Ice Box Peak To Bridge Mtn. Route

IMO, the best route to Bridge Mtn is via Ice Box Peak. This is a hardcore route. I have done it several times over the last 15 years. In the past I have always dreaded the return hike, since the route back up to Ice Box Peak was loose and brushy. This has now changed!

Recently, I did this hike and found the route from the wash aka The Maze to Ice Box Peak is well cairned, all solid sandstone and no brush! In the past it was virtually impossible to find a good route back up to Ice Box Peak, because it was hard to tell when to leave the wash. I now know the secret and I will share it with you.

The photo below tells the story. About 40 yards past the dead tree you will come to the Ponderosa Pine marked with the red arrow. Turn left here and follow cairns all the way to Ice Box Peak. It's only class 1 and 2 scrambling! The only loose section is just below the peak and it is very short.

Click to enlarge

Descending From Ice Box Peak to Bridge Mtn

The loose section, I wrote about in the above paragraph, might be eliminated. Here's how: From Ice Box Peak retrace the route until you can make a sharp turn back to the north and connect with the route to Bridge Mtn. I will try this the next time  I hike to Ice Box Peak.

Snake are Out!

Above average temperatures bring the snakes out. Most snakes in this area are most active between 70 and 90 degrees. Yesterday (3-27), two different groups of hikers saw rattlesnakes. One group of 52ers were hiking White Rock Springs Peak; I led the other group to Mescalito Peak.

We saw a Speckled Rattlesnake in the South fork of Pine Creek Canyon. It was crawling in the wash through the gravel. I heard a loud rattle and immediately stopped. We saw each other and he was not backing down!

Speckled Rattlesnake - click to enlarge

For more information about snakes around Southern Nevada, go to this page

Good News! Bridge Mtn via Fern Canyon - Better

The  Bridge Mtn via Fern Canyon route is one of the best routes to Bridge Mtn. Why?

• It's a fun route
• It's challenging
• It's scenic
• No driving the Rocky Gap Road.

How is the route better now?

About halfway up the wash there was either a very brushy workaround or a very difficult climb, even with the rope. Now there's a third option: The recent rains created a tunnel! The tunnel an easy climb through, though tight for larger hikers. They will have to take their packs off.

The red arrow points to the tunnel.

Stats for this hike:

Hike: Bridge Mtn via Fern Creek (North Fork of Pine Creek) — route

Trailhead: Pine Creek — marked

Distance: 6.5 miles — up and back

Elevation gain: 3,200 feet

Elevation of peak: 6,940 feet

Time: 5 to 6 hours – up and back

Difficulty: 5

Danger level: 4

Class: 3+

How easy to follow: 5

Children: no

Windy Peak East Face Route

Windy Peak East Face Route is one of the more challenging and exposed routes in Red Rock Canyon. It's located in South Red Rock off of State Route 160 aka Blue Diamond Highway.
Here are the stats:

Hike: Windy Peak East Face - route
Distance: 5 miles – round trip
Elevation gain: 2,200 feet
Elevation of peak: 6,200 feet
Time: 4 to 6 hours – up and back
Difficulty: 3
Danger level: 4
Class: 4+

It's a round trip hike. Up the East Face route and down the normal route aka The Ramp Route.

You climb up the East Face of Windy Peak as seen in the photo.

Windy Peak - Click to enlarge

This route offers plenty of climbs for you! There are two cruxes on the route. The first is a very long and exposed traverse as seen in Photo 2. It's much more exposed than the photo shows.

The next crux is just after the traverse and is stunningly exposed. See Photo 3.

At the bottom of this post is a video I took of the route.

Update:

Recently, (1-2015), I did this route. It is now in great shape. The route is well cairned and very clean of brush.  If you are an advanced hiker, you should give this route a try. The complete step by step description of this route along with waypoints is in the Member's Section of Hiking Las Vegas. Click here for more information.

Photo 2 - Click to enlarge

Photo 3 - Click to enlarge

Video of the hike

No Snow In Red Rock Canyon 1-11-2015

Click to enlarge

Even though Las Vegas received almost 0.50 inches of rain yesterday (1-11-2015), it did not snow in Red Rock Canyon. This is a good thing. Rock scrambling on snow is very dangerous. Obviously, the rock is slippery, but rain or snow makes the rock brittle.

There is ice in higher parts of Red Rock and on North facing routes. Be careful. The waterfalls are flowing now, but will soon dry up (a day or two).

The forecast calls for highs around 60 degrees and sunny days! This will help melt the ice.
The best and safest way to hike Red Rock Canyon is with the 52 Peak Club. Learn more here.

White Rock Hills Peak Southern Route Update

Over the past year we have done a lot of work on this route. I feel this route is now in the best shape ever! This is the route that starts off of the Rocky Gap Road. The start of the hike is finally easy to follow.

My main concern was the loose hillside the route ascended. Virtually every time I led a hike someone would knock a rock down. It was almost impossible not to. This made it dangerous for hikers below.
We have re-routed this part of the route. The loose hillside is about 15 minutes beyond the chimney and just beyond the climb in Photo 2.

Chimney

Photo 2

Once beyond the climb in Photo 2, you veer left on good sandstone to a path that heads toward the tree in Photo 3. About 40 yards beyond the tree this new route meets up with the old route on good sandstone. The new route avoids all the loose rock the original route followed.

Photo 3

The next re-route is just beyond the dead tree in Photo 4. The old route would climb to a higher level, traverse, and then descend to a worn path that led to the gully. This new route descends and follows a very well cairned path that meets up with the worn path. This new route is much more efficient.  See Photo 5. The red line shows the new route; the "Red X" shows the old route.

Click on any photo to enlarge.

Photo 4

Photo 5

You can read about the final re-route up the better gully here. 

Video of these re-routes:

Fortress Butte and AZ Hot Springs Update

On 12-20-2014, the 52 Peak Club hiked Fortress Butte and AZ Hot Springs. Fortress Butte is this cool looking butte near AZ Hot Springs. It looks impossible to climb to the top, but we found a route. The summit seems like an island in the sky with great views in all directions. You can even see the mighty Colorado River!

The route is in great shape. It's very well cairned and the recent rains washed away some of the loose rock. Unfortunately, the sign-in book is gone and needs to be replaced.

Here's the secret to avoiding a lot of the loose rock on the approach:
In the write up just after this sentence:  "Go south (left) in the new wash and hike about 200 yards."
You want to ascend the drainage in the photo below. This drainage is solid and avoids most of the loose rock. I made a cairn on top of a boulder. It's circled in the photo. Also look for the two large boulders to the left of the drainage. They are also circled in the photo.
Slide show of the hike.

Correct drainage

AZ Hot Springs

At the summit

The hot springs is in good shape. The water is about 2.5 feet deep and is very hot. Of course, the further you sit from the water source the cooler the water becomes.
This is one of the better Lake Mead hikes. Expect the hike to take about four to five hours, round trip and that includes the time you spend soaking in the hotsprings.

To download this hike step by step directions and 400 other hikes become a member of Hiking Las Vegas.