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lao750
Apr 24, 2008, 5:01 PM
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I'm planning a loop road trip to climb in mid-September for about 10 days beginning and ending in Reno/Tahoe, and was intending to pass through Utah for 3-4 days from SLC then south through St. George before heading to Red Rocks for a few. I lead 5.11 (sport) and boulder V5 or V6. Any suggestions on areas that I should definitely check out for sport climbing and bouldering? I've heard Maple, Joes and Triassic Park so far, so confirm these or add to my list to research. Any local knowledge is helpful too (camping, good restaurants, routes, problems, etc.) Thanks for the help!
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RJVoss
Apr 24, 2008, 5:10 PM
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Registered: Apr 16, 2008
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For Bouldering, check out little cottonwood canyon in SLC. You may want to also look into Joe's Valley, thats a very popular bouldering area. St. George is great if you are into sport climbing. If you like trad routes, hit up Zion.
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The
Apr 24, 2008, 5:23 PM
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Registered: Apr 24, 2008
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BCC has some good sport climbs. LCC is more trad, but has some great bouldering. American Fork has a lot of sport climbing and there is free camping further up the canyon. Maple is awesome, be sure to stop there. Joes and Ibex are great for bouldering, but might be too hot in Sept.
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sevrdhed
Apr 24, 2008, 5:42 PM
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If you're only going to have 10 days, then here's what you'll want to do.
First, in SLC. If you trad climb, AT ALL, then climb in LCC. Take a day to do some of the easy trad routes (Schoolroom, bushwhack crack, green a, crescent crack, the coffin, etc. All under 5.10.)
If you don't trad climb at all, here's what you'll want to do.
Spend all your time in SLC in Little Cottonwood, bouldering.. Since you'll only have a couple of days there, I'd say hit the main areas: Secret Garden, Cabbage Patch, 5 mile, and the Gate. See if you can get some locals to show you some of the quality obscure problems there. There's plenty of them. (Look for me. I'm the guy with the beard. I'll be there every day that it's nice, around 3. I drive a red lesbaru.) If you're going to be back to utah anytime soon to boulder, get the Bouldering Guide to Utah, by Baldwin, Beck, and Russo. It's by far the best guidebook to bouldering out there.
You could climb in BCC, and a lot of people like it. Personally, I think it's shit, and if you're going to be mainly sport climbing and bouldering, there's much better sport climbing in the rest of the trip, but not as much bouldering. I'd focus on bouldering in LCC here.
Your next stop is going to be American Fork. This is world class sport climbing, and is definitely worth a day or two.
From here, you could drive down to joes valley, but that would put you a long way out of the way if you're planning on driving to St. George. It would add at least 7 hours to your total driving time. I say skip it and come back to it some other time.
Instead, when you leave american fork, head on down to Nephi, and swing by Maple Canyon. Another world class destination sport climbing area (if you're into that shit). Spend a day or two here.
Then finally, it's on down to St. George. This route keeps you on I-15 for the entire time, which will significantly reduce the amount of driving time you take. In St. George, there's plenty to do. TONS of sport climbing, some multi-pitch trad routes, and some bouldering in Mo's Valley.
I'd say, 3 days in LCC (Keep in mind, LCC is where I spend the majority of my time, so I'm a tad bit biased. But not by much. Seriously, climbing here is absolutely amazing. Be prepared for funk.), 2 days in AF, 2 days in Maple, 3 days in St. George. That's 10 days, and you've maximized your time on the rock and off the road.
Keep in mind, the drive between SLC and St. George is only about 5 hours. You drive 30 minutes south to get to AF. Two days there. Another 2 hours or less to Maple. Two days there. Another 3 hours to St. George. 3 days there. And then you're just over 2 hours down to vegas and red rocks.
Weather will likely be pretty stellar at that time in most of those areas. LCC will be in prime season, it will be warm in AF if you climb on the north side, Maple could be a bit chilly, and St. George is always hot. Always.
Sorry that turned into a novel... I climb around here a bit. PM me if you have any more specific questions or want more advice.
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stymingersfink
Apr 25, 2008, 4:15 AM
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Registered: Aug 12, 2003
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the severed head has spoken!
yeah, I'd listen to it too, if not for the novelty than the truth it speaks.
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