Alpinfox Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 I'm probably headin' down to the crick in a week or so. What is the best guidebook available for the area? Anybody have one they would be willing to loan out? Any recommended side trips/must sees/must dos between here and there? Websites with good IC info/pictures? And of course, route recommendations? I definitely WON'T be climbing either of these : but these look SWEET!: Quote
RuMR Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 i just picked up bloom's new one at marmot... man, just the pics in there make it worth it...this guidebook almost rivals watt's smith book... Quote
willstrickland Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 The Bloom book is the shizz. The Cornacchione (sp?) guide or even the Falcon Utah guide will have more stuff than you can climb. Website: try climbingmoab.com Of course you will want to do the uber classic 5 star, everyone and their grandma has climbed them except you: Supercrack 9+ Incredible Handcrack 10 The Wave 10 Generic Crack 9 Chocolate Corner 10a Battle of the Bulge 11 Coyne Crack simulator 11 You could easily just walk up to Supercrack Buttress and take your pick of lines from 9 to 12+. Blue Gramma cliff faces more south than any other cliff I can think of down there, so it's a good cold weather option. Supercrack Butt faces W/SW and the left side of Donnelly faces S. as well. In the area, in Castle Valley, mostly 4 pitch towers: Kor-Ingalls 9+ (on Castleton) North Chimney 9 (Castleton) Jah Man 10 (on Sister Superior) Fine Jade 11- (on the Rectory and very nice) And you might as well go over to the Fishers and do Ancient Art 11- or 8 A0. You won't forget the summit pitch on that one for a long time. The crux section is only about 15ft of face climbing/pebble pinching. If it were me, I'd tick the classics at Supercrack Butt, then hit the towers. Quote
E-rock Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 Guidebook? If it's hands and fists it's 5.10. If it's fingers or offwidth it's 5.11. If it's thin fingers it's 5.12. Quote
E-rock Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 Supercrack is 10 Generic crack is 10 Chocolate corner is 9 Quote
willstrickland Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 Supercrack is 10 if you're light Generic crack is 10 if you're light Chocolate corner is 9 if you have little girly sized hands Quote
RuMR Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 Supercrack is 10 if you're light Generic crack is 10 if you're light Chocolate corner is 9 if you have little girly sized hands Quote
skyclimb Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 For craggin at the supercrack buttress also add gorrillas in the mist, fingers in a light sockett, a reasonable O/W just left of the wave(good and reasonable) and 3 a.m. crack. 3 a.m. crack is the finest hand jamming session I have ever experienced. Flakes of wrath(9+) and bad moki roof are the musts on wall street near moab. For towers, do anything that looks good. Arches is very windy during and after storms, so it dry's very quickly. Fisher towers area, and canyonlands are good to escape the weather depending on the system. 3 A.M. crack will make your hands feel like axes as you slam them into the crack like a machine for 100 feet dr. david bloom has a very comprehensive guide book, also referenced elsewhere in the rock climbing forum I believe. Pray to the weather gods, have a good trip Quote
TBay Posted October 7, 2004 Posted October 7, 2004 I definitely WON'T be climbing either of these...[pictures of typical IC cracks] What else does one go to IC for? If your a solid .11 crack climber, spend your entire trip at the creek. If not, Willstrickland's posts a great tick list for the desert novice. After you run up the mega-classic (ie. popular) Supercrack head on over to the Cliffs of Insanity and get rewarded with 165' of ultra-classic hands-to-fists-forever pure goodness known as Wiggin's I (.11-). #4 Friend or #3.5 #4 Camalot forever (I plugged in about 18 or so of that size). More goodness can be found climbing the Lightning Bolt Cracks (.11 leftcrack start or .11- rightcrack start) on the North Six Shooter. Recommended Side Trips: take hwy 6 from SLC, once you enter Price head south (1 hr)to the San Rafael Swell North: Buckhorn Wash, Dylan Wall, Stock Exchange Wall, spaghetti Western Wall. (okay, now the cat's outa the bag.) Scenic Byway (easy .10) in Buckhorn Wash is a killer 4 pitch (.9, .10, .7, .8) introduction to colorado plateau climbing. when finished, drive further down canyon to the Dylan Wall and environs, this place kick ass. SLC climbing bros note (and i very much agree) this place as "IC-esque" (or as i overheard: IC for non-coloradans) minus the crowds and camping issues. Dylan and environs contain a much larger selection of classic easy .10 splitters than IC. From the base of aforementioned crags you will see many desert towers and mesas and to your suprise many contain classic cruiser routes (North Rib Window Blind Peak 5.7 4p, West Face Window Blind Peak, 5.9 5p, Thin Man Pinnacle, 5.9 A1 bolt ladder, 2p, etc....) In the immediated vicinity of San Rafael North is Joes Valley and "Triassics" in case you want to boulder a bit. In Moab, along the Potash Road (ie Wall street), you will want to head up into Long Canyon. There exists many splitters similar in quality to those of Supercrack Buttress (minus the crowds). hop on Program Director (.10)and No More Tears (.11-) for starters. On rainy day(s), hell even on a good day, head to the "Crack House" for a good fix. effin' amazing. A Must Do: Primrose Diheadral (.11+ or .10 A0), Moses Tower, Island in the Sky towers, towers, towers Advice: what E-rock sez. Running it out is SERIOUS business in the desert. Quote
texplorer Posted October 8, 2004 Posted October 8, 2004 The bloom's guidebook is good even though he didn't put my routes in the thing. Have fun, there's so much to do. Crag amazing cracks, stellar towers, or adventurous new or seldom visited routes all abound in the desert. Quote
Alpinfox Posted October 12, 2004 Author Posted October 12, 2004 Thanks for all the advice thus far. Partner and I and about 400lbs of #2 camalots are heading out tomorrow. Any last minute recommendations? Quote
texplorer Posted October 12, 2004 Posted October 12, 2004 Oh and DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME OR IN THE CREEK!!!! Quote
skyclimb Posted October 13, 2004 Posted October 13, 2004 MONSTER TOWER MONSTER TOWER MONSTER TOWER say that 3 times fast, and figure out where that leaves you Quote
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