utahjimk - Oct 27, 2013 11:30 am Date Climbed: Oct 26, 2013
via Sawtooth Canyon
(1) 26 October 2013: Some snow here and there, esp. in the narrows. Most impressive cliff I've ever seen. As I reflect on it, this hike is well deserving to be called a Utah Classic, especially for its scenery that expresses the meaning of "Great Basin". The bristlecone forest around the hill east of the saddle is beautiful! Weather couldn't have been better. With WMC group. (2) Same route, 30 May 2021, also with WMC group. One patch of snow found in deep shaded section of trail.
CalamityJane - Aug 5, 2013 2:03 am Date Climbed: May 25, 2013
Don't Hold Me Back
Really had to put my climbing skills into play here. There was a dry fall that was a bit hard for me to negotiate, but with upper body strength of a Mastif I managed fine. The humans made me wear a leash at the summit, something about 4000 feet down, I dunno. I got this peeps, did you not see my skills at the dry fall? I clearly could multi-pitch this bad boy.
abrennalinerush - Jun 19, 2013 11:51 pm Date Climbed: May 25, 2013
I wish I'd had an increment borer with me.
If I'd had one, I could have gotten a bit more intimate with the bristlecone pines. As it were, the tree gods were a bit disgruntled that I nabbed myself some fallen pine cones and consequently wrapped some branches around my ankle on the way out, causing me to plank the canyon floor like a champion bellyflopper. Lucky for me, my knees are fairly resilient. I'm terrified to think about what may have happened if I'd cored one of those ancient beauts, though... ANYWAY. If you're wondering, it's 724 Brenna Steps from the saddle to the summit. You should maybe (definitely) try to best my high score.
utahguy058 - Jun 17, 2013 5:27 pm Date Climbed: May 25, 2013
BOO YA
I highly recommend this hike. It's gorgeous from top to bottom. I highly suggest that you hike around the false peak just north of Notch Peak to get into the stand of Bristlecone Pines and unforgettable view of Notch Peak.
runbyu1 - Jun 10, 2013 12:24 am Date Climbed: Jun 8, 2013
Nice Run Up
This was my first summit of the running peakbagging season. We had a great day driving in from Utah County (left around noon), running up to the top, and eating at JC Mickelson's in Nephi around 8:30. The roads are in decent condition with dirt road stretches of 4.2, 5.1, and 3.2 miles. Each dirt road gets progressively rougher than the next. We made it in my low clearance car with sports suspension, but I would definitely take another car next time. We were constantly worried about busting the oil pan or getting a flat tire. The drive was tougher than the climb IMO!
Once there, there is a sign for the trailhead and we ran and followed Sawtooth Canyon 3 of the 4 miles to the top. The last mile had some bushwacking and cairn following/route finding but it was pretty straightforward. Like others have said, I was pretty underwhelmed with the saddle/summit area until we came to the edge of the world! That is one big cliff...very impressive. The breezes near the summit were a nice break from the near 90 degree heat we had at the trailhead. We continued on to the summit where the views are even better. We had a nice run down, especially once we got back in to the canyon.
Brita - Jun 9, 2013 6:43 pm Date Climbed: Jun 9, 2013
Cliffs of Insanity
I went along on this hike because Golden wanted to do it and I had no idea what to expect. The hike up was nice. The car was reading 98 as we were leaving Delta and since we started actually hiking at 3 I was afraid it would be hot. It good cooler the higher we got and there was a fantastic breeze. We hiked, I mean ran, up the sawtooth canyon variation. It was very pretty with lots of flowers in bloom. Plus there was plenty of shade as you steadily climb up the canyon. The summit appeared to be a little anticlimactic until we got to the ridge line and we could see off the cliffs. Golden made me crawl up near the edge to look down which made me even more nervous that I had walked as close as I had. It is impressive and I would really like to drive around to the bottom sometime and look up.
The view is amazing, a storm caught us when in the saddle it was rain hail thunder and lighting but it was worth it....
Matthew Van Horn - Apr 23, 2013 5:53 pm Date Climbed: Apr 20, 2013
big cliff
Easy hike up to the cliff.
andrew david - Feb 18, 2013 1:16 am Date Climbed: May 30, 2011
Only at the very end...
Went alone and spent a lot of time getting lost on dirt roads and then getting lost leaving the wash too soon. Was grumbling and cut by cacti and thinking it could not have been worth it until the very last step and then the cliffs came out of nowhere and were amazing. Don't miss it. Check the pics. But its so much better in person.
