Josh Behunin - Aug 13, 2021 8:58 pm Date Climbed: Aug 13, 2021
Favorite peak of the day on provo peak traverse
My favorite peak we summited on the provo ridge as we went from cascade pass to Provo Peak. It also has a summit register but only a few pages of signatures, not super popular need to come of the 4th of July.
Started at the Rock Canyon parking lot and made it up after many hours and about 8.6 miles. I did Shingle Mill Peak right before so the total elevation gain from strava was 6200 feet. I thought this was a lot but while coming off of Freedom Peak I met a trio of guys who had started at the same place as me and had apparently gone from Provo to East Provo then to Freedom Peak so they probably did more. Props to them for the rugged adventure.
AbinadiWitness - May 24, 2016 5:50 pm Date Climbed: Sep 26, 2014
Fun in the Wasatch
Up the North Ridge. :)
scgrant - Sep 13, 2015 11:20 pm Date Climbed: Jun 18, 2015
Freedom
As part of a traverse from Shingle Mill Peak to Provo Peak, with Ben Stokes. Started up Dry Fork to Shingle Mill, traverse to Provo, with a descent down the North Ridge of Provo into Burnt Hollow and bushwhack down to the Squaw Peak road eventually getting back down to my truck at the Dry Fork TH. Pretty awesome day. The bushwhack down Burnt Hollow was pretty brutal.
From Provo to East Provo to Freedom Peak to Shingle Mill. 14 mile loop to return to car. Fun Ridge run!
JiriKadlec - Oct 26, 2014 1:48 am Date Climbed: Oct 25, 2014
West Ridge
I hiked from Rock Canyon and followed the Dry fork trail up to the trail switchback and then headed straight towards the west ridge. Getting up to the ridge was a tough climb with lots of loose rock. Once on the ridge, it was still quite a scramble, but less difficult. The peak was awesome. Steep rocks on all sides and magnificent views. This is one of the greenest 11,000ers in the Provo area with pines growing all the way up to the summit. I descended by the "knife edge" north ridge and that was a fun climb. The whole round trip took 11 hours from Rock Canyon and back. What an awesome day!
abrennalinerush - Jul 5, 2013 11:17 am Date Climbed: Jul 4, 2013
Happy birthday, America!
PrinceOfNorway and I left a star-spangled gift for you atop Freedom Peak. It seemed only fitting.
PrinceOfNorway - Jul 5, 2013 9:20 am Date Climbed: Jul 4, 2013
Today would be the day to do it.
Apparently I'm a true patriot for going up Freedom Peak on July 4th. It was kind of a long slog up to the saddle between Shingle Mill and Freedom. The North Ridge wasn't a big deal. It looks intimidating at first glance, but just go slow and keep going upward. It took about an hour to get to the top from the saddle at a slow and methodical pace. Also, I would recommend staying on top of the ridge or taking the occasional dip to either side to bypass trees or tricky rock. It seems sort of a trail has developed. Anyway, follow this advice...or not...I'm not a cop.
Moogie737 - Jun 12, 2013 12:02 am Date Climbed: Jun 11, 2013
West ridge with snow-couloir approach
See the write up by ZeeJay. No lady bugs on the summit; we replaced the small glass jar with a larger plastic mayonnaise jar to contain the modest summit log papers. The old ones from the glass jar were in far worse shape than the Dead Sea Scrolls. Lots of strong wind today making the scramble on the ridge sometimes difficult.
ZeeJay - Jun 11, 2013 6:24 pm Date Climbed: Jun 11, 2013
West ridge
Followed the trail to the big switchback below the peak and then went up a couloir to the west ridge. The ridge was fine, but was no picnic. It would have been a lot easier if not for the thorn bushes and the occasional dense patch of trees obscuring the loose rock underneath our feet. I think that most of the bushwhacking could have been avoided by staying well south of the actual ridge.
rockhop23 - Jun 5, 2013 2:05 pm Date Climbed: Jun 1, 2013
West ridge
Climbed via the West ridge. Every bit as challenging as the North ridge in our opinion. We accessed the ridge via a snow-filled couloir. Ice axe and crampons were essential. Tricky climbing on the ridge but worth it at the top. Watch for thousands of lady bugs near the summit.
byates - Sep 28, 2009 10:24 am Date Climbed: Sep 27, 2009
Great fall colors
Climbed Shingle Mill first then over to Freedom, exciting ridge, as said before check your holds, I would not recommend a large group, to much loose stuff to drop on folks. We hit it at peak fall colors, it would be hard to be this peak and the Rock Canyon drainage for that.
