Utah's mountains offer superlatives

Oh the wonderful, majestic mountains of Utah! There are mountains in every one of the state's 29 counties. They dominate the landscape in many Utah cities and make life possible here by creating watersheds.

Mountains helped make the 2002 Winter Olympics a reality here — they store the "Greatest Snow on Earth" for skiers and make a wonderland for hikers and scenery lovers alike. They lessen the likelihood of tornadoes, temper the climate in Utah and create shelter for a variety of wildlife.

But what are some of the "highs" of Utah's mountains? The biggest? The best, the strangest or the most unusual?

Best panorama — Twin Peaks above Snowbird, 11,489 and 11,433 feet. At 500 feet above Hidden Peak and the top of the Snowbird Tram, nothing but the earth's curvature or haze blocks your view!

Best illusion — That Ben Lomond is taller than the adjacent Willard Peak. The latter, at 9,764, is 52 feet higher but doesn't appear so because it is farther north and set back from downtown Ogden.

Best imaginary image — Timpanogos from the south, where its mountain skyline can resemble a woman lying down to some observers — hence fitting with an Indian maiden legend.

Best name — Impossible Peak, a 7,520-foot summit in Garfield County, northeast of Boulder.

Biggest cliff — Notch Peak. The west side of this 9,655 peak southwest of Delta is a 5,033-foot drop — with almost a 90-degree incline to the Tule Valley below. Perhaps only El Capitan in Yosemite has a bigger cliff face in the United States.

Biggest hunk — Mount Nebo, a mammoth mountain east of Nephi and rising 11,928 feet above sea level.

Biggest hump — Navajo Mountain, a stand-alone formation, that's mostly in Utah and towers above Rainbow Bridge and Lake Powell at 10,388 feet above sea level.

Easiest Timp-level mountain to climb — Bald Mountain, higher than Timpanogos Peak at 11,943 feet, but can be climbed in just a 1,200-foot ascent off the paved Mirror Lake Highway.

Easiest 11,000-foot mountain to reach in Utah — Brian Head. You can drive a car on a good dirt road to this 11,307-foot mountain, the tallest in Iron County.