Mount Spry is, in my opinion, one of Zion's most overlooked little gems. The dramatic views off its north ridge down into Zion Canyon just may be my favorite to date in the entire park. Simply being in such close proximity to The East Temple and Twin Brothers is pretty damn awesome too. Mount Spry also holds a special place in my heart because it was my first adventure with DB & CP, who sadly could not make our traditional Thanksgiving in Zion this year.

Rendezvousing at the Watchman Campground Wednesday night, the 2014 crew sat around the campfire to ponder the selection of a Thanksgiving Day peak. It had to be suited to a group of 8. It had to be noob friendly. Yet it had to be worthy of such a special day with a special crew that included two complete Zion virgins. And it had to get us back to town early enough to make our 6pm dinner reservations at Wildcat Willies. Flipping through CP's book, Giles rattled off random peaks he & Julie had yet to climb. West Temple. No way. Deertrap. Nope. Mount Spry. YESSSS! As soon as the words came out I knew it was the one. It'd be a new peak for everyone but me and I very much looked forward to sharing the experience with them.



Kicking off Zion Turkeyfest XII. Excitement levels are high on the familiar approach to Spry Canyon.


"I'm almost certain those pictographs are just right up there." - AA


Pictograph mimicry.



To access Mount Spry we must do the first 165 foot rappel in Spry Canyon. Ice complicates things.


Start and end of the rappel. There is an intermediate pool that is easily avoided.


A tiny ledge is the ticket to staying dry at the bottom of the rappel. Don't slip!


View of Mount Spry upon climbing out of Spry Canyon.


The mighty Sentinel. The subpeak on the right, "North Sentinel" is also a ranked summit.


Steep slickrock slabs on the east face of Mount Spry.


Slickrock master Jenny shows the gang how its done.


Dom drops a handline for the noob.




A handline is used by most of us for the spiciest moves on the slabby face.


What a gentleman. Giles loves his Julie.


The boys finish up the steep scrambling on our chosen east face route. This line is a bit north of the one I climbed with CP & DB the first time around.


Typical Zion scrambling under the imposing Twin Brothers.


Now on easier ground and heading for the summit of Mount Spry.


The summit area is a beautiful mix of bright slickrock and greenery!


Silhouette shenanigans. The famous Streaked Wall is on the left, The Sentinel on the right.


The final summit push.


The infamous Bridge Mountain as seen from Mount Spry.


Twin Brothers, a goal for later in the week. Believe it or not, the route goes up that steep slickrock face. Yikes!


Julie making the final moves to the summit.



A few shots of the Thanksgiving crew on the summit.


The views into Zion Canyon from Mount Spry are among the best in the park.


The East Temple, climbed by Dom & I exactly one year ago today.


Twin Brothers and The East Temple separated by Spry Canyon.




And now for the main event: descending Mount Spry's North Ridge while gobbling up some incredible eye candy.



Group shot and selfie of the photographer. Thanks AA!


Rare shots of yours truly taken by Dom.


The short knife edge section of the North Ridge.


Ryan in flight.


Parting shot of Zion Canyon before we exit the ridge.


Looking down at a landslide in Zion Canyon.


Dom reverses the ledge traverse and prepares to batman up our fixed line in Spry Canyon.


The rest of us take a less reckless approach, using various sorts of ascending devices.


Jenny, Julie & AA at the top of the rappel. An easy hike out is all that stands between us and Thanksgiving dinner!


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