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Southwest 2014
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It was now time to continue higher - now into the unknown (at least for us). The route immediately was quite different from the Endless Staircase: instead of open, somewhat exposed ledgey climbing, we entered into the confined depths of a narrow, shady gully.
courtesy RHanel
Shady Gully
Steep Gully
Shady Gully
The gully was full of crags and large boulders, and we had to wind our way up and around obstacles. There was one spot that was slightly more technical than the rest and with a bit of minor exposure, and a few members of our group indicated that they might like a handline when descending that spot.

Following the faded yellow and red markings on the rocks soon brought us to a small rock tunnel that exited right out of the shady gully. On the other side, we emerged onto a brushy slope not far below the ridgecrest coming south off of Lady Mountain's summit. We were now far, far above Zion Canyon's floor. To be more precise, we were now 2,200 feet above Zion Canyon's floor.
Steep Gully
Gully Exit
Upper Slopes
courtesy RHanel
Nearing Rim Level
Nearing Summit Elevation
Almost at ridgecrest
A faint herdpath led back and forth across the brushy slope, leading us ever closer to the ridgecrest. A final bit of scrambling brought us to the ridgecrest - finally - at 3:40 p.m.

I was slightly surprised at the time it took to get from last year's turnaround point to this ridgecrest - and I could see that we were still about half an hour from the summit. We had underestimated the remaining distance and time required to complete the climb.

We were still in fairly good shape timewise, though, so as long as we kept up a reasonable pace, we calculated that a finish before sunset was still likely.
courtesy RHanel
Ridgecrest Achieved
Following Ridgecrest
Summit in full view
The climbing route to Lady mountain now took a sharp right, and led along the crest of the ridge (bypassing a small tower first) towards the summit of Lady Mountain - now visible ahead in the near distance as a flat-topped island of red rock. The crest had one short (and very easy) 5-foot wide section that was fairly exposed, but apart from that, nothing specifically worth mentioning. What was worth mentioning was that we suddenly had a broad view of an entirely different terrain - the sweeping white slickrock landscape of Zion's southwestern highlands.
courtesy JInnes
Mysterious Western Tablelands
Narrow ridgecrest
Red Path around Summit Base
Upon finishing the walk along the crest, a footpath led left, around the base of the final red cliff band that encircled Lady Mountain's summit. There was one spot along this path that traversed across the top of a gravelly slope that ended in a fairly big dropoff, but apart from this fifteen foot-long section, the path was without trouble. After traversing along the base of the cliff band to the southern end of Lady Mountain's summit plateau, a short and easy scramble up a weakness in the cliff band provided access to the plateau itself.
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[ Return to "The Checklist Edition" Home page | Introduction | Day 1 : South Kaibab to Clear Creek Trail | Day 2 : Clear Creek Tr to Cottonwood Camp | Day 3 : Cottonwood Camp to North Rim | The North Rim | Drive to Zion | Lady Mountain Redux | The Subway | Angel's Landing | Zion in Flood | Valley of Fire | Wind-up and Return | The "Short Report" | GPS Data ]


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