From wherever you park, make for Pine Creek Canyon.

Once in the canyon, head north for about 15 minutes or so (1/2-3/4 mile) until you see a high vertical dry (sometimes wet) fall on your right (east). Just past this fall on the left, look for an obvious slickrock 3rd class exit from the canyon. Head up and out there.

Continue up, but not too high, heading toward the northwest on class 2-3 slabs and ledges. It won’t be long before the impressive south buttress of Deertrap Mountain comes into view in front of you and to the north. Aim for the left side of the buttress.

As you approach the vicinity of the buttress, make your way to the left and up the steepening slabs of a bowl, ultimately working your way to a saddle that will soon come into view. The saddle connects Deertrap Mountain and an unnamed hill-like feature immediately east of the uber-impressive East Temple. Getting to the saddle itself allegedly requires 4th class climbing, however, there are many variations possible that keep the scrambling in the 3rd class realm.

From the saddle, you will have your first view of what lies ahead, though Mountain of the Sun itself has yet to come into view. Facing west from the saddle, The East Temple is on the left, the awesome Twin Brothers is in front of you on the right, and Deertrap Mountain is to the far right and almost behind you. Between The East Temple and Twin Brothers, in the distance, can be seen the ultra-sweet West Temple and Mt. Kinesava. In front of it all is a beautiful slickrock and brush bowl.

There is a prominent canyon in front of you and to the left, lying between The East Temple and Twin Brothers. This is not where you head. Instead, work your way down surprisingly rugged 3rd class terrain into the bowl below you. You’ll notice a narrow canyon heading off to the north between Twin Brothers and Deertrap Mountain. Make your way north along the shallow drainage along the eastern base of Twin Brothers, over an easy pass, and then drop down into the forested canyon.

Once in the canyon, which is locally known as Employee Canyon (aka Lodge Canyon), head north for about a mile over reasonably enjoyable class 2-3 terrain. Soon, you should notice the walls of the canyon, which were very steep before, starting to mellow out on the left. This occurs just before the canyon starts to open up. This mellowing out soon evolves into a slickrock ramp system that heads up and to the south. Get onto this ramp as soon as you feel comfortable. Start up the ramp and to the south, heading up and out of the canyon. With some minor route-finding, you should be able to find your way up to gentler terrain and to a col above. This col connects Mountain of the Sun, which you will finally see, with Twin Brothers.

**A couple of notes on route-finding on the ramp: One would assume that route-finding on the ramp would be easy, and it is, but beware of the exposure on the steep slabs. I would suggest liberal placement of cairns on your way from the bottom of the canyon to the col above, so that your descent is much speedier, and potentially safer. Also, about halfway up the ramp, you should notice that a sort of chute branches off and to the right. Heading up this chute requires a short amount (10 feet) of enjoyable 4th (arguably easy 5th class) climbing. This appears to me to be the safer bet when compared to the steep and evermore-exposed slabs on the ramp itself. Either option will work, though.

***Comments from MoapaPk (added on 4-22-07): "The description of the circuitous path to Employee Canyon is great.

But, for people who want to avoid the exposure of your climb-out from Employee Canyon, I would recommend Bo Beck's suggested climb-out:
Bo's alternate ramp

If one travels maybe 500-1000' more N (from CP's climb-out spot), a ramp -- really a small ridge with a gully on the W side -- comes right down to the wash. Walk south on this ramp, which is class 2 (in fact, I used my hands just once on the way).

Shortly N of this ramp, another deep gully heads west into the mountain -- literally -- in a rather spectacular cave."

Congratulate yourself on making the col.

Route Description

From the col, aim for a short, cliffy band on the southeast corner of Mountain of the Sun. 4th class climbing (perhaps 3rd, if you look hard enough) takes you upward to a prominent gully/ramp system above. Some route-finding is certainly involved here, and I’ll include this picture to ease matters.

Get into this north-trending gully/ramp system and work your way up over varying terrain. Follow it not quite to its head. About 20 feet before the gully/ramp system’s head, you will notice a steep chute branching off left and heading upward. There is a live tree and a large fallen tree branch at the entrance to this chute. Head up it.

Once above the gully (about 25 feet), follow loose and sandy terrain to the obvious highpoint – the summit. Marvel at the views…they are considerable.

For the descent, I would highly recommend making lots of mental notes about where’s and how’s. The aforementioned cairns help too. Finding your way back to the col from the summit is reasonably easy, but finding your way from the col to the bottom of the canyon is strangely difficult. Getting off-route could prove disastrous at most and time-consuming at best.

Retrace your steps back to the car, or…arm yourself with sufficient beta and do the classic rappel descent down the remainder of Employee Canyon. This option dumps you off right behind the Zion Lodge, and requires a car spot.

Essential Gear

A good topo, for starters. Good hiking boots, or rock shoes. A 30m rope should be fine for most situations – some will use the rope, some will not. A few slings.

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