Schwab (Scwaub) Peak in Death Valley

Harlan WS
Dec 30, 2017

I first saw Shwab from Pyramid Peak in 2006; it looks pretty impressive from that side. I mapped routes for GPS soon after... but never got there.  I hate to say, but discovering that it wasn't on the DPS list made me put it on a back burner.

Flash forward to Kathy W's Furnace Creek pre-New Year's camping trip, and I finally got a chance.  The drive up Echo Canyon is modest 4x4, and is quite striking; you really need other vehicles in the photos to get the sense of scale, and even then the scale exceeds the capabilities of most P&S cameras.

00map
Context. We
camped at Furnace
Creek.		 0map0
The hike. I started
following a track
from Peakbagger,
then realized
that track had
me bagging a
scrabbly basalt
rubble peak.		 DSCN6477
The early parts of
Echo Canyon,
a campsite.
DSCN6478
Sun hitting
Panamints and
other peaks		 DSCN6479
Panamints		 DSCN6484
After obnoxious
basalt rubble, I
see the ridge.
DSCN6485
The ridge can be
class 3, but there
is always a class
2 workaround		 DSCN6488
Interesting peaklet.
Not today.		 DSCN6490
Summit area,
across a big gulf.
DSCN6491
View E		 DSCN6495
Bat Mt in back		 DSCN6497
Summit ridge
DSCN6498 DSCN6501 DSCN6502
DSCN6507
West to the ridge.
Keeping it class 2
would require
droipping in places.		 DSCN6508
Window S		 DSCN6509
DSCN6510
Bat Mt again		 DSCN6511
Class 2 rte
goes right,
class 3 on ridge.		 DSCN6512
DSCN6517_stitch
View W		 DSCN6520
View ~S		 DSCN6521
DSCN6521_stitch DSCN6527
Roughly E		 DSCN6528
Bat again
DSCN6529 DSCN6530 DSCN6531
DSCN6532 DSCN6533 DSCN6534
moo
DSCN6535
moo. Drop-off
on S side		 DSCN6536
heading down
class 2 but loose
obnoxious talus		 DSCN6538
out the wash
DSCN6539
gastropod		 DSCN6540 DSCN6541
leave wash
to head more S
DSCN6544
View back.		 DSCN6545 DSCN6547
DSCN6550
The remains of
the old road		 DSCN6552
End of drivable road		 DSCN6553
Inyo Mine
area
DSCN6556
Echo Canyon,
trip out		 DSCN6560 DSCN6562
DSCN6564 DSCN6567 DSCN6570