Hike Mollies Nipple Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument, UT

Mar 07, 2024 — I woke up to light snow hitting my car window, so I just lay there for an hour deciding if I was going to bail on hiking today. I bundled up in every reasonable layer I could find in order to hike to Mollies Nipple. I thought I was going to experience a nice warm desert trip and hadn't considered the need for a fluffy hat and winter gloves, but here I was. Any vehicle can make it to the turnoff here (37.26786, -112.11480), but past this point, you'll need at least some clearance due to the relatively deep sand. I parked where I did because it was the last large turnout before a steep incline ending with deeper sand here (37.25938, -112.10805) that I wasn't comfortable driving through alone out here without service. Additionally, if the ground became wet with snow, I didn't want to experiment with driving on wet sand and thought it safer just to start a bit farther back. If you have a better vehicle, you could make it another couple of miles, and if you have an ATV you could make it to within a mile of the summit.

I set out with a podcast going from the get-go, knowing I had a nearly 5-mile walk ahead of me, the vast majority on a sandy road. Of course, I'd have to repeat this on the way back, so I rolled my eyes at my hobby choice, as I often do, and moved as quickly as I could to get it done. Along the way, Mollies Nipple came into view, a beautiful icon rising up from the otherwise pretty flat desert surrounding it. It looks very cool from here. The road undulates a bit along the way, but it's never too annoying, and the sand never deep enough to make hiking too tiresome.

Finally, the road bent north toward Mollies Nipple and descended toward its base. I left the road as it curved west, continuing up easy terrain to the slickrock base of the peak. From here, I located a faint social trail that brought me up Mollies Nipple's most prominent southern toe. Starting off a bit loose due to the sand, the large and blocky sandstone solidified a bit higher up and added some nice Class 2 to the mix.

It started snowing on me. A bit concerned the scramble ahead would be too dangerous if wet, I moved quickly to reach the crux moves. The sequence began with blocky bits leading to right below the crest, then a ledge brought me 20 feet over some ledgey sandstone up to a notch separating me from the high point. A short section of low Class 3 with some exposure brought me to the summit, where the normally unobstructed perch gave me gorgeous views, though half of my view was obscured by oncoming clouds. I backtracked to my car in time before the snow accumulated, and as I was pelted with hail, I decided I was happy I had parked where I did today.