Hike Jumbo Peak and Playground Peak Gold Butte National Monument, NV

Mar 23, 2024 — It's rare to find two incredibly fun desert peaks this close together, but rsince they're located very remote within Gold Butte National Monument, Jumbo Peak and Playground Peak don't get the attention they deserve. Even for me living in Las Vegas, it took a long time to muster the excitement to drive forever on dirt roads out here, in addition to finding friends willing to do the same. I was lucky that Tyler, Lindsey, and Petey were all psyched to see a new area. We met up the night before near the Gold Butte Townsite, where we sat around Tyler's phenomenal propane-fueled fire pit, its existence the only reason anybody wants him around. We'd all driven separately due to our schedules, but none of us had any problems along the drive, and we agreed the road was in better shape than anticipated. Reaching Whitney Pocket was fast; the first third of Gold Butte Road was a little rougher, and then the remainder to the Townsite eased up. Past that, I'd argue a passenger car could make it to here (36.26473512, -114.2268337) and possibly all the way to the trailhead under the right conditions, but I'd also say having good tires and a reliable car way out here would be prudent.

I included Jumbo Peak and Playground Peak in one trip report since they're very close together, and the peakbagger looking to do one will likely want to check out the other. Both provide some ridiculously unique and fun challenges, complete with wonderful views of the area. My stats include both hikes, but we started with Jumbo Peak and parked here (36.21132, -114.17235), later moving the cars slightly for Playground Peak here (36.21739, -114.17290).

Jumbo Peak is a high-prominence summit that pokes out in the heart of Gold Butte National Monument, and if not for its formidable granitic summit block, it would be little more than a massive desert lump. Even from the trailhead, it doesn't look like it would offer much excitement, especially considering the effort required to get out here. We started up the brushy eastern slope of Jumbo Peak, which was pretty steep considering we'd just started hiking and hadn't warmed up yet. Countless boulders are strewn across the slope, their combination with large patches of brush making navigation a little tedious on occasion. We couldn't locate any social trail, but we found that navigating toward the northern ridge of Jumbo Peak rather than directly to its base proved to be a good idea, as did many parties before us.

We fumbled around on Class 3 obstacles along the northern crest until we reached the base of the first pitch of Jumbo Peak, a chimney formed by two massive hunks of separated granite. We took turns scrambling through the chimney in case there were loose boulders within, but it ended up being a pretty sturdy formation. The inside of the crack requires some stemming and body-jamming, but fortunately, plenty of chockstones provide foothold opportunities. Since the base progressively inclines, this is not a technical crack climb that feels exposed, instead a fun Class 3/4 scramble through a narrow space. Toward the top is a massive chockstone that some of us chose to scramble below and then on top of, while others stemmed up and over it. The chimney opened up to the base of a steep slab, a very low Class 5 (maybe YDS 5.2) set of moves mostly dangerous due to the lichen forming on the granite. Tyler had already climbed this unprotected, so he set up a handline for whoever needed it. Without climbing shoes, I couldn't help myself and opted to use it momentarily for safety at the little crux move. Past the slab, I scrambled up a rock rib, passed over a crack, and ascended to the summit.

The strong gust of wind abruptly ended Lindsey's famous summit twerking, far too dangerous a performance on such precarious rock. We could point out many of the summits in Lake Mead National Recreation Area beyond, and we could see Las Vegas in the distance. So much driving for still being so close to the city. Tyler had set up an anchor using a large boulder below the summit, which was quite helpful for the descent. In order to clean all his gear on the way back down, Tyler down-climbed the route but decided to descend using the crack to the right of the slab crux, ultimately finding this easier. Maybe it would be a safer option for an ascent too?

