W7U/TO-065 Tetzlaff Peak

 This peak is on the same ridge as Rishel Peak, which I had done a few days earlier. The trailhead for this hike is a bit past that of Rishel's. Some maps call the road to start on Prospect Road, but it goes north on the west side of the peak. With a sedan, I had to park at the base and walk up. 

View of the peak on the way up. 

The peak is not easy to pick out from the start, but a little ways up the road you can easily pick it out. There is a cliff on the east side of the peak.

Take the road until you are about level with the peak, then step off and start heading up to the ridge. The ridge that goes directly to the summit looked too steep, so I took the next one north. This was a reasonable choice.

Final ridge is a knife edge. I operated from the base of that snowy climb.

It wasn't too bad going up, but there was a section that was quite steep and all scree. I was able to get up and down it, but you may be able to find a better route. I had gone up this section because the crest of the ridge looked like it had a lot of cliffs. When I got to the ridge, the wind really picked up.

Operating at the top of a cliff on the north side.

The rest of the walk up was straightforward. The last part of the ridge is a knife-edge. I was able to get partway along it, but the last part seemed too spicy. I probably would have attempted it if it wasn't so cold, snowy, and windy. I was, however, already in the activation zone, so I sat behind a rock out of the wind and got set up.

I had good cell service. I used the MFJ whip, since there was no easy way to set up a wire in the wind on such a narrow summit. The bands where in good shape, or at least 20m was, and I got plenty of contacts without much effort. I even got France and Slovenia! Once I had been up for about 20 minutes I packed up before I got cold. 

Walking out the road, almost back to the car.

The hike down was fine. The steep scree was not super fun, but I was able to get down safely. It was much less windy off the ridge, and I quickly warmed up once I got moving. Overall, this was a fun hike, and a nice activation.

Trailhead: Silver Island Road and Prospect Road junction. With a jeep you could drive much closer. Prospect Road runs north along the west side of the summit ridge.

Website: SOTA Site.

Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.

Route: Hike up the road to the ridge just north of the summit, then follow the spur ridge to the main ridge, then to the summit.

Red Tape: None, all BLM land.

Video: Coming soon!

W7U/TO-066 Rishel Peak

 This unactivated peak is on the Utah side of the border near Wendover, and is an interesting hike. The dirt road that drives around the base of the mountains is well maintained, and my sedan had no trouble getting to the start point. I hiked up from south east of the peak, where a lower quality dirt road starts going up the slope. 

Starting up the road. Rishel on the left.

I walked up the dirt road. If you had a jeep or similar you could drive much closer to the base. After passing the small peak on the right, I took the road to the right. Around the spot where the road ends on the map I stepped off and started heading to the north col. This starts out relatively easy and flat, but gets steeper as you get closer.

Looking towards the salt flats.

I had to sidehill across some small spurs. At the base I found a chute filled with scree that lead up to the col on the ridge. I hiked up this. It was steep and unpleasant, but not too difficult. On the ridge the wind really picked up, so I didn't slow down too much. The first part of the ridge climb is the steepest, from the col up to the sub-peak. I generally stayed to the left (south) of the ridge crest, since this seemed like there were fewer cliffs to navigate there. As a bonus, since it was south facing it had less snow. I don't know if it actually was better, but I made it up and down on this side.

Just below the summit.

The final climb up to the peak was significantly easier than the first part. Here I stayed on the ridge, to try and avoid the snow. The summit has a reasonably sized flat area. I was worried I'd get blown away, but it was surprisingly calm on top. I set up on the lee side nonetheless. There was great cell service. Like on the other peaks in the area, I just used the whip antenna for easy setup. The bands were in great shape, and I had no problem getting contacts. It was still cold, though, so I didn't spend too long on top. 

Summit ridge with view.

I retraced my steps to get back down. Going down was much quicker, though some of the steeper sections were a bit unpleasant. Back at the car some of the snow that had been on the road had melted, but the road was still easy to drive back out to the freeway.

Trailhead: Silver Island Road and Lower Rishel Peak Road junction. Google has a "Rishel Peak Campground" marker here.

Website: SOTA Site.

Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.

Route: Hike up to the north col, then follow the north ridge to the summit.

Red Tape: None, all BLM land.

Video: Coming soon!

W7N/ES-122 Leppy Peak

 I was in town for work (why else would someone go to Wendover?), and had some time off, so naturally it was time for SOTA. The first peak I chose was Leppy Peak. This peak is on the Nevada side of the border, just north of Wendover. There is a dirt road that goes up between this peak an one on the border. I was able to drive up to a road junction (40.7603, -114.0671) in the Corolla the rental company had given me. I parked here. If you have a better vehicle you could drive closer.

Parking spot. Some views of the extensive salt flats.

From the car I began walking up the road. It was cool, and the wind was really blowing. As I climbed, however, I entered a canyon which blocked the wind, making it noticeably warmer. There was also some snow still in the canyon. It was only a few inches deep, but there were random spots where the crust would fail and I'd sink in.

Nice views looking towards Utah. Volcano Peak is the dark one in the center.

As the road begins its final climb up to a pass, I turned right and headed up a canyon. There is a small spur that splits the canyon. I went up one side and down the other, neither seemed significantly better than the other. On the ridge, I followed it towards the summit. Before the final climb you have a choice to stay high and take the south ridge, or drop down slightly and take the next ridge north. I thought it would be better to not lose elevation, but this was the wrong decision.

The south ridge, which goes up to a sub-peak, has a lot of small cliffs that you have to climb over on the way up. This wouldn't be so bad, but the rock is very rough, and there was some snow on the steep sides. I would not recommend this route. 

Summit cairn. No register, at least that I could find.

I did make it up the south ridge. On the summit ridge, just below the peak, I saw two bighorn sheep. On the summit there is a small cairn and some old wood. I took a few pics before dropping down the lee side of the hill to try and get out of the wind. This may have helped, but it was still very cold and windy up there. Since I was cold, I just used the small whip on the KX3 so I could set up quickly.

Operating on the summit.

I had good cell service on top, no issues spotting or texting. The bands weren't in great shape, but I made my contacts quickly nevertheless. I was getting cold in the wind, so I didn't stick around long. On the way down I took the "north ridge", which goes down directly from the summit. This route was much better than my ascent route. It was mostly dirt, with only one small cliffy area that I was easily able to go around. At the bottom I had a short climb up to the ridge, then back down the canyon to the road, then the car. 

Trailhead: Road junction south of the peak, about (40.7603, -114.0671). Those of you with jeeps or trucks could easily drive farther up the road.

Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Follow the road up until the final climb before the pass. Turn right, take the canyon up to the ridge. Take the ridge that leads directly to the summit, just north of the one you're on.
Red Tape: None, all BLM land.
Video: Coming soon!