Frenchman Mountain - 4052 Feet
Location: 36.17886°N, 114.99805°W
Stats
Date: 3/07/2008
Distance: 4.6 miles
Elevation gain: 2000'
Class (difficulty): 2 (99% is Class 1)
Time: 2.5 hours
Range: Las Vegas
Partner(s): N/A
Report:
The family and I were heading to Las Vegas for a softball tournament, so before we left I found looked for a peak to climb. I ended up finding a popular hike that was that was only 10 miles from the hotel. Then I just had to wait for an opportunity during the weekend for a 4 or 5 hour window to make the trip. The weather on Saturday was clear, cool, and windy. However, we were busy with games the entire day. Then Sunday morning we woke to rain, cold, and very windy conditions. Games were shortened with smaller breaks in the schedule. We played two games and were done at noon with no plans until 5pm that night. So I rushed to the hotel and changed into my running gear to head up Frenchman Mountain on the east side of Las Vegas.
I expected the hike to be windier than the valley, but when I arrived at the trailhead, the wind was minimal and it was partly sunny and warm. The hike followed a steep and narrow maintenance road, not quite a jeep trail, but certainly more narrow than a normal road. I had 3 hours to complete the hike and that was how long I thought it would take me, so off I went.
The hike is immediately steep and the trail was fairly loose. I had my forerunner on me to monitor the pace. According to a report on SummitPoser (SummitPost), the route was 3 miles and 1600' (more on that later, but that is a bit off). After about 1 mile and several switchbacks, I reached a saddle between two pointy peaks and could see the trail drop about 200 feet to a flat area and then climb to the summit. I had reached the low spot in 45 minutes, so with 600 feet to go, I was on pace. The trip distance was already at 1.5 miles and I had a bit more distance to go (my first clue the reported distance was off).
The last 600 feet went quickly and I was soon standing on top with clearing skies, little wind, and great views of Vegas on one side and Lake Mead and its surrounding desert on the other. I did a little easy scrambling to reach the top of the south summit. The ascent to me 1 hour and 15 minutes, not bad for 2.3 miles and 1800'. The north summit looked higher, so I headed over there, which required some tricky climbing on narrow ledges with a couple of steep sections (you could bypass this by dropping back down to the road and following it up to the other summit).
After messing around on top for 30 minutes, I headed down in now sunny conditions. Other than the 200 feet of climbing on the return climb, the way out was simple... just let gravity carry you downhill and try not to slip on the gravel on the steepest sections. I finished the hike in 2 hours and 30 minutes.
This trailhead is easily accessed on a paved road, so 2 wheel drives can make it to the starting point, which is a busted gate a couple hundred feet off Lake Mead Blvd. Obviously you would want to do this hike during the winter months, as it would be brutal in the heat, without any protection from the sun. I think it would also be killer at night, with incredible views of the Las Vegas strip. Frenchman Mountain is one of Nevada's most prominent peaks with 1972' feet of prominence. The hike is really 4.6 miles roundtrip with a cumulative gain of 2000'. I saw one other hiker on the trip, a gentleman from Georgia.
Getting There:
Take the Lake Mead Blvd exit off of I-15, heading east. This exit is north of downtown Las Vegas. Keep heading east on Lake Mead Blvd through a the city for about 9 miles until the road reaches a pass. About 1 mile beyond the pass or 2 miles from the last major cross street (Hollywood Blvd) you will see a steep road on your right heading up the hill. Turn off the road and park here. There is a gate a few hundred feet off the pavement and then another about a quarter of a mile into the hike. Both were open when I hiked the peak.
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