Butterworth, 5.9, 3 Pitches

Approach

This is an 1800+/- ascent day. Getting to Mrs. Butterworth via the Eagle Crag Trail is not a hump for an alpine climber like myself, but many a rock climber would think it is a bit far for three pitches of 5.9. The attraction to this climb is that you stare at its formation all day if you work or play in Springdale, UT. I went out in 2004 without locals and could not find the route which resulted in me going up a real nasty and loose climb on the backside. In 2005 it took us quite the analysis to determine where to start the climb once we arrived to the west side of the feature.

Follow the Eagle Crag Trail south of where you parked to the col on the left side of Mrs. Butterworth which is very distinguishable from the trail during the entire hike. Once at the col, about an hour and a half on the trail, continue south for a short distance and then leave the trail to your right and start a steep raw scramble up to the south end of Mrs. Butterworth which is the most eastern crag of Eagle Crags. Once to the southwestern corner, follow the feature up to its northwestern corner. There are no trails once you leave the Eagle Crag trail.

Route Description

As you stand right at the sharp northwest corner of Mrs. Butterworth, start the first pitch slightly back (south) at the first corner/crack that leads up to a small tree and medium sized ledge that serves as your first belay station. Cams and nuts fit this crack nicely.

2nd Pitch- From the ledge at the tree, start the second pitch right for two moves and then come back left and work out onto the face, smearing a consistent 5.9 pitch up to a belay station located below a large flat ledge (roof). We used this belay station, but I believe you can go ahead and make the additional required moves to attain the top of this large flat area. In any regards, depending on the length of your rope, there are two rappel/belay stations located at this ledge: one below a small roof; and one located at the start of the third pitch on the next wall that leads to the summit. We used the first belay station we came to and did a small pitch to make the large flat area where we took a breather and studied the most challenging move of the day, the start of the third pitch.

3rd Pitch- From the large flat top ledge, you have a significant chasm between this section of Mrs. Butterworth and the toughest and final pitch up the adjacent wall. There is a station immediately on the wall, the idea being that as soon as you start this pitch you are exposed over the chasm. The next several moves, required to make a small sandy ledge on the wall, are by far the most challenging of the day. The photos added to this page show this section extremely well. The hand holds consist of rounded sandstone and the final push onto the ledge got a little ugly in terms of form. Once onto the small ledge, traverse left into a fun corner that gives you some layback problems that finish the climb off nicely.

There was a summit register in 2005. The views of Vermillion Cliffs, Parunuweap Canyon, The Watchman and Zion are grand. On descent, rappel past the chasm and on to the rappel station located below the small roof (move to the right). Then rappel down to the small tree. From there, make your final rappel. It is much quicker to descend (but would have been more difficult to ascend) the north steep slopes in front of Mrs. Butterworth back down to the Eagle Crag Trail. Caution should be taken here, particularly for the party to spread out as huge boulders can be released in this descent. Very loose sand holds these slopes together.

Essential Gear

Full rack of cams and nuts, a few hexs, 60 meter rope, biners, runners, quickdraws, helmet, climbing shoes, plenty of water.

Images

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