Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Corkscrew Peak / Death Valley Buttes

This morning I locked down another trip to DV, this one in very early March, and have made tentative plans to include Corkscrew Peak and Death Valley Buttes in my hiking itinerary. I've not done either one before, and they both appear to be easy 3rd class routes that look pretty intriguing. I would appreciate any beta from folks who are familiar with either one of these routes. Thanks!

I don't know anything about these peaks, but here is some information:
Corkscrew Peak
Death Valley Buttes

'Preciate that Bob. I actually found several webpages with photo journals of both, as well as the SummitPost pages, before I posted here. The problem is that I've read conflicting information about the approaches and difficulty level (they're both trail-less route-finding). I do know that Corkscrew's difficulty level can go way up if approached incorrectly. I was hoping that there were board members who might have done one or both of these, and could offer some first-hand info or advice.

If not, I'll go with what I've got and figure it out.

Thanks man!

There are 7 different sets of Corkscrew pictures in Bob R's Flickr albums.

Thanks Steve. Bob is actually the one who recommended it to me last year. He said it was his favorite climb in DV. I haven't seen him post on the boards in a while, so maybe I'll shoot him a PM.

Gary:

I should have known you had checked all the easy sources before posting your question. I'm guessing that both peaks can be done class 2 if your route finding is right on. The higher ratings probably reflect intentionally or unintentionally missing the easiest route. I'll be getting my "Geezer Pass" in a few weeks, so I might go check it out.

Bob

Now that's beta I would absolutely trust!

Gary -

I've done Corkscrew several times, and will be doing it again next Wednesday. Using the "standard" route, there's no class 3, not even close. I have a GPS track of it on Wikiloc here, and it contains a brief description of the hike.

BobR has several other routes, some of which may be class 3, but have not taken any of them. Let me know if you have any questions.

Hey, good stuff Kevin - thanks! Your route description describes a footpath/trail heading up out of the ravine. Sounds like this approach is pretty straightforward all the way to the summit?

Yes, it's pretty straightforward, especially after finding the right ravine to begin the climb. There are several ravines across the alluvial fan - look for the one towards the top of the fan with the 10' round boulder. Once you start in, you should see a footbed, and occasional duck (cairn). After a few hundred yards there's a larger cairn, on the left. You squeeze between a couple of boulders, and the path becomes more obvious. If you're one of the first ones up in the fall (too hot in summer) this path may be indistinct, but by March it should be rather pronounced.

On the return, you won't be able to see your vehicle until you're nearly there. If you cross the fan too high, you'll run into multiple deep ravines. If this happens, just head downhill, and then angle towards the road. There's a kiosk about a mile below where most park, and occasionally you can see it glint in the sun on the return. I use this as a visual. I also have my GPS loaded with a track so I can verify the route if necessary.

There's a group of us who hike on Wednesdays, and Corkscrew is a favorite despite its long drive. We promised one of the guys that if he couldn't make it, we'd divert and do Towne instead, saving Corkscrew for a later date. In any case, I'll update this thread.

I definitely like the alternate routes up - gives a chance to hit "Little Corkscrew" while up there.

Corkscrew album

Good info Kevin - exactly what I was looking for. Have a good time there next week!

Tom, I should probably re-phrase that comment about the difficulty of Corkscrew going up if approached "incorrectly" - that should read "more aggressively" . The summit register box must be hard to find, huh?

Sounds like Corkscrew and DV Buttes can be combined into a one-day fun-fest, since they're only a very, very short distance from each other on Daylight Pass Road. Looking forward to it!

Well ... perhaps for you, but for me - when I'm headed back across the smallish alluvial fan towards my truck, what's on my mind is how good that adult beverage is going to taste! Corkscrew has some steep sections, even on the easiest route.

I was curious where you might have gotten the idea that Corkscrew and DV Buttes are a single day, so I went looking and found this on Summit Post - "Additionally, the Buttes, which are so accessible and short that even the average hiker could do the roundtrip in 2 hours, can be coupled with Corkscrew Peak for a very rewarding half day of Death Valley hiking" (emphasis added) which is one of the reasons I rarely put much stock in Summit Post. Often too much hubris and exaggeration for my tastes. That SP statement is total horse sheet.

There are lots of great hikes in DV. For me, when I'm hiking solo, doing Class 3 stuff is an unacceptable risk, but that's just me. I'm more of a hiker than a climber.

Hope this helps.

Kevin

Yep Kevin, that SummitPost page is exactly where I got that idea. I wondered about that after reading that Corkscrew is 3300 feet of gain and the Buttes are 1000, both being described as class 3. I'm mostly a hiker also, so I'm with ya there!

Guess I'll split 'em up. Thanks!

