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E Bowl (moderate to steep snow)
References: summitpost.org
| Greys Peak is the northernmost summit in the Humboldt Range in eastern Nevada. Starting around Memorial Day it is easily accessible from Angel Lake at 8,378'. It is more of a climb than one might expect, with some third-class rock and/or quite steep snow with moats, depending on the route. Despite its modest elevation it towers 5,000' above Wells, NV, which makes for great views from the summit. |
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| Topo Map | ||
| Routes:
E Ridge (I, 2nd or 3rd class or/and moderate snow)
E Bowl (moderate to steep snow)
References: summitpost.org |
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Date: June 18, 2017
Party: DB solo
Route: E Bowl
Equipment: AT skis, whippets, crampons
Time: Angel Lake - Summit 3 1/2 hrs
Summit - Angel Lake 1 hr
Roundtrip from Angel Lake 5 hrs
Comments: The bushwhacking approach around the lake takes more time than one might think.
Trip report:
Trip report: On my ascent in 2016 I had found more and better snow than I had expected, so I was determined to ski Greys Peak this time. For this purpose the East Bowl is a more suitable route than any ridge, and so I decided to go straight up the bowl, figuring I could always cut left high on an escape ramp if the corniced top looked too daunting. The bushwhack around the lake took a surprising amount of time, but finally I hit the snow and started skinning, only to switch to crampons about half an hour later. The escape ramps didn't look much less steep than the bowl itself, but more exposed, and so I kept going straight up towards the only spot on the ridge that had no cornice. After topping out it was a short hike to the summit with its spectacular views. I made sure to stay off of the monster cornice that I had admired on the way up.
I hiked down to the snow, put on my skies, slid down to the point where I had topped out, and contemplated things for a while. The snow was a bit slushy up there, and I doubted that I would like to make turns in that stuff at that angle (maybe 40 degrees). I didn't feel like downclimbing either, however, and so I decided to make a descending traverse to lower-angled terrain. That worked fine, but I set off slides, and stopping was not easy, and I was NOT tempted to turn on the first 300 or so vertical feet. Pretty soon the snow got firmer, though, I started linking turns, and 15 minutes later I was back to the snow line, despite several stops for taking photos.
After reversing the bushwhack I got to the lake excactly 5 hours after I had started. As I suspected, I had left my car unlocked, but all of my electronic equipment was still there. It was a very nice last ski trip for the season, and I finally skied a Great Basin summit!
Date: June 4, 2016
Party: DB solo
Route: E Ridge
Equipment: Whippets
Time: Angel Lake - Summit 3 hrs
Summit - Angel Lake 2 hrs
Roundtrip from Angel Lake 5 hrs 30 mins
Comments: The whippets came very handy
Trip report:
Trip report: I had wanted to climb Greys Peak for years, but for some reason I never budgeted an extra night while driving to Colorado; this year I finally did. The road to Angel Lake was open, and the snow line was just above the lake, but there was more snow on the mountain than I exepected. I contemplated taking skis, but decided against it, figuring the snow would be very suncupped (it wasn't). So I set out in leather boots, bushwhacking my way up to gain the East Ridge above the lake (where I had been before), and followed the ridge. There was at least one section that was definitely third class. Once I reached about 9,800' the snow could no longer be avoided, and I kicked steps to the saddle just south of Greys Peak. To my surprise, the snow was rather good. Soon thereafter I was on the summit and enjoyed the views. On the way down I decided to avoid the third class by dropping into the bowl between the East Ridge and Chimney Rock. That avoided the rock alright, but forced me onto surprisingly steep snow, pulling away from even steeper rock, and clearly harboring very deep moats in places. I faced in for several sections, thanked Black Diamond for whippets, and was extra careful to not punch into a moat while kicking steps. Ironically, on skis this part would have been much safer in addition to being more enjoyable. Besides, the bowl proper also would have made a good ski descent, and it's accessible from the saddle in the ridge at around 10,000', which lets one avoid the corniced uppermost part. It cliffs out at the bottom, but one can escape to skier's left. Oh, well, so I have another project in Nevada! After bushwhacking back down to the lake (which would NOT have been fun with skis) I sat at the lake for a while, and then drove back down to my camp at Angel Creek (the Angel Lake campground does not open until late June). Very nice trip!