Hike Kelbaholt Peak and Northern Mopah Range Turtle Mountains Wilderness Area BLM, NV

Feb 28, 2021 — This loop in the northern Mopah Range, a named range within the Turtle Mountains, is quite the desert craggy peak undertaking. It summits a bunch of the named and lesser visited interesting towers, all of which look impossible from below. The route has sporadic Class 3+/4, but the only true Class 5 stuff is on Fools Point. If you plan to complete the loop, be prepared for a fair amount of scrambling and rugged terrain, but skipping Fools Point will keep the route Class 3/3+. Desert peaks don't get much better than this. Any vehicle could make it to the trailhead, though it does get a little rocky toward the end. A big shout-out to Bob Burd and Tracy Foutz for sharing their routes.

From the trailhead we set out through the desert toward the intimidating-looking Kelbaholt Peak, making our way to a spur ridge on its northeast side. Class 2 brought us to the base of Kelbaholt Peak, where a gorgeous view of the peak's sheer east face greeted us from the top of the cliff where we stood. From here the terrain got complex, a series of gullies and side-hills bringing us to the peak. We continued along the top of the cliff, scrambled up a Class 3 set of moves on big conglomerate pebbles, surprisingly secure. A short crevasse brought us to some flatter ground, where we wrapped around the base of the cliffs to the right and located a Class 3 chute with a yucca at its base. There were lots of loose boulders, so we went one at a time. At the top of this chute was more flat ground, where we wrapped around to the right yet again. A Class 2+ 10-foot down-climb brought us to base of another chute, this one more loose. We each made our own moves up varying sides of this chute, all options Class 2/3. The top of this chute revealed that we still had a way to go, Kelbaholt Peak's higher reaches becoming visible. We kept to the left around a rocky set of outcroppings and made a descending side-hill to the base of a gully that seemed like it would reach the summit. This gully was long and a bit dirty and brushy, but only Class 2. We ascended a few hundred feet and found ourselves in a short crevasse (Class 2+) leading to the ridgeline. Once on the ridge, what appears at first to be a knife-edge stretches to the summit for a hundred feet. It's clear where to go, but the route involves an airy Class 3 move, followed by some lightly exposed Class 2 on typical volcanic rock. We scoped the peaks to come for the day to the south. There certainly is no non-technical way to get down from Kelbaholt Peak's south side to access the southern peaks, unfortunately.

Once we backtracked from Kelbaholt Peak to its base where we previously had admired the sheer face from the rim of a cliff. We followed the cliff until a Class 2 section allowed us to descend to the south. The next half mile required some side-hilling through fairly brushy terrain, but it wasn't too bad and was likely a better choice than descending all the way down only to regain the vertical elevation. Bob Burd reported a Class 3 steep gully that honestly I likely wouldn't have even attempted. It just looked so unlikely from below, but a bunch of fun Class 3/4 dryfalls led up the gully. It was a delightful section, and the stimulating scrambling brought us to higher ground more quickly than we thought. The terrain mellowed out a bit and we found ourselves on a Class 2 slope as we wrapped around the base of the cliffs and the gully widened. We made it to the saddle northeast of our net peak, Peak 3687. Class 2 led up to and along the base of its eastern cliffs until a weakness presented itself on the right, some steep Class 2 on a conglomerate slope followed by a Class 3 move on a narrow ramp. Sticking to the ridge crest results in a horrifying scramble on top of a baby arch. I quickly decided I wouldn't be doing that, instead locating a Class 2 option on its left to gain the summit. There were two high point, the closer one taller.

We headed back most of the way from Peak 3687 and descended toward the major drainage to the east, keeping to the drainage's east side to avoid losing too much unnecessary elevation. Fools Point came into view, its incredibly pointy-looking summit almost a deterrent, but we'd give it a go. There are three ramps leading up Fools Point's west face, the leftmost one being our choice. Reaching the summit from here required ascendin to the saddle on the northwest side of Fools Point, then scrambling up the Class 2 ramp, which is just on the edge of a sheer cliff. Toward the top of the ramp, we had to pull a couple of Class 3 moves on a dubious congomerate rock slab, followed by a couple more thoughtful moves as the ramp began to narrow and the exposure was present, if not severe (yet). We reached a flatter rest area at what seemed like the end of our attempt. If not for Bob Burd's report, we likely would have given up here. On the left was a serious crevasse and on the right a 20-foot face he called a "Class 3/4 crack". I'll go right ahead and call it a low Class 5 face. Granted, maybe only a 5.2-5.4. Although a fall would likely not mean falling down the crevasse to your death, 20 feet of climbing means you're still pretty high up, and the North Mopahs are quite remote. It wouldn't be a good time. Matt, Tyler, and Kailey scrambled up without issue, but I requested some webbing. Though I didn't use it, it was nice to know I had the option. Thanks for the meat anchor, Tyler. ;)

The crux is fairly solid, but Tyler did rip a small rock off, so I dunno if I want to say it's solid. A few easy moves got me feeling pretty okay about it, a series of decent flat holds and rounded footholds leading most of the way up. I had pause at a somewhat overhanging hunk of rock on my left, which felt like it made the route more vertical than it was. Keeping to the right of this rock hunk, I made a light pull move and found myself at the top. I will note that descending is a lot more scary, all of us except Tyler taking our time to feel for holds. We didn't leave any webbing, mostly because there wasn't a solid anchor to pin it to. Tyler served as our meat anchor in case we needed the webbing (we didn't, but again, nice to know it's there), and he free-soloed on the descent. Just above the crux pitch was an exposed Class 3 set of moves on the broken face, and an exposed loose Class 2 slope brought us to a final Class 3 pull move and the summit block. Ultimately I'd say it's a really fun desert peak, but certainly kept my blood pumping the whole time. We all sort of dreaded the descent, except for probably Tyler, who likely was nodding with us just to fit in with us muggles.

Back at the base of Fools Point, we had a final objective for the day, Peak 3336. We descended into the drainage to the south rather than side-hilling on crap terrain, then re-ascended through a shrot section of narrows and up to the saddle to the southwest of Peak 3336. Class 2 led us most of the way to the summit. You'll note on my map that there are two lines leading to two point. We aren't sure which is higher, but likely the northern one. If that's the case, the route continues as Class 2+, wrapping around on an animal trail, ascending a slope, and finding an easy way up the steep last five feet to the knife-edge ridge. The southern point required some Class 3 up the only viable-looking route, everything else a sheer cliff. Matt and Tyler traversed between the two peaks on a scary knife-edge which I was having none of, instead wrapping around, hence the two orange lines on my attached map. There's a third high point slightly to the south, but it's definitely not as tall as the two I marked on my map.

We descended from Peak 3336 and headed into the drainage to the south, entering a wash and following it for a few miles. An old and almost fully deteriorated road popped in on the left, difficult to spot so we left a cairn, and we took this to the main (driveable for 4WD) road farther to the north. We continued along this road back to our trailhead.