A group of us did Corkscrew yesterday, and based upon that I revised my Wikiloc entry. Unfortunately, this BB's software won't let me revise my previous post above to reflect the correct link, so use the one in this thread as a reference instead of the one above. The reason I revised it is that the waypoint marked the wrong place for the mouth of the "black canyon/round boulder". I also added some photos, one which contains information on finding the parking area beside the state highway, and another a visual of the "black canyon".

For the most part, the threadway is well-defined after leaving the deep ravine, and finding the way up is fairly straightforward, as mostly you can see the trail from below. Any difficulties will be about .5 miles below the summit on the decent, as you pass thru a moderate rock band. No problems finding your way up, but do note the small rock cairns at the top of the band as they're not as obvious on the way down.

It was a great hike with long views and a cool breeze. Total elevation gain was 3,550 over 3.8 miles.

Kevin, I really appreciate the follow-up and detail - we'll certainly use it! 1000 ft gain per mile - steep, but sounds like fun. Looking forward to it!

There are a variety of routes to Corkscrew's summit. Here is a description of the easiest which does not seem to be in any guidebook. All GPS coordinates are UTM NAD27.

Park along Daylight Pass Rd. A good spot is near the signed service road at 502470 4064703. Do not hike directly towards the peak. Instead, hike to the right of the peak through a very wide wash to where it splits at about 502122 4067655. There is a large light colored boulder here that is visible on Google Earth. Take the left fork. Here is a picture of the split. The boulder is at the left.



Hike up the left fork for a few hundred feet. It quickly narrows. On your left, you will come to a small gully marked by numerous cairns.



The gully goes a short distance and dead ends. On the north wall of the gully, you will see a use trail leading up and out. Here is a picture looking back to the gully. You can see the wash you entered in the upper center of the picture and the use trail is obvious.



From there, follow the use trail (faint at times) and many cairns up a ridge to a rock band. The use trail passes through the rock band at an easy point. Above the rock band, the use trail is easy to follow to the summit. The route is pretty much class 1.

To avoid confusion - in looking at the pictures it appears to be the same route I described above. Your picture shows the "black canyon" - this was how it was described to a friend of mine by the locals in Beatty, and it's an accurate description. If you compare your picture with mine in the Wikiloc link, you'll see they're the same. There's only one class I exit from that little canyon - shortly beyond the left turn is a dry waterfall which requires rock climbing skills.

Kevin, that's some awesome detail. I truly appreciate your effort in getting this to me. Neither of the two DV guidebooks I've always used have any entries for Corkscrew - and that surprises me with the Digonnet guide, 'cuz the damn thing weighs 5 pounds!

I'll definitely collate this info and use it in March. It appears catpappy is going to head out there with me, so we'll have at least two sets of eyes on the terrain.

I would not neccesarily agree that to be the easiest or the easiest to find way up. Although it is listed route in Zdon's guidebook. The easier way up is to aim for the V-notch that lies between Corskcrew and the small "little corkscrew" to the left. From the ridge of the "v-notch" continue to follow the ascending ridgeline(class II) all the way to the summit. As for descent, I agree that the route Kevin posted is easy to negotiate and follow and makes for a quick descent. This makes a great loop hike.

Digonnet has some surprising omissions: Corkscrew Peak, Sidewinder Canyon, and Furnace Slot Canyon. The most comprehensive guide is Steve Hall's web site www.panamintcity.com. Steve is in the process of covering seemingly every square inch of Death Valley.

Andy Zdon's book describes a different route from the one that Kevin R and I posted. Zdon's route is the same as in the Sierra Club's Desert Peaks Section. Bob R has posted many trip reports over the years with other routes including one that started from Titus Canyon and included Thimble Peak as well.

Tom - Would you have a GPS track/series of waypoints you could email me regarding that ascent route? Even though I've done it 6 times in the three years since I first climbed it, others like you and Bob R. have much more experience on it than I. Given the long drive from RC/IYK (4 hours RT) and short winter days, there's not too much slack for exploring. And I can verify Zdon's comment that some of the small canyons have dry waterfalls that just don't go, including the one just west (uphill) from the "black canyon".

In terms of hiking times - our group of 5 did it this week in a bit under 6 hours, and that included about 45 minutes for lunch. Not too bad for geezers drawing Social Security, but no record either. Still, with 3,550' elevation gain, we aren't couch potatoes.

Hi Kevin -

I think you old geezers get up and down just fine. As far as tracks, I have lost some of mine over the last year. I can approximate if you want a rough idea. I should be back up there sometime in the next month also.

The route I was posting may not be any easier on the difficulty, but I think it is much easier in a "route finding" kind of way. The first time we Bob H. and a few of us attempted to find our way up, we followed some of the previous known route descriptions. It felt like work to get to the best place into and out of drainage. At times we were not on the route. Once we had ascened a certain elevation above the drainage we got on route and it became obvious were to go from there. We did not always feel like the route was intuitive(IOHO), higher up it was easy to stay on and you could always see where you were going ahead. Descending it is obvious where to follow and in the years following the trail and ducks have become more used and more marked.