I think this is the peak that is featured on Paramount's logo, not Ben Lomond. It is absolutely breathtaking from all sides. One of the best hikes in the Wasatch Range. Took about 2 and a half hours from trailhead. The knife edge was awesome, but my dog was able to do it. Just take extra precaution and make sure every step is sure. I slipped once and thought I was going to join the billy goats at the bottom of the east coulier. Scary moment. Fantastic views of Provo Peak from the summit. Thank you vanman for the page. This is a fantastic peak.
P.S. I also wanna know who Tim Heaton is. He had signed the registry like a bazillion times, and also had taken his 7 month pregnant wife on that hike. That baby must've been born climbing.
Yep, baby is now in her mid twenties and loves hiking as much as my wife and I do, also ran her first marathon this year. Now I'm a geology professor in South Dakota, but I get back to the Wasatch once or twice a year.
I had wanted to climb this one for quite some time, especially when I read that there was a dicey knife-edged ridge that had to be traversed to reach the summit. Hiked it with kteichert and we reached the summit in a little over 2.5 hours from Dry Fork TH. Beautiful skies, great views, with temps 35 degrees at the summit with the wind. Knife-edge was not nearly as crazy as I thought, just take the time to have solid footing and hand holds and you'll be fine. Found the summit registry mentioned by vanman798, and took a picture of it to post on here. After Freedom, we then hit Shingle Mill Peak. I look forward to doing this one again! A great day!
thigbee - Aug 21, 2009 12:57 am Date Climbed: Jul 15, 2009
Not Too Bad
Great mountain! I climbed this thing twice over the summer, once via the north face snow gullies and once via a technical rock and scrambling route on the north face. I added both routes to MountainProject.com. I've done the traverse from Freedom to Shingle Mill (in the rain...) and it wasn't nearly as exposed or scary as everyone made it sound. I'd call it class 3. Just don't be stupid, watch where you put your hands and feet, and you'll be fine.
bigcheese - Mar 21, 2008 3:39 am Date Climbed: Sep 3, 2007
Dry Fork
We hiked from Rock Canyon and took the Dry Fork route to Cascade Saddle, taking on Freedom Peak first and then heading over to Shingle Mill afterwards.
In a word: scary. This climb was a bit more than I wanted to chew, and I refuse to return without getting more experience on other difficult climbs. Dangerous is certainly an accurate description, but I should also mention the nice views. Props to my skilled and fearless climbing buddy--couldn't have done it without him.
vanman798 - Nov 10, 2007 11:55 am Date Climbed: Nov 9, 2007
Dangerous
It's an easy walk up the dry fork trail, from Squaw Peak Road (trail), to the saddle between Shingle Mill, and Freedom Peak, but from there, to the peak, it is dangerous. I did it in November when there was patches of snow, two or three inches deep. When I had to cross the snow, on the knifes edge one follows to the peak, it was unnerving because the snow wasn't enough to provide foot holds but instead made the rocks and the shale, of the steep slope, dangerously slick. It was tough going up, so imagine how much tougher it was to go down.
A good thing to remember is that 80% of mountaineering accidents happen on the descent, so extra caution needs to be exercised when coming down a mountain.
In the write up for this mountain the author states that the knife edge one follows to the peak is similar to the one on the Pfiefferhorn. That is definately not the case! The knife edge on the Pfiefferhorn is level, and over large rocks, and you can only fall off one side. Whereas, the knife edge on Freedom Peak is very steep and over shale or talus, and one wrong move and you will fall over either side.
I do agree with the statement in the write up which says "Ropes not required but somewhat scary". To me that is a class 4 climb.
I suggest you do as I did, and bag Freedom Peak first then scramble up Shingle Mill, as Shingle Mill is easy, and you can do it even after Freedom has tried your nerves and sapped your energy.
Oh, by the way, to the south (maybe a foot) of the cairn on the peak of Freedom I found an 8 ounce glass jar under the rocks with paper and pencil inside which serves as a log book for the peak. It hadn't been signed since 1996, but logs went back as far as 1976. The header on the paper said "Storm Mountain", so I wonder if that is what it used to be called before "Freedom".
madjohnbo - Jun 30, 2006 6:23 am Date Climbed: Jun 29, 2006
Route Climbed: Dry Fork
Fun climb to the top. THe descent off the top was tough. Talus on steep slopes made it hard to get a good footing. Still a fun climb, worth the effort.
Josh Behunin - Aug 13, 2021 8:58 pm Date Climbed: Aug 13, 2021
Favorite peak of the day on provo peak traverseMy favorite peak we summited on the provo ridge as we went from cascade pass to Provo Peak. It also has a summit register but only a few pages of signatures, not super popular need to come of the 4th of July.
