Climbing Kings Peak in Utah

So, I just returned from a weekend trip climbing Kings Peak in Utah. Kings Peak is the tallest peak in Utah, sitting at a phenomenal 13,528 feet. Yeah, I know, I'm hardcore. Actually, the climb is pretty straightforward, and not overly difficult. Other than being in decent physical shape, there really aren't any other requirements to climb this mountain. The round trip is anywhere from the low 20s to about 29 miles, depending on which route is chosen.

While hiking out to Dollar Lake, my brother spranged his ankle. So, the following day, when we hiked out to ascend Kings Peak, we decided to climb up the shortest route, or Anderson Chute. Anderson Chute takes you up to the saddle that then leads up to the Peak. It took us approximately one hour to ascend the Chute. The chute is the most technical of the three options for getting to the saddle. However, after having done botht he trail and the chute, let me tell you, always do the chute. The trail simply takes too long. We finally summitted the peak, only to find storm clouds overhead and quite a bit static. We were shocking eachother, the rocks, and our hair was buzzing. Needless to say, we got off the summit ASAP. The weather was very sporadic. It was quickly alternating between sun, rain, and snow. But, sure enough, once we got off the peak, and started hiking the trail back, and the sun came out to bake us all the way back to camp. Once we arrived at camp, however, it started to pour rain. The trail back, which loops around the backside of the mountain simply takes phenomenally too long. I strongly recommend both ascending and descending through Anderson's chute. Considering my brother had a spranged ankle, he commented that he would have been able to descend the chute.

The image is taken from Summitpost.org. This image is taken of in the valley where dollar lake is. The trailhead is north of this area and you hike south into the valley. In the image, you can see Andersons Chute on the left, right below the peak furthest left. The peak furthest left is Kings Peak.

It's a sweet climb, and I highly recommend it.