Hello and some trip reports Jan 22

[Daymoth]

If you pass the chockstone, things are very narrow, pretty, and twisty, but only for a short time.  

Oh the bypass looks promising. I need to go back.

[Daymoth]

Right last installment

So ive been wanting to go up to the area around artist palette peak - botax benchmark - blue mountain for maybe 3 years now and ive spent quite some time on google maps checking it out. I dont remember where I read the first beta, maybe the old forum? Maybe Steve hall?

However, the last day was reserved as adventure day to try to get up there. Best case we would make it, worst case we would get lost and have to overnight in the badlands. No expectations, just exploring.

I had two options to try:
Option 1- Stav's route up 20 mule canyon. Problem: "Crumbly  Class 3" as described by a beast of a climber and we are objectively shit at it.
Option 2- Kauri's chuckwalla canyon. Problem, the dryfall that looked very different in different years reports looked daunting.
I asked Stav for some more beta and he kindly sent me photos of the hardest obstacle. In the photos it looked easy peasy. Hah damn you 2 dimensions!

So we started early morning and went up 20 mule. Saw some borax mine shafts. The canyon was golden and gorgeous



At the first obstacle we got a bit disoriented and instead of climbing up the dryfall we went up a steep crumbly chute on the side of Monte Blanco. I was hoping it was some sort of bypass but we totally cliffed out. Nice views tho:


Descending was slow going with the ground flowing under our feet. My husband made it clear how he hated every minute of it. Once back down we climbed the dryfall, that was actually easy.

Second obstacle was quite fun. It took us quite some time to figure out (refer to shit at climbing), but we managed after attempting several different ways.


Finally we made it to the obstacle from Stav' s photo. Welp, we wimped out. It was harder than it looked. We tried to bypass it but the rock was just flowing like liquid. Husband was tired from the crumbly chute so we decided to abort. 
The badlands were shining with glittery white borax on the way out





Will try again next time on the Kauri route or try again this route now that we know how to do the first 2 obstacles. This is going to be my project for a while I guess!

We started driving the long way back home, and got to see a group of these cuties making a commotion in the middle of the road to Trona


And now it feels like its been AGES since I was there and so need some more vacation.

Hope you enjoyed.

[Kauri]

Is the dryfall you're referring to in my reports the one on page 4 of:
http://kaurijacobphotography.yolasite.co...chmark.pdf

If so, I you might be able to combine my "Chuckwalla" route and the last part of Stav's route. (Admittedly, I don't know that I'd climb those dryfall's in 20 Mule Team Canyon). I haven't done it, and I can't tell from Google Earth whether it'd work (possible issues at the fork with 20 Mule Team Canyon).

Instead of turning left up the side-drainage just before the problematic dryfall in my route, continue down the more major wash, until it reaches 20 Mule Team Canyon; then turn left and go up the more major fork of 20 Mule Team Canyon.

Again, I don't know if this would work (it might even be more challenging than the dryfall you've mentioned if there are obstacles closer to 20 Mule Team Canyon), but it could be worth a try. I do remember that dryfall varied a lot in difficulty year to year and even though it often looks harder than it is the rock is loose and so anything you grab could crumble off.

[Daymoth]

Thats the one yes.

I dont think I follow your alternative since I dont know where exacly the fall is. Isnt your chuckwalla route bearing kinda right all the way until you reach the fork with 20 mule south of monte blanco? I dont know where you mean the left side canyon.

This is where we turned around aprox.



I think we just have to go and try different options until one works. Fun little project!

[Kauri]

Got it, thanks for the circled point on the map! I'd mis-remembered Stav's route and thought he took a side-canyon of 20 Mule Team Canyon going to the west before the spot you got stopped.

The problematic dryfall on my route is just west of the sharp bend in the dashed red line that's south-south-east of the circled spot on that map. So even if you get through the 20 Mule Team Canyon area dryfalls, unfortunately you'll still encounter this dryfall. 

It's possible that somewhere between the turnoff to the side canyon that has the problematic dryfall, and where you got stopped in 20 Mule Team Canyon, there might be another route up to the area below Borax. I'm not sure.

Definitely an addicting area to explore!

[Daymoth]

Oohhh but at least it means we can get a bit farther your way!

Defenetly trying it next time. Unfortunately with these temps that might have to be next winter...

Edit to add, we went the way Stav descended, so you might not be mistemembering

[MojaveGeek]

Oh the bypass looks promising. I need to go back.

This is pretty funny.  For other reasons, I was just looking at a John Morrow TR on nwhikers from 2017 about a DV trip, and he got way further up Redwall than I did, and it looks pretty cool up there! 

http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8026169

His map also shows the bypass route, in blue.  (hope you don't mind me posting this, John).

[MojaveGeek]

With respect to the Borax BM area... I first heard of it from Kauri. I don't recall if it was she or I who first hyped the Blue Mountain - we saw it on a gorgeous sunny day and were blown away. We tried to go down via 20 Mule Team following the base of Monte Bello and decided it was beyond us to go down the area circled in the above map. Plus it was late and we were not sure what we'd find below, or if we could climb back up. So we went back they way we had come.

If you take Kauri's route you need to go way back almost to the headwall, well beyond Monte Bello on your right. Then you turn right and go up drainages in the badlands. If you go too far left at the various forks, you climb higher than you need, but it is hard to pick the proper fork, and it gets rather steep at the end. But well worth it. I took photos of some of the forks on the way down, but when I went back a few years later (first time was 2012) I headed too far left as well.

I know John has gotten up from 20 Mule Team, but I also know that his scrambling ability exceeds mine significantly at this point.

[Kauri]

Geek, you deserve 100% of the credit for the initial excitement about Blue Mountain

[Daymoth]

Woah geek thanks for the link to Johns report! Super useful intel on both the places I want to revisit

Is it worth attempting the Corkskew route to get to borax/BM area? ( i mean other than for the canyon itself wich looks pretty awesome tresspassing or not...). I thought the top required some "atmospheric"  climbing.