If you had to choose one, Wheeler Peak (NV) or La Sal Pass/Peale?

[sigepnader]

Always wanted to do both and with Tuesday looking rough wind wise on the Front and Sawatch I’m thinking of heading West. Which would you recommend? Thanks for your thoughts in advance!

[cougar]

I did both on the same trip last September. I'd pick Wheeler, but Peale was socked in with clouds and some rain when I did it, so didn't get the views.

On Wheeler I postholed in up to a foot of snow, freak Sept storm. Wheeler, with Jeff Davis, is also the more rugged mountain but class 1. It looks a bit like Longs with a sawtooth ridge. You can combo these and class 2 talus for JD , which I didn't do because of a late start, snow, and road closures. Peale is mostly a slag heap and not so impressive up close.

Lehman caves in Great Basin is definitely worth the tour, and the bristlecone pines as well. The park gets busy despite its remoteness.

Both of these mountains have lots of aspen on their approaches and make great fall hikes.

[Scott P]

Wheeler is a prettier mountain, but Peale probably has the best views (though it might be smoky right now). One other consideration is that personally I feel that Peale is more fun when there is snow (there isn't right now).

Consider also Timpanogos if you want to head west. It's more scenic than either Peale or Wheeler.

[mtn_nut]

wheeler is my favorite of those two, but peale isn't bad either. Did both last october, had clear weather for both. From peale, you can see all the way to shiprock (125 miles) on a clear day. I'm sure the view from wheeler is as far, but shiprock was really easy to distinguish.

[Scott P]

I'm sure the view from wheeler is as far, but shiprock was really easy to distinguish.

If I remember right you can see My Nebo in the Wasatch from Wheeler Peak. That's somewhere around 170 miles.

[Matt]

Adjacent Mt. Tukuhnikivatz has much better views than Peale, IMO.
It blocks much of what you can see toward Moab when on Peale.
Solution? Do them both!
Wheeler was my first 13er, so long ago all I remember were incredibly expansive views of not much because the peak is so isolated.
The bristlecones there were very cool, but we didn't get to see Lehman Caves.
I'd say if you're coming from the Front Range and you have time, head for Wheeler. Moab isn't far.

[wineguy]

I've done both earlier in the season with significant snow on the routes, so can't speak to current conditions, but have a few comments. Wheeler is in the Nat'l Park so probably gets much more traffic. That was certainly my experience. I saw several people on Wheeler, no one on Peale. Consistent with this, the route to Wheeler is much more developed, an easy-to-follow path to the ridge and up to the summit. The route to the ridge on Peale is "find your own path." I easily found the correct snow gully in early May, but finding the best route might be more challenging without snow. Since I was on snow, I don't know what kind of talus or scree you'd have to deal with now. Also, on Peale you head through some woods to find the ascent gully, and the trees obscure your view before you get there, so it could be possible to get off route. I didn't have any problem, but felt that I might have been lucky. I thought the views were great on both mountains. Depends on whether you want more isolation or a busier route in a Nat'l Park. If you are camping, Great Basin has some nice campsites. And because it is far from major cities, it also has excellent night skies, and ranger programs on light pollution and related wildlife issues.

I had one minor trauma on Wheeler. I buried a Diet Dew in a snowbank at the TH, expecting to have a cold jolt of caffeine on my return. But made the mistake of leaving the cap visible, and someone pilfered it before I returned.

[JChitwood]

I was in Great Basin NP on Monday. I didn't get to hike Wheeler since my wife had to be back at work yesterday but the park is a hidden gem. There is a paved road to the trailhead and a campground at 10,000'. The ranger said the trail to the summit is easy to follow and gains the 3k of vert in 4 miles. The views were great even from the road I think the summit would be spectacular. I had driven through the area twice before without stopping and only did this time because my 11 year old is collecting stamps in his national park passport. I won't miss it the next time. The big drawback is it's 300 miles farther than Moab but a big plus for me was the remoteness. The stretch from Delta UT to Great Basin was one of the loneliest paved roads I've driven.

[AlexeyD]

Wheeler is a pretty mellow, class 1 hike. Very scenic, but a half day kind of thing. It’s also really freaking far. It’s a cool and unique area for sure...but, personally, I probably wouldn’t make the drive just for it alone.

[Matt]

I've done both earlier in the season with significant snow on the routes, so can't speak to current conditions, but a have a few comments. The route to the ridge on Peale is "find your own path." I easily found the correct snow gully in early May, but finding the best route might be more challenging without snow. Since I was on snow, I don't know what kind of talus or scree you'd have to deal with now. Also, on Peale you head through some woods to find the ascent gully, and the trees obscure your view before you get there, so it could be possible to get off route. I didn't have any problem, but felt that I might have been lucky.

I don't think you were lucky to find your way at all. Peale is so big (and so is the gully) that it's hard to get lost for long.
The gully was not loose 10 years ago. I doubt it's got much worse.

[mtn_nut]

I'm sure the view from wheeler is as far, but shiprock was really easy to distinguish.

If I remember right you can see My Nebo in the Wasatch from Wheeler Peak. That's somewhere around 170 miles.

According to peakfinder, you've got peaks 170 miles away, like Provo peak, that might be visible on a clear day, but there's a lot of pollution and haze in the SLC valley, so i doubt they'd be visible.

Apparently Heyford peak near Las Vegas is visible and that's 170 miles, but good luck actually spotting it without a really powerful scope, a tripod, and a compass.

[glenmiz]

I don't know about Peale, but my wife and I just climbed Wheeler about a month ago. Pretty mellow but the end is a bit steeper. With a bit of snow covering the trail, we decided to go straight up to finish. Lehman Cave is really great and, so far from anything, there aren't many people in GBNP. In fact, Backpacker magazine just rated it as the lowest hiker/trail mile of any of the national parks (Grand Canyon N.P. averages 160 times as many hikers per mile of trail).

My suggestion: climb Wheeler Peak and bivy on top (there are several shelter structures) - stars will be out of this world.