The coordinates listed are for the starting trailhead, the Quarry Trailhead. In order to avoid 6+ miles of walking on Squaw Peak Road, park a second car at the Provo Peak Trailhead (40.2423692,-111.5776537)
Sep 06, 2018 — I was hoping for a good, long day in the mountains as a finale for my Wasatch 11ers, East Provo Peak being my last of the 22 peaks over 11,000 feet. Previously, I had hiked Provo Peak, and also Freedom Peak, but never the entire ridgeline. This traverse takes the Upper Pole Couloir to Cascade Mountain, and follows the ridge past South Cascade Mountain, Shingle Mill Peak, Freedom Peak, East Provo Peak, and Provo Peak. It ended up being a really cool route, since it gets more difficult as the ridge progresses, ending at the highest point for the day.
Starting from the Quarry trailhead, a social trail leads from the north side of the parking lot and up into a scree-filled gully, the Upper Pole Couloir. Eventually, you'll see a cairn (or won't) that leads to the ridge north of the couloir. Scramble up awful scree and continue on the grassy ridge to the ridgeline. Head north to bag Cascade Mountain, where there are great views of the Utah Valley to the west and of Mt. Timpanogos to the north. Look south and you'll see the entirety of the ridge you're about to do. Follow the ridge all the way to Provo Peak, which looks pretty dauntingly far away. There are really no spots along the route that there isn't a social trail, and it's kind of more annoying to try to skirt the peaksides in order to avoid the sub-peaks along the ridge than to just follow the ridge itself.
After bagging Cascade Mountain, South Cascade Mountain is a minor bump on your way down to the saddle with Shingle Mill Peak, which is another bump on your way to Freedom Peak. This lovely peak is the start of the low Class 3 scrambling for the day. Once on Freedom Peak, take in the rest of the route and start along the Class 2 ridgeline (or just to the right of it, depending on how much scrambling you want to do), to East Provo Peak. The awful loose rock from East Provo Peak to Provo Peak is the crux of the day. There is one spot to note: a short knife-edge, definitely Class 3. You can avoid it by dropping a few feet to the left of the ridge and scrambling up scree. Otherwise, it's just a steep route down from East Provo, and a steep route up Provo. From Provo Peak's summit, you can see the whole route from this angle looking back toward Cascade Mountain, and then follow the standard Provo Peak trail to the car you (hopefully) placed earlier.
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Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!
