Frenchman Mtn: Las Vegas, Nevada

[WalksWithBlackflies]

This past February, I was in the Vegas area for 8 days... half of which I spent hiking. On a whim, I decided to climb Frenchman as a quick, early morning hike. I wasn't expecting much from this small mountain, but I was pleasantly surprised:

http://www.summitpost.org/show/trip_report.pl/mountain_id/981/trip_report_id/1970

 

[audrey]

Nice pictures. It looks like a very worthy destination, although the knife edge might deter some of us. I'm headed out there next week. I'm hoping for some good flower display - that little cactus looks unusual, or perhaps that is its winter garb.

 

[dentonfabrics]

There are some incredible hikes in the Vegas area. Two of the best dayhikes are Turtlehead Peak (http://www.hikinglasvegas.com/images/Red Rock/turtlehead peak.JPG) in Red Rock (5 mi r/t, ~2000' gain) and Fortification Hill (http://birdandhike.com/Hike/LAME/Fort_Hill/Fort_Hill.htm in AZ, less than an hour from the strip, a few miles past the dam. The views from either of these summits are awesome.

I have the trail directions for Turtlehead if anyone's interested. Email me and I'll forward them to you.

thanks,
denton fabrics

 

[WalksWithBlackflies]

Dentonfabrics -

I climbed Turtlehead, Turtlehead Jr., and Calico Hills when I was in Red Rock. My original goal was Bridge Mtn, but snow/ice turned me away. Turtlehead was a nice Class II hike, Jr. was a Class III scramble, and Calico was a Class III/IV climb. I'd definitely recommend all three. Attached are photos of and from Turtlehead.

I was thinking of climbing Fortification Hill, but ran out of time.

Nice thing about Nevada is you can "bushwhack" just about anywhere.

 

[audrey]

I second the Fortification Hill hike. The top was very windy, but we found a quiet niche with an incredible view of Lake Mead and the dam. There were many varieties of flowers blooming there, early last May, especially at the steep section before the summit plateau.