Overview | Lee Peak from Lee Canyon | Mt. Charleston Wilderness | Spring Mountains, Nevada
Discovery of a Weather Station on the North Ridge of Kyle Canyon
Lee Peak summit from
Lee Canyon is an adventure I started to explore in late Summer of 2019. I’ll return at some point to make the
Lee Peak from
Lee Canyon summit. However, I hear the stretch heading straight up the side of
Lee Peak from
Lee Canyon is very challenging. I first became curious about this approach when I discovered a
snotel weather station only about 200ft from the
upper North Loop Trail. I was at that time traveling the direct approach along the top of the
North Ridge of Kyle Canyon from the upper
North Loop Trail to
Mummy Mountain. Mistaking the
snotel weather station for an abandoned ski lift tower I thought this might be an indication that this was at one time the top of a ski run that descended to the Lee Canyon ski area, and thus a potential route from
Lee Canyon to
Lee Peak.
Locating the Weather Station on the North Ridge of Kyle Canyon
Where is the
snotel weather station on the
North Ridge of Kyle Canyon? If you’re descending the upper
North Loop Trail from
Lee Peak you’ll first encounter a series of steep switchbacks. Following that there is a one-mile stretch where the trail gently rises and falls, then levels out for about 1/2 mile before reaching a small plateau overlook of
Kyle Canyon then descending toward the base of
Mummy Mountain. At that point just about 1/8th mile
before the plateau where trail sharply descends toward
Mummy Mountain take a left off the trail about 100ft to reach the top of the
North Ridge of Kyle Canyon.
Top-Down Exploration from the Weather Station on the North Ridge of Kyle Canyon
I have not yet done a top-down exploration from the
snotel weather station, but will attempt that during an upcoming Summer. I have viewed the area both from
Lee Peak,
Mummy Mountain summit and from
below in Lee Canyon. It looks as though there is a ridge that descends diagonally from the ski tower location in an Eastern direction to the base of
Lee Canyon, and that this is the likely
route between Lee Canyon and Lee Peak. I worked out this route a couple years later. The ridge itself, unlike a wash, may likely be relatively free of boulders, brush and obstacles, and there may even be an old trail there since it appears to be a fairly natural, gradual approach to the top of the
North Ridge of Kyle Canyon. Once you reach the
snotel weather station from
Lee Canyon it is a simple route to take the upper
North Loop Trail to the top of
Lee Peak.
Bottom-Up Approach from Lee Canyon to the Weather Station on the North Ridge of Kyle Canyon
I’ve attempted another approach from
Lee Canyon to Lee Peak that appears to ascend more directly up
Lee Canyon following the Eastern ski run then continuing upward (see the videos on this page). That approach does not look as good since once you reach the top of the ski run you enter in a boulder and brush-clogged wash, and it appears there might be some more vertical stretches near the top. On the other hand the ridge mentioned above appears more gradual.
