Far North Upper Crest Ridgeline | Rainbow Mountain Wilderness, Nevada
The North Sandstone Peak Loop Adventure
(Find the Adventure Map, Narrative Guide and Slide Guide here.)
Scoping Out the Far North Ridgeline
Before the Adventure
Overview | Far North Upper Crest Ridgeline | Rainbow Mountain Wilderness, Nevada
For this adventure up the very North end of the Rainbow Mountains, see The North Sandstone Peak Loop.
If you’re exploring Nevada’s Rainbow Mountains from the North end at Willow Spring to the South end at Hwy 160 and Potosi Mountain, a great place to start is The North Sandstone Peak Loop. That adventure begins at the Willow Spring Picnic Area in Red Rock Canyon, circles the North base of the Rainbow Mountains in Red Rock Wash, then ascends a wild ridgeline at the Northwest edge of the Rainbow Mountains to North Sandstone Peak.
North Sandstone Peak, elevation 7,046ft, is the highest peak on the Northern end of the Rainbow Mountains. It’s only 24 feet lower than the more famous Mt. Wilson, elevation 7,071ft, the highest peak in all of the Rainbow Mountains. At the West side of North Sandstone Peak is the imposing vertical Buffalo Wall.
The brief video on this page was created when I first identified the Northwest approach ridge and made a plan to ascend it to the Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline. Since that day I have traversed and video documented the entire length of the Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline in a number of brief adventures, mostly ascending the ridgeline from Willow Spring, Lovell Canyon and Mountain Spring.
Once you’ve completed the North Sandstone Peak Loop, a great adventure on the next stretch to the South could be the North Limestone Peak Loop.
I’ve also video documented and mapped adventure routes to all the major peaks, most of the canyons and routes along the base of the Rainbow Mountains.
