BETA PHOTO: Desert Queen Mine showing the Gold Dust area (lowe...
Description
Located north of the Queen Valley Road, somewhat midway between Jumbo Rocks and Sheep Pass CG, is this fairly accessible area with a remote and somewhat wild feel. Depending upon your motivation or proclivity you might climb close to the car, or venture out into one of the Park's lesser-visited areas and possibly discover some relics from the area's rich mining past. This is an area to visit if seeking solitude and quality engaging routes, of which there are many. Those seeking cracks will be rewarded with such gems as Tiers For Fears (5.10b), The Golddigger (5.10c), Petrodynamics (5.10d), Silverado (5.11b) and Nerve Storm (5.11c). Face climbing enthusiasts will want to do Once In A Lifetime (5.7), Get The Balance Right (5.10a) Times Of Holyness (5.11c), I Have The Touch (5.12b) and Cosmic Trigger (5.12d).
Getting There
Driving east from Sheep Pass CG, there is a right turn towards the signed Geology Tour Road; more or less directly across from this is the dirt road to the Desert Queen Mine area. Drive the dirt road, staying right when necessary, to a parking area one and a quarter miles from the paved Queen Valley Road. The trail to the various rocks lies at the east end of the parking area and winds downhill to the base of a large hillside with several sealed mineshafts. Climbing back up to a large plateau behind the mineshafts leads to a rough landscape of valleys and hills with scattered rock formations. Scattered throughout this landscape are many enticing routes. Plan on thirty to forty-five minutes to Fraggle Rock, the furthest crag from the parking area.
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Desert Queen Mine:
My partner and I tried to find "Times of Holyness" but were unable to locate the alleged sport climb on the northeast side of the Towers. Has anybody climbed this route recently? Perhaps it has been chopped?
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