Mount Nebo, Southern Wasatch Mountains, Utah

In early September I spent a week hiking several Utah prominence peaks and sampling Utah mountain ranges I had not yet visited. I began by hiking Mount Peale in the La Sal Mountains near Moab, Abajo Peak in the Abajo Mountains near Monticello, and Mount Ellen in the remote Henry Mountains. After visiting the Henry Mountains I took a rest day and next visited the Wasatch Range of Utah. My goal this time was Mount Nebo, with 5488 feet of prominence and 11,928 feet of elevation, making it the highest peak in the Wasatch.

I drove onto the Nebo Scenic Byway from the south. There were many campers in campgrounds and dispersed campsites along the Byway and the Nebo Bench Trailhead parking was nearly full. It was a windy afternoon and evening with forecasts of stronger winds overnight. I eventually found a primitive but scenic campsite on a ridge about two miles from the Nebo Bench Trailhead and spent the afternoon relaxing in the shelter of my jeep.

The next morning, September 6, I followed the Nebo Bench Trail around North Peak and descended down towards Wolf Pass. Along this descent I got my first view of Mount Nebo from the Nebo Bench Trail. In the above photo the route climbs up and over “Wolf Pass Peak” in the left of center, then traverses behind that peak and up the North Ridge of Mount Nebo behind it near the center of the photo. The perspective was difficult to interpret – it seemed the Mount Nebo summit could be 3000 feet above me, but I took reassurance from the map data that indicated it was only about 1300 feet higher.

I climbed over Wolf Pass Peak and scrambled up the North Ridge of Mount Nebo. In the photo above the route stays near the ridge line until it reaches the rock band just below the summit, where the trail traverses up to the left. From there it is a short scramble over slabs and some loose rock to the summit.

The rock was fractured and loose in many places but the exposure was mild. There were several boot tracks to choose from but all seemed to reconnect quickly so route finding was straightforward. It seemed a more strenuous hike than I had expected, perhaps because I was trying to keep a father and daughter in sight ahead of me who I later learned had returned earlier this summer from an attempt on Mount Everest (they were evacuated from Camp 2 by helicopter after the earthquake). I lost them on the North Ridge but I had a nice visit with them when we met as they descended.

I enjoyed scrambling up the north ridge and the slabs to the summit. The views from the summit were impressive. Utah Lake and the Northern Wasatch were to the north, the city of Nephi was below me to the west, and the scenic ridges of the Nebo Scenic Byway were below me to the east. I began my descent and immediately began meeting other climbing groups on their way up the trail. I was glad to have gotten an early start that morning and enjoyed my climb nearly all to myself.