The alternate route I was discussing seems more easy to follow in a "navigation" sort of way. From cars - aim for V-notch. You always keep this V-notch in sight as you cross the desert. As you get closer, you see where to begin an ascent off the valley floor with well used "use trails". I look for the green area of a small spring off the valley floor. Once at the top of the V-notch, you are on a ridge line. From there - it is straight forward - go up in along what a appears to be obvious high point of ridge line. You merge with other trails at the keyhole rock. This is approximately 5-10 minutes below the summit.

Kevin, Richard, Tom - I appreciate all of this great detail! It sounds as if Tom's route up and Kevin's route down would make a great loop day. Since catpappy and I will be camping at Texas Spring, we'll have a lot more daylight to poke around the routes and explore a bit more than you guys who spend the extra hours driving up from the Ridgecrest area.

By the way, any snow on the peak? The last time I hiked DV in very early March, the snowline seemed to be at about 7500 feet, so I wasn't planning on bringing Yaks.

Also, anyone familiar with DV Buttes? It looks to be a short scramble, and I've read a couple of internet journals that say it's well worth the 3-4 hours or so spent doing it, but I'd appreciate any first-hand opinions. Most of my DV hiking in the past has been concentrated in the Panamint, Black and Greenwater ranges. I've done nothing north of Stovepipe Wells other than Ubehebe and Keane Wonder Mine, so I'm looking forward to hitting some new territory. This is one damn big park!

One other thing - the Albatross crash site near Towne Peak. Anyone done that trek? It looks like it would be a long day, but do-able in a day. My real concern is whether it might still be snowy at that elevation the first week of March.

No snow on Corkscrew - dry as a bone. Have not done the DV Buttes, but they dominate the western view when you first start up Corkscrew.

Only snow visible is on the Panamints, like Telescope. And of course Charleston and the Sierra. Still early, though, as your trip is 5 or 6 weeks away.

I've not done Towne, but know that Tom has. I've been told it's not a long hike.

The Albatross crash site is only 4 miles from Townes Pass, with a total climb of just over 4000 feet round trip. You'll have to watch weather reports to be sure, but I have never had to deal with snow there in March.

Great day yesterday on Corkscrew with 11 of us summiting in gorgeous weather. One helluva group: catpappy, MooseTracks, SierraGator, Tomcat, SoCalGirl, Bob Pickering, Bob Rockwell, Harlan Stockman, and Dave G. Big thanks to Laura, Bob P, Harlan and Chris for making the long drives to join us. Had a blast!

Bob, sorry I didn't catch you to say bye before you left. Hope your wife has a great birthday!

Gary:

I'm sorry I couldn't wait. It was 370 miles back to Reno. I got home in time to put all my stuff away, give the horses their grain, and take a shower before bed.

It was fun climbing with everyone, even if catpappy is a Georgia Tech fan.

Keep in touch and I'll try to climb a day or two with you when you're here this summer.

Bob

Any real displays of wildflowers yet? A group of us are headed over Wednesday to do Fall Canyon (it uses the Titus Canyon TH) and was hoping they'd start to bloom.

Bob, it's all good - loved the UGA shirt you wore for the hike! Look forward to seeing you again this summer.

Kevin, not a wildflower in sight yet - dammit!

I hope SierraGator won't mind... here's a picture of his from your hike.



Looks like everyone had a good time!

Thanks Steve - I tried to view it with my BB on Facebook, but no luck. That was a really fun group to hike with. Between John and I we have a lot of great photos of this trip. TR coming when I get back home.

Did DV Buttes today with John, so we got some nice Class 3 in this trip. I highly recommend this climb to anyone who hasn't done it - hike, scree ski, and exposed climbing all in a sweet 3-hour out and back. Great views of the Valley and Corkscrew Peak.

I've been wanting to do this hike for a long time.Looks like a great day and a good bunch of people to hike with.I'm soooooo out of the loop.

Thor, both Corkscrew and the Buttes were very worthwhile climbs. The company we had for Corkscrew made that pretty special - a fun group, with a few uber-mountaineering resumes to boot.

Participate in the message board and you'll find yourself looped-in. That's how I met almost everyone over the past couple of years that wound up in this group hike. And I'm 2000 miles away!

Bulldog34,I hear you and you are correct.I have in the past hiked with several people that were on this hike but we've lost touch which is my fault.Plus I totally got tired of the bs on the other board and all kinds of other things going on in life.I am making an attempt to get back to my old ways of going to the Sierra atleast once a month so I'll be back

Thor... if I'd known you wanted to go I woulda called you!!! I even would have driven!!! I will definately keep it in mind for next time!! Promise!

Chris,
If I had known this hike was happening I would have driven up too but that's the way it goes.I've been wanting to get back to Death Valley for a couple of years outside of my last hike to Telescope Peak.Like I said I'll try to do better at staying in the loop.