LazyJSkwires - Jul 28, 2018 8:06 pm Date Climbed: Jul 28, 2018
A walk and then someStarted at the Rock Canyon parking lot and made it up after many hours and about 8.6 miles. I did Shingle Mill Peak right before so the total elevation gain from strava was 6200 feet. I thought this was a lot but while coming off of Freedom Peak I met a trio of guys who had started at the same place as me and had apparently gone from Provo to East Provo then to Freedom Peak so they probably did more. Props to them for the rugged adventure.
AbinadiWitness - May 24, 2016 5:50 pm Date Climbed: Sep 26, 2014
Fun in the WasatchUp the North Ridge. :)
scgrant - Sep 13, 2015 11:20 pm Date Climbed: Jun 18, 2015
FreedomAs part of a traverse from Shingle Mill Peak to Provo Peak, with Ben Stokes. Started up Dry Fork to Shingle Mill, traverse to Provo, with a descent down the North Ridge of Provo into Burnt Hollow and bushwhack down to the Squaw Peak road eventually getting back down to my truck at the Dry Fork TH. Pretty awesome day. The bushwhack down Burnt Hollow was pretty brutal.
apachedino - Jul 13, 2015 2:00 pm Date Climbed: Jul 9, 2015
Freedom TraverseFrom Provo to East Provo to Freedom Peak to Shingle Mill. 14 mile loop to return to car. Fun Ridge run!
JiriKadlec - Oct 26, 2014 1:48 am Date Climbed: Oct 25, 2014
West RidgeI hiked from Rock Canyon and followed the Dry fork trail up to the trail switchback and then headed straight towards the west ridge. Getting up to the ridge was a tough climb with lots of loose rock. Once on the ridge, it was still quite a scramble, but less difficult. The peak was awesome. Steep rocks on all sides and magnificent views. This is one of the greenest 11,000ers in the Provo area with pines growing all the way up to the summit. I descended by the "knife edge" north ridge and that was a fun climb. The whole round trip took 11 hours from Rock Canyon and back. What an awesome day!
abrennalinerush - Jul 5, 2013 11:17 am Date Climbed: Jul 4, 2013
Happy birthday, America!PrinceOfNorway and I left a star-spangled gift for you atop Freedom Peak. It seemed only fitting.
PrinceOfNorway - Jul 5, 2013 9:20 am Date Climbed: Jul 4, 2013
Today would be the day to do it.Apparently I'm a true patriot for going up Freedom Peak on July 4th. It was kind of a long slog up to the saddle between Shingle Mill and Freedom. The North Ridge wasn't a big deal. It looks intimidating at first glance, but just go slow and keep going upward. It took about an hour to get to the top from the saddle at a slow and methodical pace. Also, I would recommend staying on top of the ridge or taking the occasional dip to either side to bypass trees or tricky rock. It seems sort of a trail has developed. Anyway, follow this advice...or not...I'm not a cop.
Moogie737 - Jun 12, 2013 12:02 am Date Climbed: Jun 11, 2013
West ridge with snow-couloir approachSee the write up by ZeeJay. No lady bugs on the summit; we replaced the small glass jar with a larger plastic mayonnaise jar to contain the modest summit log papers. The old ones from the glass jar were in far worse shape than the Dead Sea Scrolls. Lots of strong wind today making the scramble on the ridge sometimes difficult.
ZeeJay - Jun 11, 2013 6:24 pm Date Climbed: Jun 11, 2013
West ridgeFollowed the trail to the big switchback below the peak and then went up a couloir to the west ridge. The ridge was fine, but was no picnic. It would have been a lot easier if not for the thorn bushes and the occasional dense patch of trees obscuring the loose rock underneath our feet. I think that most of the bushwhacking could have been avoided by staying well south of the actual ridge.
rockhop23 - Jun 5, 2013 2:05 pm Date Climbed: Jun 1, 2013
West ridgeClimbed via the West ridge. Every bit as challenging as the North ridge in our opinion. We accessed the ridge via a snow-filled couloir. Ice axe and crampons were essential. Tricky climbing on the ridge but worth it at the top. Watch for thousands of lady bugs near the summit.
byates - Sep 28, 2009 10:24 am Date Climbed: Sep 27, 2009
Great fall colorsClimbed Shingle Mill first then over to Freedom, exciting ridge, as said before check your holds, I would not recommend a large group, to much loose stuff to drop on folks. We hit it at peak fall colors, it would be hard to be this peak and the Rock Canyon drainage for that.
