Ski Lee Peak in Mt. Charleston

On Sunday (6-28), 14 hikers made it to the summit of Ski Lee Peak in Charleston. This is a relatively new peak and only the second time I have climbed it. We started at Trail Canyon and made it to the junction in about 45 minutes. After a short break we headed for the dreadful scree slope via the North Loop trail. The scree slope is never fun, but something you have to do. A trick Nick taught me is to head way left as you ascend the scree slope. Not only is this less elevation gain, but you avoid a down climb along the ridge.

Once up the scree slope we followed the ridge to the base of Ski Lee Peak. The vistas are the best in Charleston. To the south is Kyle Canyon; to the north is Lee Canyon. Just before the start of the scramble to the summit you come across one of the coolest spots in Charleston. I call it The Landing.

Although the final push to the summit looks loose, it's not too bad. There's a path leading to the climb and I placed several cairns along the way. The summit has fantastic views in all directions. There's an ammo box at the peak and the book has plenty of pages left.

We retraced our steps about 200 yards and then we intersected the North Loop Trail and followed it back to the trailhead. Of course you could continue to Charleston Peak.

Notes: Lee Peak route will be published in July. This is a good hike. Difficulty: 5
The book at North Sister needs to be replaced

Mummy's Nose and Lee Peak

By high noon on Saturday five hikers stood at Mummy's Nose via the North Ridge route. This is a great mountaineering route with lots of steep slopes and one tricky class 3 climb to get onto the ridge. We had perfect weather. You don't get that many great days in August being it is the heart of the Monsoon season. A couple of the hikers wrote it was one of the best hikes they have done in a long time.

On Sunday the plan was to hike to Charleston Peak via the North Ridge route. As we were on the ridge, Nick suggested bagging Lee Peak. And it was a great suggestion. As we drew closer to Lee Peak it looked like the route to the summit was going to be a loose scree slog. Wrong! The route stays on the ridge with lots of fun class 3 climbing on good rock. This makes Lee peak worth bagging.