In searching the list of peaks that remain to be bagged on the Adventure Radio Society “Top of the World” web site I noticed that Boundary Peak in Nevada was yet to be conquered by an HF operator. Reviewing the location and the relevant charts of this 13,140 ft., hill it seemed that the 6-hour drive and subsequent day hike to the top might be worth the effort for the privilege of being on the list of the other ARS mountaineers. Antenna, radio, and weight were going to make a big difference.

Boundary Peak Nevada

20’ Vertical in 40 meter mode at trail head – No tuner required

View to Boundary Peak across Mono Lake

The climb started at 0630 from the abandoned mine entrance. The morning, while clear was a bit chilly at 28 degrees and showing signs of a rising breeze. I had planned 1,000 feet of vertical per 1/2 hour and two hours to traverse the lateral distance. If that rate could be achieved I would top the summit around 10 a.m., about an hour into LAITF. I reached the second of three saddles about 20 minutes behind schedule having taken an off trail excursion through a bristle cone pine grove. Snow and ice had obscured the sketchy trail across the sparse 10,000-foot terrain. The subsequent ascent straight up the slope and through the small forest was time consuming and a bit tiring. To avoid repeating that mistake on the return I dropped a couple weigh points into the GPS. I had a 4 mile traverse ahead of me along a ridge line that had an Eastern view into the glistening Nevada desert, a Western view of a briny Mono Lake, and the snow laden Sierras faulted above the Owens Valley.

First View from Trail

On the exposed top of this ridge the winds became apparent. Gusts were certainly peaking near 30 knots. The choice of wind pants and breeze-proof alpine shell with hood turned out not to be overdressing. Gloves! Oh, well, I slipped an extra pair of socks over my hands. The 3,000 foot granite massif that was to be the toughest portion of the ascent, came into view as I topped the second saddle. This pile of scree looked about as steep as anything this amateur hiker had ever encountered. Covering the last mile along the back of the treeless ridge I kept wondering how I was going to get up that crest given no obvious trail traversing the flanks.

The path up was still partially shrouded in snow burms that also filled the shallow canyons pointing to the peak. There were multiple traveled sections visible but none too clear and all disappearing in the exfoliated sedimentary rock or beneath the patchy ice. As the slope increased only small steps could be achieved and frequent stops were necessary to retrieve oxygen and slow the dizziness. Step, slip, step, slip, stop - breath -drink, step, slip -breath -drink. Ninety minutes passed. The wind was continuing to build along this exposed section and convinced me that operation with the fishing pole antenna would not be possible. At the 12,100 foot level the last saddle was summited. A picture was required and here the disposable lightweight camera showed why it was priced at $6.99. The film would not advance leaving me with the seven previous exposures.

The Scree pile, a steep scramble up loose terrain

I opted at this point to move down the scree grade and set up the station near the Trail Canyon saddle below. The descent was quicker than anticipated as the surface would give way and I would find myself slowly sliding in a squat or on my backside. Apparently, on one of these escalator rides, the Yaesu HT was lost. Something I did not notice until later in the day and well down the hill. After reaching the saddle I found a rock outcropping to hide behind and began the antenna set up.

Shortly I was on the air and made an initial connection on 20 meters. While noise was nonexistent, so were the signals. Not too much participation. I worked a few then switched to 40 in an attempt to work friends on the western side of Sierras. Only one signal was copied. Switching out the transmission line, I was back on 20 where I worked four more stations. It was apparent from QSOs all over the country that the band was not closed, but not too many operators were present. At one point W6SC came into the bandpass filters. He lives near me and was working the LAITF from home and trying to reach me, alas no joy. The handshake between stations in this test was to include any wildlife you saw around you. Sitting between boulders that had been uplifted from an ancient seabed and in an arid climate that receives less than eight inches of rain per year, I only noticed a lone lizard. The White Mountains are home to the bristlecone pine, the oldest living thing on earth, but I wasn't sure the rules allowed trees in an exchange so I could only respond with "lizard.” After operating for just over two hours I decided to warm up a bit by packing up and walking back to my starting point.

Operating from slopes of Boundary Peak was achieved, but someone could still bag the glory of operation from the absolute summit. For my next attempt I will certainly bring a kite that has worked well on Pacific island expeditions.

This I believe would be the best solution for summit operation. Also it would be of value to camp the night before at the 11,000 foot summit in order to get conditioned to the thin air. Field day or the Bumble Bee contests are two possible dates that look promising.
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Brian Boschma, N6IZ, is an outdoorsman, QRPer and field operator living in Los Gatos, CA.