PrinceOfNorway - Oct 28, 2012 3:40 pm Date Climbed: Oct 27, 2012
Wow
It's so scary on top! I highly recommend that Austin Robert English climb this peak.
September 5, 2022 - Climbed with Joey Larsen and two of his boys (Marty age 11, Jake age 8). With breaks we climbed it in 3.5 hours. 3 hours to the saddle and from there 20 minutes to the summit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
September 1, 2012: The reason to hike this peak is to see it cliff faces. The north facing cliff falls over 4450 feet to the drainage in the valley floor below, making it the tallest cliff in the USA. Looking down the cliff it feels as though the face is vertical for its entirety, but the pure vertical portion is 2200 ft. In comparison El Capitan in Yosemite has a pure vertical drop of 3000 ft, and the largest purely vertical drop on the plant is 4,500 ft down the face of Mount Thor on Baffin Island, Canada. Ana and I climbed this in a rain storm. Took as 2.5 hours to reach the saddle, from there we went North to see the Bristlecone pines, then when the rain slowed down we went to the real summit.
kteichert - Oct 23, 2011 1:46 am Date Climbed: Oct 22, 2011
Amazing Vistas
This hike is one of my new favorites! The view of the gorge from the top is unbelievable. It was warm today, and no wind on top. Absolutely gorgeous day!
awilk7 - Aug 1, 2011 4:31 pm Date Climbed: Oct 14, 2006
Striking, Lonely, Raw: Great Basin Ranges
Hiked Notch Peak from the drainage to the east, it was quite the experience. A recent snowstorm left the semi-slot canyon below the peak fresh and white, with desert hare(?) and bobcat tracks in the narrowest parts. The "steps" section was covered with slick snow, so we worked our way around the shoulder to the right (up canyon) to bypass the potential danger.
The wind was blowing quite hard as we reached the summit. Looking down the gaping jaws of the notch to the canyon and Tule Valley below was closer to terrifying than breathtaking. I normally enjoy heights, for some reason, this day it was different.
The whole trip up and down we didn't see another soul. This, after driving several miles on a lonely dirt road, off of the "Loneliest Highway in America." It's one thing to stand on the edge of a precipice with a guard rail and photo-snapping crowd all around, quite another when it's a lightly visited, relatively unknown, nearly 3000' cliff at the end of the season in (seemingly) absolute isolation. Of course, it doesn't remotely compare with scaling the face of Notch Peak from the cliff base, but it was one of the most "raw" wilderness experiences I have been able to partake in.
voxnihili - Jul 5, 2011 1:26 pm Date Climbed: Jun 10, 2011
Sawtooth Canyon
Lost the trail at one point, so I got in some bonus scrambling.
Lovely evening on top.
Pfeiffer75 - Oct 24, 2010 2:39 pm Date Climbed: Oct 23, 2010
Sawtooth Canyon
Climbed on a foggy and snowy day. The rising fog out of the notch added an element of fright. Awesome peak, would like to explore more of this area
MoapaPk - Jun 25, 2010 12:28 am Date Climbed: Jun 24, 2010
Up easy, down hard
Went up the easy herdpath, down a hairy dryfall (see map). The best way to appreciate the drop is to view it from the northeast, via the lower summits.
SageHawk - Aug 25, 2009 7:19 am Date Climbed: Jul 6, 2009
Sawtooth Canyon
Didn't see another soul on this hike to the summit. Surprising to find low-elevation bristlecone pines in the canyon on the way up. At the summit I laid down on my belly with only my head over the edge to peer down into the 'notch'. Awesome feeling. I could see raptors circling up from the depths and for a moment felt the urge to join them in flight. A comment in the summit register stated only 'if I ever decide to end my life, this is the place I will do it'.
Kadee - Nov 26, 2008 2:00 pm Date Climbed: Nov 13, 2005
Literally Breathtaking
AMAZING! This hike is one of the best. My favorite part was looking off the cliff - incredible.
Camped at Painter Springs, had an amazing sunset - the sun was pure, bright red.
Dean - May 13, 2008 12:46 pm Date Climbed: May 10, 2008
Perfect day
Amazing mountain, the sheer drop from the summit is breathtaking. I met two guys coming down when I was going up the canyon. Got a late start and summited at 4 pm. No wind, just a perfect weather day. I have to go back with an extension for my camera cuz I was too wussie to get close to that edge. ; )
utahjimk - Oct 27, 2013 11:30 am Date Climbed: Oct 26, 2013
via Sawtooth Canyon(1) 26 October 2013: Some snow here and there, esp. in the narrows. Most impressive cliff I've ever seen. As I reflect on it, this hike is well deserving to be called a Utah Classic, especially for its scenery that expresses the meaning of "Great Basin". The bristlecone forest around the hill east of the saddle is beautiful! Weather couldn't have been better. With WMC group. (2) Same route, 30 May 2021, also with WMC group. One patch of snow found in deep shaded section of trail.
