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Backcountry Fever
← Rolling Hills to Lookout Peak
Planning for Gannett →

Scaled the Dragon’s Tail to Grandeur

Posted on June 30, 2022January 21, 2026 by Backcountry Fever

I was happy to see Grandeur make the list again for 2022’s Six Pack of Peaks Challenge!  After last year’s Yo-Yo, I’ve hit this peak now five times but always wanted to scale the Dragon’s Tail to the top. 

This route does follow along a narrow ridgeline once you get up on the tail.  However, it’s covered in brush and far less impressive than I thought it would be.  Honestly, I think that ridge looks a lot more impressive when you see it from the West Ridge trail looking across from the other side.

So I guess you could say I was a bit disappointed but still glad to have done it.

This route starts at the Grandeur Peak (Face) Trailhead, at the very end of Wasatch Blvd near Parley’s Canyon.  Follow the trail as if you were taking West Ridge up.

I found the GPS coordinates from SummitPost useful in getting me to the correct spine.

Views of the valley from here were pretty cool.

It really wasn’t hard to follow once you got up on the ridgeline…

…even after it got a bit scrubby.  Either a lot of people help keep it clear, or it’s a path frequently used by wildlife, or both.

This is about as “exposed” as it gets.  It’s a rocky spine, but not like I thought/hoped it would be.

Looking back at another scrubby section about two-thirds of the way up.

It took me exactly 2 hours to hit the top from this route, which ended up being 2.64 miles with 3,252 feet of elevation.

This is what I meant when I said the Dragon’s Tail looks a lot more impressive when you see it from the West Ridge.

Final stats were 4.8 miles in 3 hours with 3,282 feet of elevation gain.  Only two peaks left to complete this year’s Six-Pack.

← Rolling Hills to Lookout Peak
Planning for Gannett →

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Couldn`t have asked for a better day to climb Mount Adams. The conditions today (6/4) were absolutely perfect!

These 6 miles were waaaay different from the last six I did in LA. This 6-mile climb to the summit packed in 6,700 feet of elevation and took 6 hours 45 minutes (one-way).

#mtadams #mountadams #pnw #mountaineering #legday

21 3
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Couldn't have asked for a better day to climb Mount Adams. The conditions today (6/4) were absolutely perfect!

These 6 miles were waaaay different from the last six I did in LA. This 6-mile climb to the summit packed in 6,700 feet of elevation and took 6 hours 45 minutes (one-way).

#mtadams #mountadams #pnw #mountaineering #legday

Spent the weekend in California for a wedding and managed to squeeze in a quick hike, L.A.-style.

After reaching Mount Lee behind the Hollywood Sign, I couldn`t resist tagging two other peaks along the Aileen Getty Ridge Trail: Cahuenga Peak, the highest point in Griffith Park, and Burbank Peak, home to the famous Wisdom Tree.

The hike came in at 6 miles with just 1,000 feet of elevation gain and took only 2 hours.

#hollywoodsign #cahuengapeak #burbankpeak #aileengettyridgetrail #hikela

17 0
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Spent the weekend in California for a wedding and managed to squeeze in a quick hike, L.A.-style.

After reaching Mount Lee behind the Hollywood Sign, I couldn't resist tagging two other peaks along the Aileen Getty Ridge Trail: Cahuenga Peak, the highest point in Griffith Park, and Burbank Peak, home to the famous Wisdom Tree.

The hike came in at 6 miles with just 1,000 feet of elevation gain and took only 2 hours.

#hollywoodsign #cahuengapeak #burbankpeak #aileengettyridgetrail #hikela

Still chasing snow! Took my brother-in-law on his first-ever mountaineering experience. We went up Temple Couloir, over to Deseret Peak, and then slid down West Twin Couloir. Hard to beat spring days like this.

This was my 6th summit of Deseret Peak.

#deseretpeak #templecouloir #twincouloirs #mountaineering #chasingsnow

44 4
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Still chasing snow! Took my brother-in-law on his first-ever mountaineering experience. We went up Temple Couloir, over to Deseret Peak, and then slid down West Twin Couloir.  Hard to beat spring days like this.

This was my 6th summit of Deseret Peak.

#deseretpeak #templecouloir #twincouloirs #mountaineering #chasingsnow

One of my favorite things to do between ski season and hiking season: kicking steps up a steep slope toward some snow-capped summit!

#mountaineering #kickingsteps #steepslope #snowcapped #summitday

32 4
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One of my favorite things to do between ski season and hiking season: kicking steps up a steep slope toward some snow-capped summit!

#mountaineering #kickingsteps #steepslope #snowcapped #summitday

Another moderate day of mountaineering up the north slope of Mt. Superior, known as Cardiac Bowl. I`ve only been to this peak once before, from the typical summer trail, so it was way fun to get there from this direction.

#mountsuperior #northslope #cardiacbowl #mountaineering #wasatch11ers

31 0
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Another moderate day of mountaineering up the north slope of Mt. Superior, known as Cardiac Bowl.  I've only been to this peak once before, from the typical summer trail, so it was way fun to get there from this direction.

#mountsuperior #northslope #cardiacbowl #mountaineering #wasatch11ers

With such good coverage and a big storm rolling in, I think Alta should stay open for at least another week!

#stillskiing #springskiing #skiutah #skiing #alta

14 0
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With such good coverage and a big storm rolling in, I think Alta should stay open for at least another week! 

#stillskiing #springskiing #skiutah #skiing #alta

It`s been a minute since I`ve had anything other than ski boots or hockey skates on my feet this winter. Gotta switch gears before the mountaineering season melts away here in Utah!

#mountaineering #kesslerpeak #westridge #wasatchfront #timetoclimb

📷 @wasatchwidescreen

23 0
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It's been a minute since I've had anything other than ski boots or hockey skates on my feet this winter.  Gotta switch gears before the mountaineering season melts away here in Utah!

#mountaineering #kesslerpeak #westridge #wasatchfront #timetoclimb

📷 @wasatchwidescreen

On this day last year—February 18—my team and I reached the summit of Aconcagua, the tallest peak in Argentina and the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere at 22,837 feet.

I’ve enjoyed looking back on that expedition by rereading my day-by-day trip report from our climb.

👉 Link in bio: an 18-part guide covering the entire climb, plus pre-trip planning tips and post-expedition things to see and do around Mendoza.

Whether this is your first high-altitude objective or you’re adding Aconcagua to your mountaineering résumé, the guide will help you see why I chose the 360° Traverse, how to plan for your expedition, and what to expect each day on the mountain.

#aconcagua #aconcagua360 #aconcaguaexpedition #highaltitudemountaineering #mountaineering

34 2
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On this day last year—February 18—my team and I reached the summit of Aconcagua, the tallest peak in Argentina and the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere at 22,837 feet.

I’ve enjoyed looking back on that expedition by rereading my day-by-day trip report from our climb.

👉 Link in bio: an 18-part guide covering the entire climb, plus pre-trip planning tips and post-expedition things to see and do around Mendoza.

Whether this is your first high-altitude objective or you’re adding Aconcagua to your mountaineering résumé, the guide will help you see why I chose the 360° Traverse, how to plan for your expedition, and what to expect each day on the mountain.

#aconcagua #aconcagua360 #aconcaguaexpedition #highaltitudemountaineering #mountaineering

Winter is my favorite season, and cold weather camping is one of my favorite winter activities.

#coldweathercamping #wintercamping #tenting #lovewinter #lovecamping

19 0
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Winter is my favorite season, and cold weather camping is one of my favorite winter activities.

#coldweathercamping #wintercamping #tenting #lovewinter #lovecamping
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