Overview – Mummy’s Nose Final Summit Approach from Deer Creek Road | Mt. Charleston Wilderness, Nevada

Take a beautiful alpine route from Deer Creek Road to the spectacular summit of Mummy’s Nose in the Mt. Charleston Wilderness, Nevada. Mummy’s Nose is a prominent 10,700ft summit with an incredible 360-degree view! This unique route focuses on the final stretch navigating the cliffs to the summit. Some of the adventure highlights include:

• Most Direct Approach: The most direct approach to the canyon’s Western ridgeline and Mummy’s Nose summit
• Bristlecone Pine Forest: Traverse through a large forest of ancient Bristlecone Pines at the base of the Mummy’s Nose Cliffs
• Beautiful Limestone Setting: Weaving up and around through the final approach with its beautiful combination of limestone cliffs and ledges dotted with ancient Bristlecone Pines
• 360-Degree View: Spectacular 360-degree views from the approach ridges and the prominent summit!

All Mummy’s Nose Adventures on LasVegasAreaTrails.com

Try them out. Each one is a unique adventure with its own unique route!

• Mummy’s Nose Final Summit Approach from Deer Creek Road
• Mummy’s Nose Eastern Ridge from Deer Creek Road
• Mummy’s Nose North Alpine Loop from Deer Creek Road
• Mummy’s Nose Summit from Lee Canyon

Route Summary

From the Catch Pen Loop Trailhead on Deer Creek Road, ascend Forest Rd. 092 and the beautiful Western Approach Ridgeline to the summit cliffs. Then navigate the final half-mile to the summit on a class 3 rock scrambling route. You’ll weave between rugged limestone and ancient Bristlecone Pines. Though there is some scary exposure on the limestone ledges beneath the summit, there’s nothing technical. It’s mostly a walk with a few brief but tricky rock scrambles. The reward at the summit is well worth the effort. Surprisingly, I found the descent to be much easier than the ascent! Where the ascent was on the Western side of the canyon, the descent was on the Eastern side of the canyon.

Difficulty Factor

This route is mostly a class 2 walk, though up some steep loose rock pathless slopes in many places. There is a brief class 3 (use of hands required) limestone ledge with some significant exposure to ascend immediately above the Bristlecone Pine forest. This positions you to circle around to the South (opposite) side of Mummy’s Nose to continue on to the summit. Once you top that ledge it’s again a class 2 (steep) walk the rest of the way to the summit, and there’s a nice trail to follow along this final stretch.

Best Time of Year for This Adventure

The Summer months (mid-June through September) are the best time of year for this adventure. Basically, it’s after the last snow melt at this altitude and before the first snow of the coming Winter. During these months at this altitude you’re in a spectacular air conditioned setting even when temperatures are approaching 120 degrees in the Las Vegas Valley. Winter can bring treacherous icy conditions on the upper ridges and limestone cliffs. If you’re an experienced, skilled snow and ice climber, go for it! For the rest of us, stick to the Summer months. 

Route Starting Point Directions – Mummy’s Nose Final Summit Approach from Deer Creek Road | Mt. Charleston Wilderness, Nevada

To get to the trailhead from Las Vegas head North on I-95 taking a left at one of the last I-95 exits in the Las Vegas area, Kyle Canyon exit. Continue up Kyle Canyon road about 17 miles and a couple miles before Charleston Village take a right on Highway 158 towards Lee Canyon. You’ll wind around the hillside to the left and as the road briefly levels off before descending toward Lee Canyon. Pass the North Loop Trailhead, Deer Creek Picnic Area and the Camp Stimson turnoff. The trailhead is a small parking area on the right just before the Desert View Overlook Parking Area. It’s the trailhead parking for the Deer Creek Catch Pen Loop Trail.

Narrative Guide – Mummy’s Nose Final Summit Approach from Deer Creek Road | Mt. Charleston Wilderness, Nevada

Get Your Bearings at the Trailhead

At the Catch Pen Loop trailhead parking, identify the cliffs of Mummy’s Nose, clearly visible across Deer Creek Road to the South. That’s your destination. Notice there are two summits: The taller limestone cliff summit to the left is Mummy’s Nose official summit. There’s a shorter limestone cliff summit to the right and a saddle between. Below the saddle there’s a large band of Bristlecone Pine trees. To the right of the shorter summit there’s a ridgeline, the Western Ridgeline to the canyon you’re facing between the trailhead and Mummy’s Nose. On the left side of the canyon there’s another ridgeline, the Eastern ridgeline to the canyon. By the way, the canyon has an official name: Seven-Mile Canyon.

You’re going to head up the right (West) side of the canyon, top the Western Ridgeline, take a left into the Bristlecone Pine tree band, ascend that band and angle over to the side of the saddle just below the larger Mummy’s Nose cliffs. You’ll ascend to the top of that saddle, circle around the back side of Mummy’s Nose and then ascend to Mummy’s Nose Summit. You’ll descend to the same point in the Bristlecone Pine forest band below the saddle where you earlier ascended to the saddle. From there you’ll skirt the base of the tall Mummy’s Nose Cliffs heading East and finally descend along the Eastern ridge of the canyon back to the trailhead parking area.

It’s important to identify all these features–the big picture–from at the beginning because there are no marked trails and many pathless stretches along the way. You’re going to navigate by the large features you just identified.

