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alpinerockfiend
Nov 9, 2005, 1:09 AM
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Basically, my buds and I want to break up the 14(?) hr. drive from Jackson, WY to Vegas and hopefully find a spot to get in a short day of climbing. Sport routes would be ideal for packing a pump, but anything good would go. Ideally, this place would be somewhere b/w SLC and Cedar City (past that, it's pretty much Vegas or bust!). I checked out R & R and that section of interstate seems pretty devoid of single-pitch cragging areas. Hopefully I'm wrong about that. Can anyone fill me in?
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paganmonkeyboy
Nov 9, 2005, 1:31 AM
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I-15 to vegas ?
what do you want to climb on ?
salt lake city, but the canyons might be cold/snowy
maple canyon south of provo (hour off 15...maybe less)
st george has tons of crags according to this guidebook i'm looking at too (the Falcon Guide Utah book - the sampler...) you might consider stopping at international mountaineering equipment IME on 3300 south and talking to someone there
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alpinerockfiend
Nov 9, 2005, 1:35 AM
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Thanks for the quick reply. I edited my OP to clarify something. If we get to St. George, we probably won't have time to climb there anyway. So I was thinking more in terms of SLC-Cedar City at the farthest. Any suggestions?
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alpinerockfiend
Nov 9, 2005, 3:16 AM
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Is maple traditionally a winter crag though? I don't really know, but I always remember Jackson climbers heading down there in May...
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dlh
Nov 9, 2005, 4:23 AM
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When are you going?
It's been pretty warm here lately and plenty climbable at Maple.
You could try the south facing walls at American Fork. They are often very pleasant even in the dead of winter depending on the weather at the time of your trip.
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pk
Nov 9, 2005, 4:54 AM
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You could always just drive straight here and pick a day to go to Red Rock. The first and second pullouts will probably have more than enough to keep you busy for an entire day / year.
P.K.
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alpinerockfiend
Nov 9, 2005, 3:10 PM
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dlh, we'll be heading down that way right after Christmas. So Am. Fork has some good south-facing walls? It sounds like that might be the best option... Do you know of any areas between SLC and the Cedar City area? I know Kolob Canyon is mainly big wall climbing, but is there any convenient single pitch cragging to be done as well?
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ddriver
Nov 9, 2005, 3:37 PM
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Santaquin Canyon is supposed to have a lot of sport activity nowadays, I have only climbed ice there. Its 3 minutes off I-15 south of Spanish Fork.
Cedar City also has a number of crags, both sides of the freeway, but again I've never stopped there to climb. Between the two don't expect to find much. I can recommend a stop at Meadow hot springs for a refresh, however. I'll leave it to you to find it.
Suggest you peruse the board at utahclimbers.com, there are sections by area and you should find or get the info you want.
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alpinerockfiend
Nov 9, 2005, 4:43 PM
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I see that you've climbed ice there... is there any good south facing rock?
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sidepull
Nov 9, 2005, 4:59 PM
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what grade are you looking to climb?
At this point I guess you're just looking for options because it's really going to be weather dependent at that time of year.
For instance, the upper S-curves (or lower for that matter) in Big Cottonwood Canyon (SLC) are usually pretty good. They're south facing and kind of higher up on the canyon wall so they stay warm.
Challenge Buttress in AF is pretty good.
There's some south facing cliffs in Rock Canyon (Provo) - what's the super overhanging cliff up on the left side of the mouth of the canyon? The Wasp?
I've never climbed in Santaquin.
Maple would probably be a bit cold and the road is muddy if it's been snowing. But I'm a big fan of Maple.
Why can't you stop in St. George? It's probably you best bet for good rock at that time of year. Plus, you've got the VRG on your way - you should hit that.
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localshredder
Nov 9, 2005, 6:09 PM
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Maple will probably be cold. I would hit the Billboard or the Hideaway in American Fork. I climbed at the Billboard in a rainstorm yesterday and stayed warm. If you can stop in St. George go hit the sandstone. The Chuckwalla wall is always a blast and the approach is like thirty seconds. Have a good trip and shred hard. 8^)
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alpinerockfiend
Nov 9, 2005, 11:35 PM
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thanks for the info shredder & sidepull.
Shredder, it's not that we can't stop in St. George. It's that if we got all the way to SG, we'd be so close to Vegas that it would be a shame not to gun it all the way there.
