last seven miles of driving what can be called at best, a poor road. From the SE corner of the peak a broad wash leads north along the east face. The left of the two major forks runs along the base to a point where it swings west up the mtn, becoming a rather narrow gully. Rock in this area is not good and the footing is loose, but the gully can be followed to the top of the ridge running east from the summit. At one point along the gully either a crawl thru a rock pile or a climb over a rotten rock wall must be chosen, but not a serious deterrent. The summit lies west and south of the notch at the gully's top. Spirit Mtn -This route is second class, not third class as shown on the list. There are a number of steepish gullies that cut the west face of the peak and drain into a lower basin. This basin is reached from Christmas Tree Pass. At the SE corner of said basin take the rather wide gully, which is the northernmost on without a waterfall. When about a third of the way up, cross over into the next gully to the north at a point which is above the waterfall. From here the route is rather hazy and not too critical. The important item is to stay to the north. Climb up and over into the next northern gully and continue up and to the left until the main ridge is crested. The summit lies to the NW and is easily reached by staying to the left of the rounded mass to the north. Orocopia Peak - This route comes in from the north over a road not shown on maps. The topo sheet shows it partially, but it is passable to cars for a good distance. The remaining first class route is short and easy. From Interstate 10 take the Mecca turnoff (Calif 195) and shortly turn east along the frontage road. After 0.6 mile and dirt road heads south for 4.6 miles and ends. There are roads which lead west from the other one at 1.0 mile and 4.0 miles. From the roadhead the peak is barely visible in the small notch at the east end of the ridge, and appears to be the high point. This ridge lies due south of the roadhead. Any number of easy routes may be followed. This attack seems to be significantly easier than any known from the south. Pahrump Peak- Towards the north end of Chicago Valley there is a recent graded road leading to the mouth of a canyon, the third one south from the prominent NW ridge. At this point on the highway the summit is visible as the most southerly of two equally-high flat-topped ridges. Follow this road with caution into the canyon and continue up the main canyon past a minor tributary and a major right tributary. This latter one comes at a sharp left hand bend in the canyon. Shortly past this is the first major fork in the canyon. Take the south branch to the only tree in the whole area! Slightly past, take the left fork, passing a waterfall on the right. Then as the canyon branches once more. Follow the south fork almost to the cliffs at the top. A gully leads south to the top of the west ridge, from where the route contours the southwest face to the main ridge. Follow a short distance north to the summit. At strategic points along the route ducks are to be found, having been placed by previous climbers. A traverse of the north ridge is very probable to be third class or higher. Sombrero Pk- From Bow Willow Campground a jeep trail leads well up into Bow Willow Canyon. The wash bottom is firm and free of rocks, thereby being passable to cars. The south ridge is composed of huge boulders and a traverse of it is no less than tedious and time-consuming.

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