Catch Pen Loop Trailhead Parking to the Western Ridgeline

With the major reference points in mind, cross Deer Creek Road toward Mummy’s Nose. Shortly after crossing the road you’ll enter a clearing with a confusing array of trail openings. Take the trail furthest to the left. This is Forest Road 092A. As you head up this road there will be a couple forks in the road. Take the right fork at the first split. This puts you on road 092. Continue on to the second split and take the left fork which keeps you on road 092. There are early splits that will lead quickly up the Western ridge (to your right). But if you stay on the roads I just mentioned that skirt the base of the Western ridge, the terrain will be more streamlined and your ascent more gradual.

Eventually Road 092 will fade into nothingness. At this point, you’re in an ascent gully heading upward toward the Western ridgeline. Stay on the right edge above the gully as you continue upward. The terrain here is more open than down in the center of the gully. About mid-way to the Western ridgeline, there’s a nice place to cross over to the left side of the gully. Now continue angling upward to your left toward the Western ridgeline. When you reach a point about 50 feet below the ridgeline you’ll find a faint trail that continues just below the ridgeline summit heading toward Mummy’s Nose. The trail will eventually enter the ancient Bristlecone Pine band of trees you saw from the trailhead.

Bristlecone Pine Forest Band to the Base of Mummy’s Nose

Now angle up the very steep Bristlecone Pine forest band toward the base of the Mummy’s Nose cliff. You’re aiming for the left side of the saddle between the two limestone cliffs you saw from the trailhead parking below. Stay in the Bristlecone Pine forest band as long as possible. The surface there, though steep, is blanketed with pine needles which provide better traction than the loose limestone rock to the right and left of the forest band beneath the saddle. Eventually, you’ll ascend above the forest band and find yourself faced with the limestone ledge just below the saddle. You’ll need to ascend this limestone ledge and a good ascent point is close to the tall cliffs at the base of Mummy’s Nose (the left side of the saddle). You can angle upward diagonally along the ledge to summit the saddle at the base of Mummy’s Nose cliff. That final stretch up the limestone ledge to the summit of the saddle is the one class 3 stretch of this entire adventure. While there is some unnerving exposure just before you reach the summit of the saddle, take it step by step. Watch for hand and footholds. There is always firm, though sometimes narrow footing with adequate handholds, and the most exposed stretch just before summiting the saddle is very brief!

Base of Mummy’s Nose to the Summit!

Once you summit the saddle, you’ll see a relatively easy class 2 walking route that hugs the South side (back side) cliff of Mummy’s Nose as it angles upward. The steep loose rock slope to your right is a bit unnerving, and you know it probably ends in a vertical cliff! However, the route you’re ascending as you hug the base of Mummy’s Nose cliff is comfortably wide. Just keep to the edge of the cliff on your left. You’ll squeeze between a the cliff and a couple ancient Bristlecone Pines along the way, and also scramble over a very brief class 3 rocky area (little to no exposure). Then you’ll reach a wider limestone ridgeline with a faint climber’s trail switchbacking upward to reach the spectacular summit of Mummy’s Nose sooner than you thought you’d be standing on the summit!

View from Mummy’s Nose Summit

Take time to enjoy the incredible 360-degree view from Mummy’s Nose summit! Here are the reference points you will see (counterclockwise circle view):

• Mummy’s Forehead and Chin
• Mummy’s Summit
• Mummy’s Knees and Toe
• Griffith Peak
• Fletcher Peak
• Cougar Ridgeline; Bristlecone Pine Ridgeline; Camp Stimpson; Deer Creek Road
• Angel Peak
• Northern Las Vegas Valley
• Gass Peak
• Sheep Range
• Hwy 95 Corridor North Toward Reno
• Lee Canyon Road and Lee Canyon
• Wheeler Peak
• Bonanza Peak
• McFarland Peak
• The Sisters: South, North and Black Rock
• Upper Lee Canyon
• Back to Mummy’s Forehead

Descent Along the Eastern Edge of the Canyon (Seven-Mile Canyon)

Retrace your route back to the Bristlecone Pine forest band. While on Mummy’s Nose summit, I was a bit concerned about the difficulty factor of descending the limestone cliffy areas from the summit back to the Bristlecone Pine forest band. However, the descent was actually much easier than the ascent! This confirms my theory that descending class 1-3 terrain is easier than ascending. You can see your route better from above and it’s easier to lower yourself through tough spots than it is to raise yourself up and over the same spots. I can’t vouch for the difficulty level of descending class 4 and above stretches. I think descending would be harder in this steeper terrain than ascending. But descending class 1-3 is easier than ascending.

Bristlecone Pine Forest Band to the Trailhead

Once you’ve reached the Bristlecone Pine forest band just below the rocky limestone saddle area, begin angling to your right as you head toward Seven-Mile Canyon’s Eastern ridgeline. If you want to descend the Eastern Ridgeline, keep as far to the right just below the limestone cliffs as possible. I did not angle enough to the right and so ended up descending the East side of the central ridgeline, eventually ending up at the upper end of Forest Road 092A. From there, it was an easy matter of heading down Forest Road 092a and finally back to the trailhead parking area across Deer Creek Road. 

Conclusion

As you’ve probably discovered, there are a number of routes up Seven-Mile Canyon toward Mummy’s Nose. There are multiple routes up to the Western ridgeline, up to the Eastern ridgeline and up the canyon between. Whichever route you end up taking, you simply can’t loose! It’s all pristine, incredibly beautiful alpine terrain, and relatively easy to navigate. It’s a great area to practice and expand wilderness navigation skills. It’s hard to get lost. You can always find a descent route to and through Seven-Mile Canyon, and all routes eventually lead to Deer Creek Road. Enjoy!