Three Peaks Mountain

Three Peaks Mountain (my name for it) is an ultra-obscure, triple-summited peak halfway between Cedar City and Newcastle in Southern Utah. Sitting beneath the shadow of the nearby Stoddard Mountain, this rarely-climbed mountain makes for an enjoyable day out in the mountains. This mountain, along with Stoddard, are the furthest extension of the Pine Valley Mountains.

From Cedar City drive west on State Highway 56 for approximately 18 miles to Pinto Rd. Turn left and follow this dirt road for around 3 miles. Look for a dirt road coming in from the southeast (the correct road has a broad field on its west side.) Head down this increasingly rutted road as far as you can (we drove here in a minivan so it is possible to drive almost to the trailhead.) 

Follow the road to the southeast until reaching the trailhead for the Big Hollow trail. Continue hiking. The trail follows the banks of a small creek bed, weaving in and out of it as it contours southeast and then east. There are some nice looking crags that tower over the trail in certain spots. After approximately a mile and a half, a rocky slope appears, leading almost due north. Leave the Big Hollow trail and begin ascending. Once you leave the creek, the slopes open up with scattered Pinyon/Juniper. The first peak will be visible high above. Keep climbing north, following rocky slopes. Eventually you will reach the first crags, and you will have to pick your poison: we climbed up loose gullies and ridges, topping out on one crag and traversing over to the next. After surmounting the last crag, you will reach a broad ridge leading to the base of the first peak, a shapely pyramid towering above.

Hike up the to the base of the first peak, and then traverse around the base of it's northwest side on a talus slope of what, in Oregon, we would call "cascade dinner plates." Once you reach the north side, scramble easily up to the summit. When we climbed it in November, there was a thin layer of snow on the rocks, which made it a little dicey. There is a small summit register in a broken glass bottle, despite this being the lowest of the three principle summits. Return back to the base of the crag.

Continue hiking north towards the middle tower, which, from the ridge, is even more shapely than the first. Again, walk up to its south side. There does appear to be a steep class 3/4 route up the south face, but when I climbed it my partner was not a climber and I didn't want to push him too far. Be warned, however, the rock on these peaks is very flaky and brittle. We contoured around to the east for this peak, until we saw a route up a polished water streak which we followed up to the north ridge, then traversed to the summit.

Return to the north ridge and follow it a short distance to the last peak, a less-shapely crag that is the true summit of the mountain. It's a bit anti-climatic. There is no summit register that we could find.

Descent:

Return the way you came

None

This peak could feasibly be climbed in all seasons, although with snow covering the rocks it could add significantly the difficulty. Being at a higher altitude, Three Peaks Mountain is a pleasant escape from the summer heat of St. George

Dispersed camping can be found throughout the area

Weather link here.