Contribute  Loading...
Geography Parents Loading... Routes
| East Face   | 
| Page Type: Route Location: Utah, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 37.19800°N / 113.03°W Route Type: Scrambling Time Required: Most of a day Rock Difficulty: Class 4
| Route Quality: | | | | Loading...
| Page By: cp0915 Created/Edited: Dec 19, 2005 / Jan 31, 2007 Object ID: 168008 Hits: 1165 Loading... Page Score: 86.47% - 2 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
ApproachMuch of this route is visible from highway 9 in Springdale.
From the vicinity of Serendipity and highway 9, Mt. Kinesava is the southernmost high peak on the west side of the highway. Make note of a clearly visible brushy weakness in the east face that works from lower-left to upper-right. This is your goal.
The approach begins at the end of Mukuntuweap Road.
Just before the cul de sac at the end of the road, you should note a sandy ridge rising to the west immediately above the road. Get onto the ridge and follow it west and up for a hundred yards or so until you reach the NPS boundary, which is made apparent by a few signposts.
Once beyond the park boundary, continue in a generally westerly/northwesterly direction, following ridge tops to a plateau area above an obvious cliff band (the easiest way past the cliff band is at its southern end – class 2, & this easy bypass should be apparent).
Continue across the juniper-covered plateau toward the base of the peak. As you approach the base of the peak, aiming for the lower-left corner of the weakness mentioned above, the terrain becomes loose and steep.
Route-finding this approach is elementary. The going is class 1-2, with harder variations certainly possible if one chooses to steer closer to the cliff band below the plateau to negotiate the craggy terrain found there. The approach is perhaps one mile, with less than a thousand feet of gain.
Route DescriptionThough this route is enjoyable and highly recommended, it does have the drawback of consistently poor rock. Other than that, have at it! It’s great.
Once at the lower-left corner of the weakness on Kinesava’s east face, work your way up and right. Appearing at certain times as a ramp system, and at other times as a bouldery gully (kinda), the objective is clear – stay high (but not quite hugging the cliffs of the east face) and follow this ramp/gully/weakness to its top. The top of the weakness is clearly visible on the approach to the base of the east face, as well as much of the way up it.
Travel along the ramp/gully/weakness is mostly class 2-3, with several short sections of class 4 here and there. Route-finding is not difficult, as it is obvious to keep following the weakness up and to the north until it ends, though one may have to look around at times to keep the terrain in the class 4 realm (particularly if you are hugging the cliffs of the east face along the way). Harder variations are easily found.
You will travel up the ramp/gully/weakness for 1800-2000 vertical feet or so.
The ramp/gully/weakness will end at the eastern edge of an obvious plateau area. The plateau area (quite spectacular, actually) is surrounded on all sides by hoodoos, pyramids, and other assorted cool-looking crags.
Cut cross-country west across the plateau to the white-colored pyramid appearing to be the highest. It is to the immediate left of a much lower white pyramid, and to the right of a more cliffy, craggy area.
From the base of the high, white pyramid (the summit pyramid, incidentally), head up its east face. The left side of the face consists primarily of steep slabs and faces, the right side consists of easy terrain (mostly loose class 2-3 stuff), while a broken fin (frequently loose class 4-5.easy) splits the two sides in half.
After 400-500 feet of gain, you’ll reach the top of the pyramid (and the summit of the mountain). The views are astonishingly spectacular.
Essential GearTypically, a decent pair of shoes should do the trick. I suppose that a short rope or long sling could also be brought to aid those uncomfortable on a few short bits of minimally exposed class 4.
Bring plenty of water, as there is none to be found on the mountain.
A map never hurts, though route-finding on this one is relatively easy.
Images
|
|
Zion National Park
