LVMC trip to North Guardian Angel (NGA), West Northgate, and Kinesava (Zion)

pics by Harlan W.S.& MattK
Oct 15-16, 2011

This was the 2^nd LVMC Zion trip that I led. Initially, we planned to do both the Angels on successive days, but I thought the warm weather might make S Guardian Angel (SGA) too difficult, and the members most interested in SGA had cancelled anyway. Hence we substituted Kinesava on the 2^nd day.

Day 1, we went to NGA, then W Northgate Peak.	Day 2, we climbed Kinesava by the class 4 route, using access via Anasazi Estates.	This is a Google Earth synthetic 3D view of the track up Kinesava. NGA is also visible directly behind.
View of NGA (L) and SGA (R) from lower Kolob Terrace Road, with the Left Fork Canyon between.	NGA access is via the good Northgate Trail, which ends at the lookout.	The lookout to NGA (viewed across the ridge in this photo). From here, a herd path continues about half way to the peak.
View SW to the upper 400’ vertical of NGA; the various significant points are labeled, and the “walking” route is given by the dark blue line. The area below “rap2” is the DPS class 4 crux, but many find the “aid off tree” section to be sketchier.	Top of DPS crux. I put down a handline, but no one needed it.	The sketchy “aid off tree.”
The finger crack. There is big exposure at R.	On top!	SGA is visible in the L foreground.
		Matt, Kyle and Fabrienne.
Guess who?	View NE.	Dropping off the ridge.
View UP at the finger crack section.	Fabe comes down a steep sandy ramp.	Our rap line is at R. Another group started a belay up… off the same anchor!
Fabe, before deciding to downclimb instead of rap.		Now we take an …uh… break before heading up Northgate.
NGA from Northgate.	You can see the climbers are now on top of NGA.	Our camp is out there.
	Coming down Northgate.	My tent after sunset. It was a good primitive camp.
Next morn, our first glimpse of the Kinesava ridge.		We will head UP a series of broken ramps to a notch, then break through to the plateau, then climb the last peak.
		On top! View toward Johnson Mt.
West Temple in back. We met two rockclimbers from Alaska, who had just come up the Cowboy Ridge.	The shy and demure Fabrienne.
		You must go through this notch to reach the “easy” route back.
	Matt downclimbs.	Safe, but interesting traverse over a big drop.
	Fabe collects plant debris.	The last “easy” class 4; again view is UP.
	It was pretty hot, and I got dehydrated, with intense leg cramps, even before I reached the top. I meant to tank up on liquids at the start, but we got distracted by a flat tire, and I forgot my intentions till I was 2 miles from the car!