The Great White Throne

On a cool and breezy October day I climbed the Great White Throne in Zion National Park.  I teamed up with Ranger Andrew Fitzgerald for this back country adventure.  I have wanted to stand on top of this monolith since the first day I laid eyes on it back in the early 1970s when I was a young kid backpacking in Zion with my Dad.  The west face of the formation is a serious undertaking with 2,000 feet of climbing on vertical to overhanging rock.  The problem with this face is the soft, unreliable rock on the top several hundred feet and therefore few climbers have ever ventured up that side.  We instead approached the peak from the east (a two hour robust hike) and dropped down into a saddle between the throne and Hidden Canyon on the southeast aspect.  There we climbed a 1,000 feet of slabby, white, sandy rock to the top.  The route had been climbed before in the past and had a few scattered bolts and anchors.  We had difficulty in locating the start of the route and climbed  about 300 feet up before finding actually getting "on route".  The level of difficulty is not high, but the runout factor and risk taking is high.  The top of the formation is mostly flat with trees and thick brush.  There was lots of droppings and prints from bighorn sheep all over the summit mesa.  It was so cool to peer over the edge down into the main canyon of Zion.  Angels Landing appeared small way below us.  It took us awhile to rappel off the mountain and begin the hike out.  We hiked the last hour in complete darkness and cold temperatures but with a feeling of satisfaction.  It was another "great day in Zion"!