Bridge Mountain and North Peak

View from Bridge Mountain

Bridge Mountain and North Peak
Red Rock Canyon NCA, Nevada
April 24, 2010
Distance: 11.5 km (7.1 mi)
Cumulative Elevation Gain: 1014 m (3327 ft)

When I emailed our friend Shin in Las Vegas for information on climbing Bridge Mountain, he took it a step further and offered to take Dinah and me up. He also invited some of his friends: Malia, Jon, Jerry, Marianne and Andy.

There are a few approaches for Bridge Mountain, but Shin chose a less popular route whose trailhead is a few kilometres up Rocky Gap Road. The road is too rough for regular cars, but Jon and Jerry drove us up in their 4X4 vehicles.

After parking our vehicles, we hiked up the road a short way and then left it to ascend a wash. We scrambled up the steep wash and reached the ridge crest. Here we got our first view of Bridge Mountain, although still far off. A long hike and plenty of downclimbing lay ahead before we arrived at the base of the summit, but not before losing nearly 200 m of elevation.

We scrambled up a crack in the rock face and then traversed left to reach the arch that gives the mountain its name. After going under the arch, we climbed to a high point before the summit. Much to everyone's amusement, Andy skinny-dipped in a large tank below the summit.

After Andy's dip, we continued to the summit of Bridge Mountain. We lingered long under cobalt skies in warm weather before starting back. But en route, we took a side trip to climb another peak. Although North Peak is a few metres higher than Bridge, it calls for a little effort since we had to regain 200 m to the ridge crest. Afterwards, Shin led us down a trail to the cars.

Bridge Mountain was everything Dinah and I expected and more. And we count ourselves fortunate to have climbed it in good company.

MOVIE
KML and GPX Tracks
Shin's Photos