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Jan 23, 2020 — Another failed peak, two in as many days. This is a route that has so little information about it that I felt adding a trip report despite our failure could help someone else, plus we made it to about 50 feet from the summit. The route up High Peak is quite fun, but a bit above my comfort level without climbing gear. I heard about High Peak in Kofa National Wildlife Refuge because Purcell writes that it's a "desert mega-classic", so Matt and I set out with high hopes for High Peak.
A fairly long slog 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. Some Class 2 boulder-hopping led up to a short Class 3 section before the notch. 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 good time.
From 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 droppped 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 and 4, and led to a small resting spot before the final bit of scrambling. The final bit required some exposed Class 4 moves on a somewhat loose rock face, but wasn't facing outward into thin air. We noted above this Class 4 section was another Class 4 section on what appeared to be more solid rock, but that bit would be extremely exposed. 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. Probably one I won't repeat, but the fun route-finding made it a worthwhile attempt.
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