Whipple Mountains, Chemehuevi Peak

4-Feb-78

By: Dick Banner

We met just north of highway 62, 9.2 miles east of Vidal Junction, drove N to the aqueduct road, East 3 miles along it, then N about 4.8 miles on a jeep road, Five vehicles made it - three with low clearance, were parked along the way. We hiked a short distance to the inactive mine, crossed the low ridge behind it and dropped into the big wash that leads northerly. We stayed in the main wash all the way to the saddle NE of the peak. At 391098Z1O, about 2 miles from the mine, the main wash branches left at the site of a large duck. Slightly beyond this branch a dry waterfall was avoided by climbing up and around it to the left. Once above it the route to the saddle (id.) and the Whipple summit was obvious. Nineteen were on top, including Bill Banks, who had climbed the peak 5 times in as many ways. It's comforting to be with someone who knows the territory!) We were out and relocated at the road-head for Chemehuevi Peak by dark. The road-head used was reached by driving 1 miles SE of highway 95 along the pole line road. A splendid sing-a-long around the campfire, led by Ron Jones and the McCoskers, was too soon ended by an exhaustive round of Old MacDonald's Farm. The evening was capped by a flawless rendition of 'The Story of Rindercella" by the incomparable Cuno Ranschau. Next morning at 7:00 we hiked across small washes toward the NE until we entered the big wash coning down from the saddle NW of Chemehuevi peak. we took it all the way to the saddle, then right up to the summit. Nineteen climbers were on top and back by 12:00 noon. We then waited a tense hour and a half for a non-climber to return to the cars. One carload of tigers also did Mopah on Saturday.