Lamoille Canyon to a pass at the south end of the range. There are most surely unclimbed peaks in this range as well as beautiful country for the DPSer to climb and explore. The area's one drawback is that it is not a wilderness area (and it should be) and as such there is a certain amount of trouble with trail bikes. Our first day was spent exploring the head of Lamnoille Canyon and climbing Peak 11133. There was plenty of snow remaining in the country over 8000 feet as the snowfall had been 150% of normal. The ascent was made up a gentle snow slope and the descent via a glissade to Island Lake which was still 3/4 frozen and then trail to the roadhead. We camped that night miles from the summit of Ruby Dome in the flats to the southwest of the mountain. Ruby Dome lies considerably west of the main crest of the range on a high spur running westward from it. The next morning we crossed 4 to 5 miles of soggy grazing land to the base of the peak, crossed a stream, and ascended the main southwest ridge to its junction with the crest of the spur about a mile west of the summit. After traversing the ridge to the high point we glissaded into the bowl southwest of the peak and climbed slightly to the top of the southwest ridge and descended by the route of ascent. Probably a better route would be one from the north as it is now impossible to drive across the private land to the base of the southwest ridge. The high point of this beautiful range would be a more than worthy addition to the DPS list. SOUTH GUARDIAN ANGEL - Vitz/Haven And speaking of peaks which are more than qualified to be added to the list, South Guardian Angel must not be overlooked. It probably ranks second only to Big Picacho in the interest of the route and the beauty of the area. In Zion National Park, west of the main tourist infested canyon is a vast wilderness of steep-walled canyons, conical peaks, and great mesas surrounded by vertical cliffs. It is an area largely unused and unexplored. There is no way to describe the beauty of this area to anyone who might be unfamiliar with the sandstone canyon and cliff country of southern Utah. Arkel Erb, who made first ascents of both South and North Guardian Angel, was the leader of this scheduled trip into this seldom visited area. We backpacked from the Kolob Resevoir road across pinyon covered flats to a break in the cliffs which allowed us to slide down to the north fork of Right Creek. As we boulder-hopped up the canyon through a light rain the walls constantly closed in upon us. At the point where the narrows begin there is a relatively flat sheltered area where camp can be established. It was still raining as we walked up through the narrows - in spots only six feet wide and 300 feet deep - to a point where a fixed rope must be placed. This involves a 15 foot climb up a wet log to place the rope for those below. From the top of the rope a ledge is followed fifty yards upstream to where a leap across the lip of a waterfall must be made. Continuing upstream, walking in the water or on small ledges, we encountered an area of deep tanks which had been full of sand on Arkel's last visit. We moved a huge log along the canyon bottom about 50 yards to bridge the largest pool. It quit raining that night and cleared to a beautiful day on Sunday. Starting early we soon passed all the obstacles encountered the day before and came to another fall which emptied into a large tank. Another log was jockeyed into position across the tank to the lip of the falls. A short distance upstream another set of tanks was encountered. After several unsuccessful attempts to pass the tanks high on the walls one member of the group went skinny-dipping through the tanks. He was able to find a reasonable route not visible before.

Page Index	Prev	Page 3	Next	Issue Index