Kuss, Mosquito and Treasurevault are often climbed together, as a loop hike. Some people will also add London Mountain and Mt. Tweto to the loop, making for a much longer day. From the 2WD parking area, near 11,560', head west up the Mosquito Pass road (
1 and
2) to reach the North London Mine -
3. Pass the mine and continue up the rough road (
4) to reach the 12,650-foot saddle between London Mountain (left) and Kuss Peak (right) -
5.
London Mountain (optional)
If you're adding London to your route, use the
London Mountain: West Ridge route and return to the road after you've summitted.
Kuss Peak
Turn right, leave the road and start up Kuss Peak's east ridge, without a trail -
6 and
7. Between 12,900' and 13,200', ascend the steepest section of the route before heading left toward the upper terrain -
8. If you're traversing to Mosquito Peak after Kuss, you get a good preview of Mosquito on your way up the ridge -
9. Continue to the summit of Kuss Peak -
10 and
11.
Mosquito Peak
Walk north of the building on Kuss' summit (
12) and begin down the north ridge, toward the saddle between Kuss and Mosquito -
13. You'll see a road down to your left but the route doesn't use the road - continue up Mosquito's south ridge -
14. Near 13,600', turn left (
15) and ascend the remaining ridge to reach the summit -
16 and
17.
Treasurevault Mountain
From Mosquito's summit, Treasurevault is only 0.5 mile away and the hiking is pretty mellow. Drop north off of Mosquito and follow trail segments down the somewhat-loose ridge -
18. As you approach the Mosquito-Treasurevault saddle, pass a mining area and continue to the 13,400-foot saddle -
19 and
20. Cross the saddle and hike approx. 300' up Treasurevault's south ridge to reach the summit -
21 and
22. If your route only includes Kuss, Mosquito and Treasurevault, then you are done gaining elevation but only half way through the loop.
Descent back to Mosquito Creek
Hike north off the summit of Treasurevault (
23 and
24) and follow a ridge north and then east over to a 13,500-foot bump -
25 and
26. Pass the bump and turn left to begin your descent northeast toward the upper end of Mosquito Creek -
27 and
28.
Mt. Tweto (optional)
If you're adding Tweto to your route, use the
Mt. Tweto: Southwest Ridge route from 13,200', before you start to descend east back to Mosquito Creek. Summit Tweto and return to 13,200'.
Back to the Trailhead
Near 13,000' (
29) at the base of Mt. Tweto's south face, descend east to reach upper Mosquito Creek, near 12,800'. To avoid a steep slope between 13,000' and 12,600', it's important to make sure you hike northeast far enough before making this descent. Cross easy terrain to reach a mine at 12,600' (
30) and an old road. Follow this road back to the trailhead -
31.
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