kteichert - Sep 21, 2009 4:35 pm Date Climbed: Sep 21, 2009
ParamountI think this is the peak that is featured on Paramount's logo, not Ben Lomond. It is absolutely breathtaking from all sides. One of the best hikes in the Wasatch Range. Took about 2 and a half hours from trailhead. The knife edge was awesome, but my dog was able to do it. Just take extra precaution and make sure every step is sure. I slipped once and thought I was going to join the billy goats at the bottom of the east coulier. Scary moment. Fantastic views of Provo Peak from the summit. Thank you vanman for the page. This is a fantastic peak.
kteichert - Sep 23, 2009 10:53 pm
Re: ParamountP.S. I also wanna know who Tim Heaton is. He had signed the registry like a bazillion times, and also had taken his 7 month pregnant wife on that hike. That baby must've been born climbing.
Heaton - Nov 13, 2009 9:21 pm
Re: ParamountYep, baby is now in her mid twenties and loves hiking as much as my wife and I do, also ran her first marathon this year. Now I'm a geology professor in South Dakota, but I get back to the Wasatch once or twice a year.
aprovance - Sep 21, 2009 3:45 pm Date Climbed: Sep 21, 2009
via Dry Fork THI had wanted to climb this one for quite some time, especially when I read that there was a dicey knife-edged ridge that had to be traversed to reach the summit. Hiked it with kteichert and we reached the summit in a little over 2.5 hours from Dry Fork TH. Beautiful skies, great views, with temps 35 degrees at the summit with the wind. Knife-edge was not nearly as crazy as I thought, just take the time to have solid footing and hand holds and you'll be fine. Found the summit registry mentioned by vanman798, and took a picture of it to post on here. After Freedom, we then hit Shingle Mill Peak. I look forward to doing this one again! A great day!
thigbee - Aug 21, 2009 12:57 am Date Climbed: Jul 15, 2009
Not Too BadGreat mountain! I climbed this thing twice over the summer, once via the north face snow gullies and once via a technical rock and scrambling route on the north face. I added both routes to MountainProject.com. I've done the traverse from Freedom to Shingle Mill (in the rain...) and it wasn't nearly as exposed or scary as everyone made it sound. I'd call it class 3. Just don't be stupid, watch where you put your hands and feet, and you'll be fine.
bigcheese - Mar 21, 2008 3:39 am Date Climbed: Sep 3, 2007
Dry ForkWe hiked from Rock Canyon and took the Dry Fork route to Cascade Saddle, taking on Freedom Peak first and then heading over to Shingle Mill afterwards.
In a word: scary. This climb was a bit more than I wanted to chew, and I refuse to return without getting more experience on other difficult climbs. Dangerous is certainly an accurate description, but I should also mention the nice views. Props to my skilled and fearless climbing buddy--couldn't have done it without him.
vanman798 - Nov 10, 2007 11:55 am Date Climbed: Nov 9, 2007
DangerousIt's an easy walk up the dry fork trail, from Squaw Peak Road (trail), to the saddle between Shingle Mill, and Freedom Peak, but from there, to the peak, it is dangerous. I did it in November when there was patches of snow, two or three inches deep. When I had to cross the snow, on the knifes edge one follows to the peak, it was unnerving because the snow wasn't enough to provide foot holds but instead made the rocks and the shale, of the steep slope, dangerously slick. It was tough going up, so imagine how much tougher it was to go down.
A good thing to remember is that 80% of mountaineering accidents happen on the descent, so extra caution needs to be exercised when coming down a mountain.
In the write up for this mountain the author states that the knife edge one follows to the peak is similar to the one on the Pfiefferhorn. That is definately not the case! The knife edge on the Pfiefferhorn is level, and over large rocks, and you can only fall off one side. Whereas, the knife edge on Freedom Peak is very steep and over shale or talus, and one wrong move and you will fall over either side.
I do agree with the statement in the write up which says "Ropes not required but somewhat scary". To me that is a class 4 climb.
I suggest you do as I did, and bag Freedom Peak first then scramble up Shingle Mill, as Shingle Mill is easy, and you can do it even after Freedom has tried your nerves and sapped your energy.
Oh, by the way, to the south (maybe a foot) of the cairn on the peak of Freedom I found an 8 ounce glass jar under the rocks with paper and pencil inside which serves as a log book for the peak. It hadn't been signed since 1996, but logs went back as far as 1976. The header on the paper said "Storm Mountain", so I wonder if that is what it used to be called before "Freedom".
madjohnbo - Jun 30, 2006 6:23 am Date Climbed: Jun 29, 2006
Route Climbed: Dry ForkFun climb to the top. THe descent off the top was tough. Talus on steep slopes made it hard to get a good footing. Still a fun climb, worth the effort.