Carly Kovacik and myself ascended the ultra-prominent Telescope Peak located in Death Valley during early February. We started hiking from the Wildrose Charcoal Kilns, since the road beyond that point was closed for the winter season due to ice and snow. We hiked steeply to Mahogany Flats Campground, and then transitioned to a more gently sloped traverse along the east side of Rogers Peak. However, the traverse involved multiple snow sections that would involve a very long slide down the mountain if one of us lost our footing. Thankfully our footing was sure, and the terrain became less sketchy after we left Rogers Peak behind us. We then bypassed Bennett Peak, which was followed by the final half mile up a very steep ridge that led to the summit of Telescope. Snow was generally firm the entire way up the ridge, but once again, a fall could be potentially bad, especially during the final hundred feet of ridge-climbing.
After reaching a minor false summit, we hiked an additional couple hundred yards to the true summit of Telescope. The sky was completely cloudless, and the views of Death Valley 11,000 feet below our feet were fantastic, as were the views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to our west. After a short brisk windy break on the summit, Carly and I departed back down the mountain. Total trip time was 9 hours exactly, mileage was around 14, and the vertical ascent was ~5,000 feet.
YouTube video is here. Google map location is here.
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