High Peak

Jan 9, 2025 — Matt and I attempted High Peak in January 2020 via a route with so little information that I felt a trip report, despite our failure, might help someone else. After all, we made it within 50 feet of the summit. Our original route led to the notch on High Peak’s west face. It was definitely fun but slightly beyond our comfort level without climbing gear, and we weren’t even sure it could be protected.

In the years that followed, High Peak became a cursed name between Matt and me, a summit spoken of only in hushed, fearful tones after our ill-fated attempt. We thought we’d never return. But, obviously, we did, this time with Tyler and Chris.

I’ve left the description of our original route below, but scroll farther for details on our successful ascent in January 2025 via the southeast face. Having now seen the peak from nearly every angle, we’re fairly confident this is the easiest route. But if you find a better option, let me know!

West Face Route (Class 4+/5):
A two mile walk through the open Sonoran Desert led us to a small valley just south of High Peak. We continued into this valley, turning left at the first major drainage we found. We followed it to a notch at its head, attained with some Class 2 boulder-hopping and short Class 3 section. From the notch, we looked east, locating the start of the scrambling and route-finding. From below, the route is near impossible to decipher, but with a little trial and error, navigating the cryptic cliffs ended up being a really interesting time.

Leaving the notch, we headed up a short Class 3 scramble to the base of a short chimney, directly in front of us. This is not the correct chimney. We dropped to the right and located another chimney (Class 3+) that led to a ramp, heading left. Some short Class 2/3 moves led to higher ground, where we encountered a set of three options: left was a crack, middle was a chimney, right was a shaded gully. We tried each in turn, ultimately settling on the one that looked most straightforward, the center. This chimney was about 30 feet of Class 3/4, and led to a small resting spot before the final, extended scramble. This section required lightly exposed Class 4 moves on a somewhat loose rock face. We noted above this Class 4 section was another Class 4 bit on what appeared to be more solid rock, though very unpredictable, and was facing outward into thin air. Matt went up the first Class 4 section to scout the second section, then came back down. I tried too, but immediately knew I wasn’t interested in the final Class 4 couple of moves and came back down. We both agreed that the cliffs seemed to peter out right after this last Class 4 section, likely the summit, but we don’t know for sure because that’s where we turned back.

Southeast Face Route (Class 4):
This route ultimately led us to the summit with far less danger and loose rock. It’s a uniquely wild route, resembling something more what you might find on alpine peaks due to its meandering path along ledges, up various gullies, and culminating in a final ridge scramble. Normally desert peaks aren’t quite so involved. Props to Matthias Stender, Adam Walker, and Sara Weimar for finding this complex route.

We entered the canyon on the east side of High Peak, following the drainage for a while before veering left to climb a steep slope out of the canyon, which became a ramp that hugged the canyon wall and placed us above a dryfall.

After navigating a few obstacles, including one Class 3+ headwall, we continued up this smaller drainage. It extended much higher, but we couldn’t find any reasonable spots to ascend further from there. Instead, we spotted a tree that marked the next section of our route. A perfect ledge took us out of the drainage, a Class 3 endeavor that gradually climbed out of the canyon and became increasingly exposed. Calling it a ledge might not be accurate, considering it was rarely flat. It’s really just a route that is somehow chiseled into the face of High Peak, traversing through a nondescript aspect of the peak.

The ledge widened onto a broad rib. Tyler and Matt scrambled ahead to look for a route, but Chris and I had no interest in free-soloing, so they returned. Instead, we dropped a few feet into a depression to the south. From within this depression, we studied the complex terrain above us and soon located the next set of ledges. This section featured a lot of enjoyable Class 2/3 scrambling, though the exposure increased significantly as we climbed.

The route soon required a Class 4 move, demanding careful hand placements due to the rock’s poor quality. It was more nerve-wracking on the descent, with the canyon floor feeling just one crumbling rock away. Once past this technical section, a wide ramp led us up to the ridgeline.

Now in the sun along the ridge, we were giddy at how incredible the route had been. A few Class 3 moves wove us around some pinnacles, but the ridge crest was too gnarly for a direct scramble most of the time. We often had to traverse left or right, but with cliffs alternating on either side, we had to wiggle back and forth along the crest. It made for good fun and we found it very cool that it wasn’t an easy ridge hike.

A final slope led us to the summit. To the south, the landscape stretched away, while to the east we spotted Peak 2620 from earlier in the day and Signal Peak in the distance. Matt and I were particularly thrilled since this peak had been on our minds for five years after our first failed attempt.