Rock Climbing Utah

by Stewart M. Green

Overview

Utah is a magnificent landscape of startling diversity and beauty, manifested for climbers in more cliff miles of exposed rock than any other state. Fragile sandstone towers pierce the sky amid endless miles of vertical cliffs sometimes more than a half mile high; wondrous canyon walls of cobblestone and limestone overhang at dizzying angles; and granite domes and slabs recline on sunny mountain slopes.

Rock Climbing Utah is the only guide available that covers all the major climbing areas in the state. Traditional and sport climbers from the beginner to expert will find a superb sampling of hundreds of routes in the 25 areas covered—including 300 new routes that were not in the first edition. This fully revised and expanded guidebook offers first-hand information for climbers, including area overviews and climbing histories, route betas and topos, color maps and photos, equipment recommendations, approach and descent information, and listings for shops, gyms, and guide services. Stunning action photos round out the package to make Rock Climbing Utah an essential source for visitng and local climbers alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762744510
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	12/18/2012
Series:	State Rock Climbing Series
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	608
Sales rank:	1,062,703
Product dimensions:	5.94(w) x 8.82(h) x 1.33(d)

About the Author

Stewart Green is a freelance photographer and writer who has been climbing in the Utah desert for more than three decades. He has been one of America’s top climbing and adventure photographers for over twenty-five years, and his photographs have appeared in many publications and books including Climbing, Rock and Ice, Outside, National Motorist, On The Edge, Alp, Sierra, and many others. He is also the author and photographer of many books for FalconGuides and Globe Pequot Press.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xiv

Introduction xv

Climbing History xv

Geology and Geography xvi

Climbing Dangers and Safety xvii

Objective Dangers xix

Access and Ethical Considerations xxi

Using This Guide xxv

Rating System xxvi

Desert Climbing Rack xxviii

Map Legend xxix

Key to Topo Drawings xxx

Moab Area 1

1 Arches National Park 1

The Pickle 6

The Three Penguins 8

Zippy Zebra Wall 10

The Organ 12

Tower of Babel 14

Park Avenue 15

The Three Gossips 16

Argon Tower 20

Sheep Rock 22

The Great Wall 24

The Phallus 25

The Testes 26

Bubo 26

Off Balanced Rock 27

Devil's Golfball 28

Owl Rock 29

Bullwinkle Tower 30

Elephant Butte 31

Tonka Tower 32

Devil Dog Spire 33

Dark Angel 34

2 Potash Road 35

The King's Hand 37

Wall Street 38

3 Long Canyon 58

The Shipyard 59

Maverick Buttress 61

4 Island in the Sky 65

Monster Tower and Washer Woman 68

Monument Basin 74

Taylor Canyon Area 79

5 Kane Springs Canyon 86

The Tombstones 88

Ice Cream Parlor 90

Space Tower 94

Predator Tower 94

Happy Turk 95

6 US 191 North 96

Big Cave Valley 96

7 Tusher Canyon 98

House of Putterman 98

Neighbor of Putterman 102

8 The Needles and Lost World Butte 104

Tombstone Butte 106

The Sphinx 108

Canyon Point Butte 109

Lost World Butte 110

9 Sunshine Wall 111

Baker Slab 112

Science Friction Slab 113

Falcon Face 114

Tezcatlipoca 115

10 River Road Crags 116

The Sorcerer and Sorcerer's Apprentice 118

River Road Dihedrals 121

Anasazi Buttress 122

The Lighthouse 124

Dolomite Spire 128

Big Bend Bouldering Area 130

11 Castle Valley 131

Castleton Tower 135

The Rectory 144

The Priest 147

Sister Superior 149

12 Fisher Towers 151

Carson's Tower 155

Lizard Rock 156

Dock Rock 157

Great Googly Moogly 157

Ancient Art 158

The Cobra 160

Kingfisher 162

Cottontail Tower 164

Echo Tower 165

The Titan 167

The Oracle 168

13 US 191 South 172

Looking Glass Rock 172

King Arthur's Seat 174

Southeast Utah 176

14 Indian Creek Canyon 176

Friction Slab 181

Turner Prize Spire 182

Blue Gramma Cliff 183

Desert Siren 185

Orion's Bow 186

Supercrack Buttress 186

Donnelly Canyon 192

Battle of the Bulge Buttress 199

Fringe of Death Canyon 205

Pistol Whipped Wall 206

15 Bridger Jack Spires and Sixshooter Peaks 210

Thumbelina 213

Sparkling Touch 213

Easter Island 214

Sunflower Tower 214

Hummingbird Spire 215

King of Pain 215

North Sixshooter Peak 217

South Sixshooter Peak 221

16 Mexican Hat 223

Central Utah 225

17 San Rafael Swell 225

Dylan Wall 229

The Lightbulb 233

Outhouse Tower 234

Bottleneck Peak 235

San Rafael Reef Slabs 237

Three Finger Canyon 248

18 Capitol Reef National Park 254

Cohab Canyon 257

Grand Wash 257

19 Spring Canyon Crag 262

Volkswagen Wall 264

Boulder Canyon Wall 266

20 Maple Canyon 268

Box Canyon 271

The Frontera 280

Cabbage Wall 281

The Bridge Area 282

Campground Area 283

Left Fork Canyon 289

Right Fork 299

Southwest Utah 316

21 Zion National Park 316

Mount Spry 322

Practice Cliffs 324

West of the River Cliff 326

Carbuncle Buttress 328

The Spearhead 330

Red Arch Mountain 333

Great White Throne Base 333

The Organ 339

Cerberus Gendarme 340

Cerberus Gendarme Base 343

Angels Landing 346

Moonlight Buttress 348

Leaning Wall 352

Temple of Sinawava 355

Pine Creek Canyon 357

Ataxia Tower 358

Aries Butte 360

Kolob Canyons 361

South Fork Canyon 368

22 St. George Area Crags 373

Chuckawalla Wall 378

Snow Canyon State Park 381

Crawdad Canyon Climbing Park 386

Welcome Springs 408

Black and Tan and Kelly's Rock 412

Northern Utah 424

23 Big Cottonwood Canyon 424

Dogwood Crag 427

Dead Snag Crag 430

Storm Mountain Island 432

S-Curve Crags 436

The Millstone 440

24 Little Cottonwood Canyon 445

Crescent Crack Buttress 448

The Fin 455

The Thumb 457

Kermit's Wall 461

Green Adjective Gully 463

Gate Buttress 471

Lisa Falls 482

25 Middle Bell Tower 484

26 American Fork Canyon 488

Juniper Wall 492

Hard Wall 494

Hell Area 494

The Membrane 502

Isolation Wall 504

The Gray Cliffs 504

Hard Rock 506

White Wave Wall 512

Escape Buttress 514

Division Wall 516

27 Uinta Mountains 520

Good Medicine Wall 523

Last Stand Wall 529

Warrior Wall 530

Assassin Wall 534

28 Logan Canyon 535

Fucoidal Quartzite Crags 538

China Wall and China Cave 542

Crag 385 549

Appendix A Further Reading 553

Appendix B Rating System Comparison Chart 555

Appendix C Climbing Shops, Gyms, and Guide Services 556

Appendix D Utah Hospitals and Medical Services 560

Index 562

About the Author 575