Gendarme Peak (near Lake Mojave, NV), Likely FA

Pics by Harlan W S
February 27, 2021

Tracy F. had his eye on this peak for some years.  The total elevation (2949') is about 80' less than my house in Vegas, and the prominence (about 560-570') doesn't bring it too much attention in PeakBragger or ListsofJohn. Yet it is hard to reach, and deceptively nasty-- sloped talus downhills lead to sudden huge drop-offs, and the summit is guarded by a number of "features."  By the end of the day you may have more than 2500' accumulated elevation gain.

If you are interested in learning the "best" route to summit, contact me. The route we took involved an awful lot of lucky and circuitous navigation, and from "being there" I think I know a much more direct route. The roads can be handled with a good HC vehicle, like a 2wd F150 (with LT tires); or you can come off Newberry Mountain.

For me, this was a symbolic victory. We had planned this trip for December 17, 2020, when I was hit hard by COVID-19.

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Gendarme Peak, as
seen from the N
 00map0
The contours on
the USGS map are
a little deceptive.
100m grid.
 1context
The context.
10 km grid
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Deceptively benign
View, looking up
from E side.  Do
you like catclaws?
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So we started up
what seemed like
the easiest route. I
brought just 30' of
15mm webbing; and that
limit was good, because
it made us use thought
to replace gear.
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The chockstone is
about 10' up. I was able
to get above the stone.
I then traveled quickly
up-canyon, and realized
more of the same
was ahead. So Steve
spotted my downclimb
and we found
a sketchy bypass on
N side.
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Lots of dryfalls, but none
above class 3.
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Steve decided he would
take a nap, and urged
Tracy and me to head on.
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Sugarloaf PEAK in
AZ. Tracy, Anji and
I went there in 2017.
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Looking up at G1. Photo
is deceptive; the rock is
crappy, nearly vertical,
and there is a huge drop
to W (L).
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I saw a low class 5 route,
but was unsure what was
in back, so we opted
to skirt around.
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For the next hour,
I was so absorbed in
route-finding, I took
few pictures. Here we
are going up a gentle
slope near the summit.
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Tracy summits
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The W side looks
like this (view N)
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Gendarme on ridge
looks deceptively
benign from this side.
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Spirit Mt from summit.
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The Real Devil's Thumb
from summit.
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View NE
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Tracy contemplates
Arizona.
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Cicumnavigation on
way back. Class 2
(except where it isn't),
loose rock and big drops
off-camera.
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This looks soft and
fluffy on Google Earth.
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Back down through
the dryfalls
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N side of Spirit Mt,
on drive out.