Cerbat Mountains Bouldering

The Cerbat Mts are long and narrow, 12 miles at its widest, rising steeply on both sides and stretching north from Kingman to Dolan Springs. Hundreds of boulder clusters and a handful of small cliffs pepper the range with several types of rock but granite dominates the area. At one time or other the entire range has been mined or ranched and there are several operations of each industry still active on the flanks.

At the northern end is the Mount Tipton Wilderness Area with the highest point, Mt Tipton, at 7148’ where a ponderosa stand resides near the summit. The rest of the range is a mostly continuous ridge hovering at around 6000’ and averaging about 2000’ above the Sacramento/Detrital valleys on the west and the Hualapai Valley to the east. South of the wilderness area is mostly BLM land designated for recreation and occasionally private land. The Cerbat Wild Horse Management Area overlaps the recreation area in the middle of the range with a herd of about 70 animals. Mule deer, big horn sheep, coyotes, and a healthy population of mountain lions also live in these mountains.

Most of the mountainsides are covered by dense chaparral making cross-country travel arduous and long pants are very useful. Piñon pine, juniper, and manzanita abound at the higher elevations. Climbing up here is comfortable all summer and temperatures can be 10+ degrees cooler along the ridge than the surrounding valleys. And wind. Lots of wind on the exposed sections along the top.

Chloride is cool little town with very basic necessities right in the middle on the western side and is worth checking out. Especially the petroglyphs out behind town, and the murals painted on an outcrop by Roy Purcell (and Chloride locals!) in 1966. If you have a 4x4, then the mines beyond are also fun to explore.