CalamityJane - Aug 5, 2013 2:03 am Date Climbed: May 25, 2013
Don't Hold Me BackReally had to put my climbing skills into play here. There was a dry fall that was a bit hard for me to negotiate, but with upper body strength of a Mastif I managed fine. The humans made me wear a leash at the summit, something about 4000 feet down, I dunno. I got this peeps, did you not see my skills at the dry fall? I clearly could multi-pitch this bad boy.
abrennalinerush - Jun 19, 2013 11:51 pm Date Climbed: May 25, 2013
I wish I'd had an increment borer with me.If I'd had one, I could have gotten a bit more intimate with the bristlecone pines. As it were, the tree gods were a bit disgruntled that I nabbed myself some fallen pine cones and consequently wrapped some branches around my ankle on the way out, causing me to plank the canyon floor like a champion bellyflopper. Lucky for me, my knees are fairly resilient. I'm terrified to think about what may have happened if I'd cored one of those ancient beauts, though... ANYWAY. If you're wondering, it's 724 Brenna Steps from the saddle to the summit. You should maybe (definitely) try to best my high score.
utahguy058 - Jun 17, 2013 5:27 pm Date Climbed: May 25, 2013
BOO YAI highly recommend this hike. It's gorgeous from top to bottom. I highly suggest that you hike around the false peak just north of Notch Peak to get into the stand of Bristlecone Pines and unforgettable view of Notch Peak.
runbyu1 - Jun 10, 2013 12:24 am Date Climbed: Jun 8, 2013
Nice Run UpThis was my first summit of the running peakbagging season. We had a great day driving in from Utah County (left around noon), running up to the top, and eating at JC Mickelson's in Nephi around 8:30. The roads are in decent condition with dirt road stretches of 4.2, 5.1, and 3.2 miles. Each dirt road gets progressively rougher than the next. We made it in my low clearance car with sports suspension, but I would definitely take another car next time. We were constantly worried about busting the oil pan or getting a flat tire. The drive was tougher than the climb IMO!
Once there, there is a sign for the trailhead and we ran and followed Sawtooth Canyon 3 of the 4 miles to the top. The last mile had some bushwacking and cairn following/route finding but it was pretty straightforward. Like others have said, I was pretty underwhelmed with the saddle/summit area until we came to the edge of the world! That is one big cliff...very impressive. The breezes near the summit were a nice break from the near 90 degree heat we had at the trailhead. We continued on to the summit where the views are even better. We had a nice run down, especially once we got back in to the canyon.
Brita - Jun 9, 2013 6:43 pm Date Climbed: Jun 9, 2013
Cliffs of InsanityI went along on this hike because Golden wanted to do it and I had no idea what to expect. The hike up was nice. The car was reading 98 as we were leaving Delta and since we started actually hiking at 3 I was afraid it would be hot. It good cooler the higher we got and there was a fantastic breeze. We hiked, I mean ran, up the sawtooth canyon variation. It was very pretty with lots of flowers in bloom. Plus there was plenty of shade as you steadily climb up the canyon. The summit appeared to be a little anticlimactic until we got to the ridge line and we could see off the cliffs. Golden made me crawl up near the edge to look down which made me even more nervous that I had walked as close as I had. It is impressive and I would really like to drive around to the bottom sometime and look up.
liliacarrillo0822 - May 15, 2013 11:17 pm Date Climbed: Sep 1, 2012
Amazing viewThe view is amazing, a storm caught us when in the saddle it was rain hail thunder and lighting but it was worth it....
Matthew Van Horn - Apr 23, 2013 5:53 pm Date Climbed: Apr 20, 2013
big cliffEasy hike up to the cliff.
andrew david - Feb 18, 2013 1:16 am Date Climbed: May 30, 2011
Only at the very end...Went alone and spent a lot of time getting lost on dirt roads and then getting lost leaving the wash too soon. Was grumbling and cut by cacti and thinking it could not have been worth it until the very last step and then the cliffs came out of nowhere and were amazing. Don't miss it. Check the pics. But its so much better in person.
