Page Type:
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Mountain/Rock |
|---|---|
Lat/Lon:
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37.20599°N / 113.65792°W |
County:
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Washington |
Activities:
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Scrambling |
Season:
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Spring, Fall, Winter |
|
Elevation:
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4200 ft / 1280 m |
|
Overview
Pictograph Mountain (Courtney Purcell's name for it in his excellent guidebook to Zion and the surrounding areas) is one of the dominant features in Snow Canyon State Park in Ivins, Utah (a suburb of St. George.) Blessed with multiple, fine scrambling routes to its summit, this is one of the best "easy" peaks to climb in Snow Canyon. According to Courtney Purcell in his outstanding peakbagging guide "Zion Summit Routes," he says of Pictograph Mountain: Pictograph Mountain is the next peak northwest of Second Peak. It is an outstanding exploratory route, with fascinating scrambling throughout the course of the route. With care, the canyon draining southeast from the summit can be used as a descent route.
This peak appears prominently in the classic movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."
 Pictograph Mountain |
 Pictograph Mountain |
Getting There
From the Desert Rat outdoor retail store (corner of St. George blvd. and Bluff St., drive north on Bluff for 1.7 miles. Turn left onto Snow Canyon Parkway and drive northwest for 3.9 miles (continuing through the first traffic circle.) At the second traffic circle, take the first right onto Snow Canyon Drive. Continue north for one miles to the South Entrance to Snow Canyon State Park. Pay the toll and drive for another .9 miles to the spur road leading to the parking lot for the West Canyon trail (just past the sand dunes.) Turn left and drive to the furthest parking area near the bathrooms.
Google Maps directions here.
Pictograph Mountain
Routes
Tuacahn Chimney Route
Escalator Route
Tuacahn Saddle Route
Pictograph Mountain
Red Tape
A six dollar entry fee is required to enter Snow Canyon State Park.
Pictograph Mountain
When to Climb
Winter, spring and fall. Summer would bake your brains and turn you into a melted puddle. Seriously.
Pictograph Mountain
Camping
There is dispersed camping on BLM and Forest Service land all around Washington County and a fine campground in the park
Pictograph Mountain
External Links
Snow Canyon official webpage
Bonus: Amphitheater Peak
To the north and several hundred feet lower is a subsidiary summit which I am calling Amphitheater Peak (the bowl at its base is know as the amphitheater so it seemed appropriate.) As an objective by itself it doesn't really need a separate page, so I thought I would include it here. To climb this peak, follow one of the many ribs below the summit north towards the candy-striped peak. The route my son and I took brought us to an easy slot canyon (we hiked down to its northern end and followed it south.) Hike east out of the slot and follow slabs up towards the summit. There is one false summit before the main peak. There is also a cool pothole between the several subsidiary domes clustered below the main summit. Amphitheater Peak 1 |  Amphitheater Peak 2 |
 Amphitheater Peak 3 |  Amphitheater Peak 4 |
 Amphitheater Peak 5 |  Amphitheater Peak 6 |
 Amphitheater Peak 7 |
2 Routes