1940 souvenir pin from the annual pilgrimage to summit Mount Timpanogos. The hike was started by Eugene L. "Timp" Roberts and The Legend of Timpanogos was likely first told during a bonfire at Aspen Grove the night before the hike.
NPS
The Legend of Timpanogos comes from Brigham Young University professor Eugene Lusk "Timp" Roberts.
The story likely debuted in the early 1920s at a traditional bonfire held at Aspen Grove the night before the Timp Hike, an annual pilgrimage to summit Mount Timpanogos. By all accounts, this modern story was quickly accepted as an authentic Indian Legend. "Timp" Roberts also initiated a short play of the legend at the 1934 Timp Hike bonfire.
The original version can be found in a collection of stories that Eugene "Timp" Roberts had published in 1922 entitled "Timpanogos, Wonder Mountain". This book serves as a love letter to the area and the beauty of the mountain itself. It contains many early photographs, essays, poems, and stories. This book can still be found in the library archives of multiple local universities.
In 1957, Edward R. Tuttle published a poetic version of the legend titled “The Heart of Timpanogos.” To promote his publication, Tuttle held a book signing at the monument.
The tale has been revisited in print throughout the 1970s, and a compilation of legends was published in 1988 by Effie W. Adams. The Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, circa 1990, featured three versions of the legend. The story was adapted as a ballet titled "Legend of Timpanogos" by Jacqueline Colledge of the Utah Regional Ballet Company in 1994. It was performed at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and is still occasionally presented by the company.
At least twelve recorded versions of the Legend of Timpanogos exist today. Though the legends vary, most explain the curious outline of a woman that can be seen in the peaks of Mount Timpanogos, or the origin of the "Great Heart," a large stalactite found in the Timpanogos Cave System.
Mount Timpanogos overlooks Utah Valley as the dominant peak in the region. Standing at 11,750 ft in elevation, it is the second highest mountain in Utah's Wasatch Range. One of the notable points on the hike, Robert's Horn, is named after Eugene Roberts. The mountain has long beckoned area residents to explain their relationship with the majestic peak, just as Eugene "Timp" Roberts did in 1922.
