Calumet Mountain, Carson Peak, Dyadic Point, Iron Mountain, Kelbaholt Peak

Calumet Mountain, Carson Peak, Dyadic Point, Iron Mountain, Kelbaholt Peak 29-Dec-94 (Private trip) By: Erik Siering

So, there is life after list completion. Bob and I continued to explore the unlisted peaks. Following Dave Jurasevich's guidelines (SAGE 224 & 234) for Iron and Calumet Mtns, we climbed these separately one day, followed the next day by Dyadic Pt, and finished with Kelbaholt and Carson Pks on New Year's Day. Iron & Calumet Mtns (12 mi, 4000', 6 hrs) Good, but windy, camping spot next to the borrow pit at Iron. Our route took a subsidiary ridge up out of the main wash, joining the main ridge near the summit. On descent, we headed straight for the wash, putting ourselves atop the massive white rock waterfall seen earlier from below. A traverse to the left dropped us to the bottom. Solid rock, nice summit and enjoyable climb. Would repeat Iron. A long, sandy flat approach with abundant cholla led to the base of Calumet. We climbed on poor, decomposing granite rock directly up the face to the summit, and later came down the south gully. A beautiful white bird of prey circled above us as we took in the fantastic views from on top. Would not repeat Calumet. Dyadic Pt (6 mi, 2600', 6 hrs) A bitterly cold night camped at the Spectre Pt trailhead. Starting late, we followed the Spectre route A until it merged with route B in the main wash beyond Tensor. Turned east to the next side wash, which continued to a saddle. Followed steep rock slabs to the east, working our way along the ridge to the notch west of Dyadic's summit. From here, a high stem move gains more c13 along exposed ledges to the nice summit area. A wonderful scramble. Bob and I initially explored loose c13-4 chimneys on the northeast face, until we simply backtracked to the notch and the principal route up. Below the notch, a ridge and shallow gully led directly back to the aforementioned main wash. Would repeat. Celebrated New Year's Eve in Laughlin. Kelbaholt & Carson Pks (9 mi, 4000', 6 hrs) A great pair to start the year. Situated on the Mohawk Spring topo. From Hwy 95, we drove in to Carson's Wells, parking outside of the new wilderness area per ranger's instructions. We approached Kelbaholt on the low east ridge, and wound our way up the gully on its face to the summit area. Nice solid class 3 scrambling. Descended the same way, traversed into the main wash, and followed tire tracks to near Coffin Spring. Here we continued across a band of bright pink rock and up a steep gully to the prominent saddle west of Carson. The volcanic rock ridge led to the summit. Returned across the flats to my truck. Would definitely repeat. The peak list as we know it is history, courtesy of the brand new Desert Protection Act. Trailhead access to many desert peaks is now nonexistent or severely curtailed due to the wilderness restrictions. The NFS ranger we encountered in the Kelbaholt area indicated that the road closures to motorized vehicles are now being signed and are definitely enforced.

Detailed information for visiting one or more peaks mentioned in this article can be found in the Desert Peak Section Road and Peak Guides

DPS Archives Index \| Desert Peaks Section