Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Telescope Peak, Saturday Nov. 8

When the Sierra isn't "in condition," desert peaks are nice alternatives. <a href="http://members12.clubphoto.com/robert634908/1757933">Click here</a> for pictures.

<img src="http://a1.cpimg.com/image/75/C1/25805941-10b9-02000180-.jpg"width=640>

Well, toward the end of the day it wasn't so nice! Structure in the foreground is a solar panel on the summit of Rogers Peak:

<img src="http://a9.cpimg.com/image/BD/CC/25806269-6532-02000180-.jpg"width=640>

Great photos! Were you able to summit? Death Valley is a great place to hike. What is the road condition past the trailhead for Wild Rose peak, where the charcoal kilns are? Do you need a 4-wheel drive vehicle to approach the trailhead to Telescope Peak, or could I possibly try it with my Honda Accord?

Thanks, Bob! Great photos and a wonderful trip! You are so lucky to live near there. Interesting to see the summits of those other peaks. And looking through your Club Photo albums, you have a blessed time in the mountains.

I was able to drive up to the Telescope Peak trailhead in a Datsun (1986) passenger car, with slow and careful driving. Sans snow and ice, then.

Nice pictures, Bob.

I had thought that maybe you sneezed on the lens...DOH!...it's cloudy, maybe it's snowing!

I've been working too many hours and have not been in the mountains for too long. The brain is working slowly.

I have a plan to head up there on Thursday. Looks like it started to dump pretty good on you later in the day.
Any idea on how much it snowed up there? I've never done winter hiking and have a bit of a concern on footwear and keeping the feet dry. The boots I do have are fine as long as the they stay on top of the snow.
Obviously, I'm a bit of a ro**** in these types of conditions. Anyone have any input or suggestions for winter/snow hiking? Thanks!
Chad

Thanks for the reply Bob. That is all good info for us. It does look like the weather conditions will be good for the rest of this week, so that will be helpful.
One more question. What is the approximate drive time from Ridgecrest up to the Mahogany Flats campground? We are trying to plan our departure time, and that is the area I am not sure about. According to the map I have, it looks like around 70 miles, but having never been there, I am not sure about the road and speed limits.
Thanks again. I will post a report when we get back.

I was at Telescope the weekend before and hiked on fresh powder. http://community.webshots.com/photo/97572535/98136004NHsdof

This weekend I was at Corkscrew Peak and saw this: http://community.webshots.com/photo/99142044/99338514dCegyZ

We also did Manly Beacon after, and Thimble Pk and Titus Canyon on Sunday.

Fun trips!

Snow Nymph
http://community.webshots.com/user/snownymph

Nice pictures, Snowy. For what it's worth, two Corkscrew routes I like better than what the guidebooks describe are <a href="http://www.ridgenet.net/~rockwell/Climbing/corkscrewroutes.jpg">here</a>. I usually go up the blue route and down the red. But when the dirt is damp, like yesterday, going up red is OK, too. You can also go up red 1/3 of the way, then shift over to blue.

Another fun excursion is to climb Thimble first, descend into Titanothere Canyon, and then ascend Corkscrew. A long day, though, unless you stash a car down on the Daylight Pass road.

Bob,

I was up on Telescope the following morning (Last Sunday) around 3-4am and got stuck in the storm that was rolling in when you were coming off the mountain. I had hoped to do the full moon ascent, but was completely whited out around Arcane Meadows. No sign of your tracks on the trail.

Pics here: <a href=http://www.fedak.net/albums/DeathValley.html>http://www.fedak.net/albums/DeathValley.html</a>
Pretty overcast day in general.

-fedak

Bob R what guidebooks do you use for DV. I did Corkscrew Pk. about 20 years ago from HITR spring just following a compass. But a guidebook would be nice for at least picking out peaks to do. BTW, nice pictures from all. And what a nice register on Corkscrew now.

Bob R what guidebooks do you use for DV. I did Corkscrew Pk. about 20 years ago from HITR spring just following a compass. But a guidebook would be nice for at least picking out peaks to do. BTW, nice pictures from all. And what a nice register on Corkscrew now.

Pardon me for jumping in. I can recommend the following books:

"Desert Summits" by Andy Zdon (Spotted Dog Press, Bishop, CA)

"Hiking Death Valley" by Michel Digonnet (published by the author)

Re:Bob R

Hope this is not too silly of a question but how far from where you park your car to the summit of Telescope Peak? And how long did it take you?

I usually camp at Furnace Creek every Jan 1st and have been eyeing Telescope Peak for 2 years now. Maybe 2004 is the year.

Really enjoyed your photos.

Walt Wheelock's Desert Peak Guides appear every now and again on ebay. His "Climbing Mount Whitney" is up for auction now (item 3567137377).