So an SLC area was what I was hoping for (~5.5 hrs. from Jax), but I wasn't too optimistic about finding a winter rock climbing area there. I know that all winter rock areas in the Rockies are weather dependent. That said, if the sun is shining, there's not much wind, and we choose to check out a south facing area in American Fork or Big Cottonwood, would we have a reasonable chance of good climbing conditions? Thanks again!
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sidepull
Nov 10, 2005, 12:36 AM
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That's a big "IF" - but, if all those conditions are satisfied then you should be able to climb in either BCC or AF.
I think you might want to rethink the logic about St. George. There's climbing there that is very different than what you'll find in Red Rocks and it's worth a visit in it's own right. Check out the Climbing article from a couple of months ago for a sweet photo spread that might give you some motivation.
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alpinerockfiend
Nov 10, 2005, 5:47 AM
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Thanks again sidepull. We are trad climbers first, sport climbers second and our main goals in RR are (weather permitting) big routes. It would be nice to contrast that with some shorter trad cragging opportunities. Any recommendations for the St. George area?
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ddriver
Nov 10, 2005, 3:18 PM
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In reply to: Thanks again sidepull. We are trad climbers first, sport climbers second and our main goals in RR are (weather permitting) big routes. It would be nice to contrast that with some shorter trad cragging opportunities. Any recommendations for the St. George area?
I think Snow Canyon is underappreciated. It is sandstone face climbing, largely fixed gear, but generally not sport climbing. Not a bad warm-up for Red Rocks, and great in its own right. Look at routes on or near the Circus Wall or the Sand Dunes Area to its right. There are any number of routes in the 1-4 pitch range, but there are routes up to 8 or 9 pitches there.
They look a lot like this:
http://img239.imageshack.us/...9/7360/snow030jf.jpg
and this:
http://img459.imageshack.us/...59/6100/zzw052sc.jpg
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alpinerockfiend
Nov 10, 2005, 4:30 PM
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Thanks ddriver. The pics make the climbing look outstanding. Know of any good crack climbing areas around St. George that are climbable in the winter?
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stroker
Nov 11, 2005, 5:33 AM
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ST GEORGE AREA!!! ST GEORGE AREA!!!
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granitegod
Nov 11, 2005, 6:18 AM
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If it's not snowing on your way through SLC, or hasn't snowed in a couple days at least, then Little Cottonwood would be my advice. South facing granite trad.
Temps in the upper 30s to low 40s can be very comfy, even on cloudy days if winds are light. Be happy to show ya around if I'm off......
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alpinerockfiend
Nov 11, 2005, 3:06 PM
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So another vote for Cottonwood. This would definitely be more to our liking, as it's less of a drive from Jackson and is more conducive to splitting the days up. Thanks!
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stevep
Nov 11, 2005, 4:28 PM
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The south facing stuff in LCC can be quite good in the winter if it hasn't snowed recently. Same with the south facing stuff in AF.
Further south, there's Santaquin, but I've not been there and can't speak to it. Maple is alot further off I15, and likely to be cold and snowy after xmas.
Much further south, but before Cedar City, there are some fun sport climbs on cobbly, Maple type rock in the Parowan area.
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marc801
Nov 11, 2005, 4:30 PM
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In reply to: So another vote for Cottonwood. This would definitely be more to our liking,... |
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nieder
Nov 28, 2005, 8:28 PM
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St. George for sure!!! Anything farther north will be butt cold.
Recommended areas for cragging:
Trad:
Zion - cerebrus or tunnel crags (might be cold, but worth it)
Bluff Street Cracks (sunny all day)
Snow Canyon (sun in the afternoon)
Sport:
Black Rocks (sunny all day)
Turtle Wall (morning sun)
Green Valley Gap (sun most of the day)
Chuckawalla (noon til sundown)
Climb a day here and you could wake up early and make it to Red Rocks before sunrise.
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unrooted
Nov 28, 2005, 9:39 PM
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The drive should only take about 11 hours. And if you can handle the long drive do it, utah (except for st george wich is 2.5 hours from vegas) will be cold.
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longroper
Nov 28, 2005, 10:12 PM
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I would say that American Fork's winter sport climbing is fantastic but the approaches are long if you just want a quick stop. Rock Canyon in Provo is hardly out of your way and has good steep sport climbing if that's what you want. The Super Bowl and the Job Site both have good climbs. The approaches are very short too. For more info stop by MountainWorks in Provo or call them. Good luck!
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