Ascent of Steens Mountain on 2021-10-01| Other People: | Solo Ascent
| | Date: | Friday, October 1, 2021 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Peak: | Steens Mountain | | Location: | USA-Oregon | | Elevation: | 9733 ft / 2966 m |
Ascent Trip ReportRoad is gated closed at parking area. About 0.2 walk on decent dirt road from here up to radio towers. Lots of people up there. Popular place.
I went first to the northern candidate contour at 9,730', short 1 min walk up from it's parking area.
I had my 5X hand level with me. It's 2 miles away to the radio tower southern contour. My accuracy at that distance is perhaps +/- 6 to 8 feet. I have practiced this on lakes in Colorado.
The southern area leveled about 5 to 10 feet higher from here. I then went to the radio towers and backsighted. The northern area looked about 10 to 15 feet lower.
I would say the southern candidate is roughly 10 feet higher. But visit both since you must go right by the northern one.
Amazing gravelled and bladed roads up to there on the Steens Mountain scenic loop road. There were two graders parked up there, they must have just finished roadwork. 30 miles up the S side, 27 down the N side. You could drive a Cadillac to the top.
Some guy attempted to drive his large RV to the tower parking lot, passing by the sign warning that you can't turn vehicles around there.... He realized his mistake a mile out to there, and tried to do a 10 point turn on the dirt road, and stalled out there as I approached him. I four wheeled around him off the road a few feet behind him. I presume he made it out of there...
Frenchglen to the north has a store and gas. Fields does too, to the South. Denio at the state line has nothing. From Winnemucca NV to Burns OR was 200 miles via the summit.
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