Once down from Jumbo Peak, we wrapped around its eastern slope to find a sea of massive boulders, offering plenty more fun scrambling. There was even a cave or two to scramble through. Our next peak was Jumbo Peak - Southeast, also known as Packard Peak. Located so close to Jumbo Peak, it made sense to grab this little guy to extend the hike a bit. The sandy side-hilling descent went quickly, and the ascent to Packard Peak's summit block base was straightforward, though it was steep and required us to keep to the right of rocky terrain along the crest. The summit block was easy Class 2 on the right, despite how difficult it appeared from below. We chose to continue down from Packard Peak, weaving around massive boulders forming small cliffs and pulling at least one Class 3 move along the way. There was some bushwhacking when we left the northern saddle, but it was short-lived and overall easy to avoid.

We relocated our cars and set out for Playground Peak, starting north along the wide, sloped ridge. The views along the way were really incredible, many more granitic features visible to the east that we were unable to see from Jumbo Peak earlier. The ridge crest is a little lumpy and has two sections of boulders that can be avoided on the right by side-hilling, but if you choose to go up and over them, expect some very fun Class 3/4 route-finding around massive boulders.

The jumbled pile of boulders that comprise Playground Peak came into view just ahead, but the summit block was too tricky to point out from here. We found that attempting to reach the summit directly would be nearly impossible, but a much more tame option existed by sticking to the ridge crest. We began navigating around, over, and below comically large boulders in search of the high point. Two massive sheer faces formed a gateway of sorts, framing the hulking summit ahead, yet another jumble of granite. Heading left around it, we inched along a ledge and crawled along a rock rib, big drops into a chasm on either side.

We were now at the base of the first crux, all of us thrilled at how much fun the approach had been so far. The peak truly was a playground, and this next section really drove the feeling home. There are at least two options for gaining higher ground, both including unique scramble features. The first option follows Sean Casserly's advice, a route that requires scrambling up a low-angle slab to a chasm jump. Launching ourselves across the chasm on the ascent wasn't a problem since the landing block was wide, but this feat would prove to be very scary on the way back, and none of us were willing to do it. I played around afterward and was able to locate a second route option, a squeeze through a narrow crack to the right. I was able to squirm up and down, and I've got a pretty wide chest that has gotten me into trouble in some narrow canyons, but I'm only 5'9'', so this second route option could prove problematic for taller/bigger people.

Past the first crux area, a wide ramp leads up to what appears to be the summit of Playground Peak. We high-fived until we all realized there was a twin summit boulder right next to us, taller by only a few inches. The problem was that a notch separated us from it. The wind had picked up substantially, and we all considered calling it a failed attempt, but we'd brought a rope and harnesses and decided to at least toy with the idea of making it over there. The issue is that a low Class 5 (roughly YDS 5.3) face drops down from the first boulder, a scary and exposed down-climb, so accessing the notch is not easy, and there were no bolts or natural anchors we could build to descend safely. When compared to Sean's reported wildman "jump," which we couldn't even imagine doing, we settled on a comparatively safer method of getting to the summit after putting on our thinking caps.

Our technique requires three people to pull off safely. If you don't know what a meat anchor is or how to safely set one up, I wouldn't recommend reading further. Climber 1 serves as a meat anchor for Climber 2, who rappels from Climber 1 into the notch. A Class 4 stem move out of the notch is facilitated by a small black knob to gain the adjacent slab and scurry up to the summit. Climber 2 then sets up a meat anchor as a belay for Climber 3, who rappels from Climber 1 into the notch, then ties into Climber 2's anchor before climbing out of the notch to the summit. Climber 3 then reverses the rappel and climbs up the first summit boulder back to Climber 1. Climber 3 then serves as a meat anchor so that Climber 1 can access the summit. To safely get Climber 2 back down from the summit block using only a catastrophic backup, Climber 1 spots them. Both then self-belay up to Climber 2's meat anchor. This challenge was every bit as fun as it sounds, and we were thrilled to have gotten to the true summit without dangerous acrobatics (I'm side-eyeing you, Sean).

On our way back down, we rigged a retrievable anchor around a crumbly chockstone, but I recommend just sliding down the squeeze I mentioned previously. We returned to the cars from Playground Peak roughly the same way we'd come.