Trip report
Feb 24, 2019 — I’ve been on a roll with these random peakbagging missions in Lake Mead, and this was no exception to my fun exploratory routes in the area. I first saw Pinto West Peak and the canyon to its east from the summit of Hamblin Mountain West, but I wanted to plan a multi-peak day rather than just get that one, so this route did the trick. Even though I deemed this route Class 3, that’s only because of the descent south from Pinto West Peak, and the subsequent navigation up to Peak 2867.
Starting from Northshore Road, I headed to the saddle of Hamblin Butte and Basalt Peak. I decided to bag Hamblin Butte now and Basalt Peak later on the way back. Hamblin Butte was a bouldery Class 2 steep ascent from the east, and then more of the same on my way down via southwest. From my perch on Hamblin Butte, there appeared to be two cliffy-looking ridgelines leading to Pinto West Peak, but the western one looked more reasonable.
After descending from Hamblin Butte, I followed this ridgeline to the summit of Pinto West Peak (Class 2) and then continued south until reaching the saddle between it and Peak 2867. The route down was riddled with little cliffies to work around, but none of them exceeded Class 3. I’d be retuning here after the next summit. It ended up being pretty interesting, if loose. The ridgeline itself is gnarly, so the route I took navigates the steep nonsense, avoiding the crest initially. I then reached the ridgeline to gain a false summit. From here I dropped a short distance and ascended via a Class 2 diagonal chute. I stayed high and wrapped around the summit block on its left, keeping as close to the crest as I could.
I returned to the saddle and descended a loose drainage into the canyon that separates Hamblin Mountain West and Pinto West Peak. I followed this drainage all the way down until I reached dry fall (marked on map). You’ll notice I left in both of my routes. Initially, I didn’t want to scramble down this dryfall because I thought there might be many more and it could be a waste of time, so I ascended to the dirt mounds above and followed animal trails on higher ground to Auxiliary Point. On the way back, I chose to explore that canyon and it turned out that dryfall was the only one. Both routes were nice for different reasons.
Auxiliary Point was probably the highlight of the day, and although it can be easily accessed by boat on Lake Mead, it was still a gorgeous spot that took a fair amount of effort to get to. I took a few minutes to enjoy the sights, something I rarely do unless the spot’s really calling my name. I returned via the same canyon, then took a short jaunt up to Basalt Peak on my way back to the car.