Moapa Peak
Mormon Mountains Wilderness (BLM), NVInfo
Distance6.7 mi
Elevation gain3,400 ft
Duration4 hr
CruxClass 3
Route typeOut & back
Quality5/10
Vehicle to trailhead4x4
RegionMojave Desert
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Moapa Peak Trailhead.
View back as the road weaves through a break in a low ridge.
Leaving the road at a grassy basin marked "Jacks Pockets" on the USGS topo map.
Fruiting banana yucca (Yucca baccata).
View back.
Entering a wash.
View back along a sputtering use trail.
Climbing to the saddle ahead.
View back from the saddle.
Continuing up the ridge.
Class 2.
View back toward the saddle.
View across Moapa Peak's cliffy southern escarpment.
Veering west toward a Class 3 weakness in the cliffs.
Class 3 obstacle.
View back.
Contouring east toward Moapa Peak's summit, visible top-left.
Ramp leading to the base of Moapa Peak's south face.
View back.
Moapa Peak's south face.
Skirting the massive cliff.
View back.
Climbing a steep slope to gain Moapa Peak's east ridge.
Optional Class 4 move to gain Moapa Peak's knife edge ridge. Alternatively, there's a ducked route leading to a Class 3 ramp on the north side, right.
Class 3 ramp.
Traversing Moapa Peak's knife edge ridge.
View back.
Approaching the summit.
Moapa Peak summit.
View north into the heart of the Mormon Mountains Wilderness.
View south. Virgin Peak is on the left.
Closeup of the dirt road leading to the trailhead.
Spotted on the return, a (rather defensive)desert tortoise!