Mystery Mountain
This has to be one of the most frustrating climbs we've ever had, but at the same time one of the most beautiful. Its really too bad I can't tell you which peak we were on, but in all honesty we have no clue.
The big idea was to climb a trio of three peaks collectively known as The Sisters, which stand over 10,000 feet tall in the Spring Mountains just north of Las Vegas. We launched our quest at 10:15 in the morning, complete with a hand-held video camera and a hat-mounted camera for each of us in order to capture our adventure on tape. |
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This particular climb was challenging in several respects. First, because we didn't have sufficient maps and directions. We were using a poor set of general directions that seemed good enough when we downloaded and printed them, but they turned out to be severely lacking in detail once on site. Secondly, because there was no trail of any kind. We were entirely on our own to find a route up the mountain. That's a lot of fun and makes for a really neat climb, but the risks are greater and you have to rely more on compass and navigation. And finally, our packs were too heavy once we added in our camera gear. We weren't outrageously heavy, but we were both 4-6 pounds above average on a very difficult grade.
So up we went, making our best guess as to which ridge to take. The one we chose began in a westward direction and we took it with the intent of reaching altitude, then finding a connecting gap to The Sisters or traversing a gully between ridges. We attacked a steep, 45-50 degree grade and eventually gained the top of the ridge only to find that after two hours of climbing, it still hadn't offered us any opportunity to turn north toward The Sisters.
We did, however, find a gorgeous overlook around the 9200 foot level where we took our first break and enjoyed a spectacular view (#4 in the above illustration). To the northeast we could clearly see the heights of The Sisters in the distance. To the southeast was Mummy Mountain and a massive snow-blanketed ridge.
At this point I glanced - for the hundredth time - at my brand new Tissot T-Touch timepiece, which was still new enough to impress me all over again every time I looked at it. The Tissot is not only one of the finest of the Swiss watches, it is a mountain climber's best friend because it tracks altitude, barometric pressure and has a built-in compass. All those gadgets, which are quite useful for climbers, are wrapped in a classic package from a well-respected company and I'm crazy about my new watch. Hee hee. For the movie buffs among us, this is the watch that Angelina Jolie used when playing the role of Lara Croft in the original Tomb Raider film.
By this time we were not only a mile south of The Sisters, we were also a mile west because we never found a suitable point at which we could cross onto a northbound ridge. So we again decided to stop and re-assess our situation (#5 on the illustration) and figure out where we were headed. Our turnaround time was 2:30 pm so it became clear that we weren't going to make it to The Sisters, which remained a mile north of us with no apparent means of crossing the gap in the ridge. So instead, we decided to stay on our present course and make for the highest peak we could find before we turned into pumpkins and had to come down.
So up we went, making our best guess as to which ridge to take. The one we chose began in a westward direction and we took it with the intent of reaching altitude, then finding a connecting gap to The Sisters or traversing a gully between ridges. We attacked a steep, 45-50 degree grade and eventually gained the top of the ridge only to find that after two hours of climbing, it still hadn't offered us any opportunity to turn north toward The Sisters.
We did, however, find a gorgeous overlook around the 9200 foot level where we took our first break and enjoyed a spectacular view (#4 in the above illustration). To the northeast we could clearly see the heights of The Sisters in the distance. To the southeast was Mummy Mountain and a massive snow-blanketed ridge.
At this point I glanced - for the hundredth time - at my brand new Tissot T-Touch timepiece, which was still new enough to impress me all over again every time I looked at it. The Tissot is not only one of the finest of the Swiss watches, it is a mountain climber's best friend because it tracks altitude, barometric pressure and has a built-in compass. All those gadgets, which are quite useful for climbers, are wrapped in a classic package from a well-respected company and I'm crazy about my new watch. Hee hee. For the movie buffs among us, this is the watch that Angelina Jolie used when playing the role of Lara Croft in the original Tomb Raider film.
By this time we were not only a mile south of The Sisters, we were also a mile west because we never found a suitable point at which we could cross onto a northbound ridge. So we again decided to stop and re-assess our situation (#5 on the illustration) and figure out where we were headed. Our turnaround time was 2:30 pm so it became clear that we weren't going to make it to The Sisters, which remained a mile north of us with no apparent means of crossing the gap in the ridge. So instead, we decided to stay on our present course and make for the highest peak we could find before we turned into pumpkins and had to come down.