PrinceOfNorway - Oct 28, 2012 3:40 pm Date Climbed: Oct 27, 2012
WowIt's so scary on top! I highly recommend that Austin Robert English climb this peak.
vanman798 - Sep 4, 2012 1:46 pm Date Climbed: Sep 5, 2022
What a cliff, wow!September 5, 2022 - Climbed with Joey Larsen and two of his boys (Marty age 11, Jake age 8). With breaks we climbed it in 3.5 hours. 3 hours to the saddle and from there 20 minutes to the summit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
September 1, 2012: The reason to hike this peak is to see it cliff faces. The north facing cliff falls over 4450 feet to the drainage in the valley floor below, making it the tallest cliff in the USA. Looking down the cliff it feels as though the face is vertical for its entirety, but the pure vertical portion is 2200 ft. In comparison El Capitan in Yosemite has a pure vertical drop of 3000 ft, and the largest purely vertical drop on the plant is 4,500 ft down the face of Mount Thor on Baffin Island, Canada. Ana and I climbed this in a rain storm. Took as 2.5 hours to reach the saddle, from there we went North to see the Bristlecone pines, then when the rain slowed down we went to the real summit.
kteichert - Oct 23, 2011 1:46 am Date Climbed: Oct 22, 2011
Amazing VistasThis hike is one of my new favorites! The view of the gorge from the top is unbelievable. It was warm today, and no wind on top. Absolutely gorgeous day!
awilk7 - Aug 1, 2011 4:31 pm Date Climbed: Oct 14, 2006
Striking, Lonely, Raw: Great Basin RangesHiked Notch Peak from the drainage to the east, it was quite the experience. A recent snowstorm left the semi-slot canyon below the peak fresh and white, with desert hare(?) and bobcat tracks in the narrowest parts. The "steps" section was covered with slick snow, so we worked our way around the shoulder to the right (up canyon) to bypass the potential danger.
The wind was blowing quite hard as we reached the summit. Looking down the gaping jaws of the notch to the canyon and Tule Valley below was closer to terrifying than breathtaking. I normally enjoy heights, for some reason, this day it was different.
The whole trip up and down we didn't see another soul. This, after driving several miles on a lonely dirt road, off of the "Loneliest Highway in America." It's one thing to stand on the edge of a precipice with a guard rail and photo-snapping crowd all around, quite another when it's a lightly visited, relatively unknown, nearly 3000' cliff at the end of the season in (seemingly) absolute isolation. Of course, it doesn't remotely compare with scaling the face of Notch Peak from the cliff base, but it was one of the most "raw" wilderness experiences I have been able to partake in.
voxnihili - Jul 5, 2011 1:26 pm Date Climbed: Jun 10, 2011
Sawtooth CanyonLost the trail at one point, so I got in some bonus scrambling.
Lovely evening on top.
Pfeiffer75 - Oct 24, 2010 2:39 pm Date Climbed: Oct 23, 2010
Sawtooth CanyonClimbed on a foggy and snowy day. The rising fog out of the notch added an element of fright. Awesome peak, would like to explore more of this area
MoapaPk - Jun 25, 2010 12:28 am Date Climbed: Jun 24, 2010
Up easy, down hardWent up the easy herdpath, down a hairy dryfall (see map). The best way to appreciate the drop is to view it from the northeast, via the lower summits.
SageHawk - Aug 25, 2009 7:19 am Date Climbed: Jul 6, 2009
Sawtooth CanyonDidn't see another soul on this hike to the summit. Surprising to find low-elevation bristlecone pines in the canyon on the way up. At the summit I laid down on my belly with only my head over the edge to peer down into the 'notch'. Awesome feeling. I could see raptors circling up from the depths and for a moment felt the urge to join them in flight. A comment in the summit register stated only 'if I ever decide to end my life, this is the place I will do it'.
byates - Dec 5, 2008 11:37 am
Sawtooth CanyonBest Vertigo in Utah!
Kadee - Nov 26, 2008 2:00 pm Date Climbed: Nov 13, 2005
Literally BreathtakingAMAZING! This hike is one of the best. My favorite part was looking off the cliff - incredible.
Camped at Painter Springs, had an amazing sunset - the sun was pure, bright red.
Dean - May 13, 2008 12:46 pm Date Climbed: May 10, 2008
Perfect dayAmazing mountain, the sheer drop from the summit is breathtaking. I met two guys coming down when I was going up the canyon. Got a late start and summited at 4 pm. No wind, just a perfect weather day. I have to go back with an extension for my camera cuz I was too wussie to get close to that edge. ; )