"Impossible Mesa" (Peak 4045 in Castle Peaks, NV)

Harlan W S & Kevin H
Feb. 8, 2013

The name "Impossible Mesa" is tongue-in-cheek, because (thanks to instructions from Tracy F), we were able to climb the 4045' S summit of this peak with just one 8', class 4 crux. We hit the N summit while looking for a geocache, and from the N summit, were able to see a reasonable route to the middle summit. But there was a time when I thought this peak would be a technical climb.

It was a short day, with 40+ mph gusts, cold, and a lingering kidney stone. Thanks again to Tracy F for beta, and Kevin H for willing companionship (on 0 hours of sleep) and his good jeep.

Overview map showing the roads (purple) in. Both roads are rougher than the usual roads we take to Castle.	A clsoeup of the tracks near the peaks...	...and the same tracks on the aerial map.
This is a view of the three summits, as seen from the W (en route to Castle Tower). The 4045' (S) peak is at R.	View from the 1st place we parked -- just east of peak 4045'. The highest peak (4045') is at L.	We're at the U-notch between 4045' and the middle peak; view W to Castle Tower.
Panoramic view, from S (L) to WNW (R)	Kevin on top of 4045'.	Kevin comes down the crux; he's a bove a 3-4' overhang, which could be tough for shorter folks.
View Kevin across (N side) U notch; Castle Tower in distance at L.		View down into valley on W side of U-notch-- you could easily descend here in order to continue on to Castle Tower.
	Now we've driven around to the NW side, and have climbed the N-most peak to retrieve the "Watch your step" geocache. This view is S, over the middle peak, to 4045'.	Here's a panoramic view, from 4045' at L, to Castle Tower at R.
		Now we head to the middle peak; Kevin is on the class 3 crux, which has some unnerving exposute to the R.
Now we're on the middle peak, view S to 4045, with the route marked. Dots indicate where the route is hidden behind rock.
		Kevin comes down the crux.
We descended the "easy" valley between the N and middle peaks.