Pyramid Peak 6703′
Desert Peak Section
Total Time: 6:00
Distance: 9.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 3700′
Crux: Class 2
Trailhead: Slabby Acres, no services
It was a short drive from the Eagle Mountains to the main event of the day, an ascent of Pyramid Peak. With over 3,000′ of prominence, it dominates the landscape and looked even more intimidating with fresh snow covering the upper reaches. The route predominately follows the southeast ridge which I hoped would have a little less snow than some of the other aspects, but even from far away, it looked to have enough to keep things interesting. I parked at “The Slabs,” a small unused parking area just outside the boundary of Death Valley National Park that is used for free at large camping. There were a few campers set up along the pavement as I set directly north cross country through the desert.
The minimal brush of the Mojave coupled with the barren snowy slopes above strangely reminded me of the 6000 meter summits of the Himalaya. I aimed for a canyon to the southeast of the summit, cutting across a number of washes that grew increasingly deeper as I neared the canyon mouth, a solid 2 miles from the highway.
Checking my map, it looked as if I would gain the main southeast ridge by scrambling up to a shallow saddle, looking quite steep from below. But as I rounded into the canyon further, a decent use trail materialized, climbing just above and left of a shallow drainage on loose rock all the way up to the ridgeline proper.
Once on the ridgeline, the summit proper was now out of view by a series of false summits, and I had my work cut out for me as I continued climbing, dutifully following the use trail as it skirted south of a series of small rock formations. Ascending the slope above the 5,000′ contour looked like tedious scree from below, but the use trail continued, trending to the left up a hidden gully flanked by volcanic spires.
I encountered the first patches of snow in the shady north facing gully here, the views now opening up to the east. The use trail split above the gully, all still heading up the ridgeline but alternating between pockets of solid slab to loose gravel, and I did my best to find aim for the solid rock where I could, saving the loose scree for the descent. Going up and over another bump on the ridgeline, I was faced with a series of craggy false summits, each one snowier and craggier than the last.
For some reason, I had in my head that there was some class 3 scrambling on the route, and I mentally prepared to scramble across the snowy rock. But the well defined use trail continued at a snowy notch, skirting every single false summit to the south on a relatively snow free path. The only time I was actually forced to wade through the ankle deep snow was the last 200′ to the true summit, topping out shortly after 2 PM. The views were fantastic, with snow covered Telescope Peak and the Sierras to the west, Death Valley to the northwest and north, Mount Charleston to the east and my summits from earlier in the trip to the southeast.
Knowing I would not have enough time for the third summit that day, I spent a while on top before the cold wind drove me off. I dropped off the summit again utilizing the excellent use trail to avoid the snow and more difficult rock to reach the snow free scree slopes further down.
Back below the snow, I now avoided the solid rock and aimed for the loose gravel, plunge stepping quickly down to 5000′, descending from the summit in under an hour what had taken nearly two on the ascent. I half jogged down the mountain, hunger now driving me more than anything with thoughts of a beer and juicy burger at the Stovepipe Wells Saloon.
It was 3:40 PM when I was back in the lower canyon, and took about another hour to hike cross country through the desert and back to the car. I hopped in and headed into Death Valley National Park, dropping into the Valley for a gorgeous sunset before grabbing dinner in Stovepipe Wells.
