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Winter climbing in Ibex?

Original Post
Matt Berrett · · utah · Joined May 2010 · Points: 10

I have never climbed there in winter, is it too cold to even think about??
Thanks in advance

Boissal . · · Small Lake, UT · Joined Aug 2006 · Points: 1,541

If it's windy you will die.
If it's not you can climb there (sometimes in a thsirt) when the temps are around 20 in Delta.
The catch: there's no way to tell if it's going to be windy.

tenesmus · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2004 · Points: 3,023

If there is a high pressure over much of the state it usually isn't windy. If its sunny and windy, you can always find an alcove sans wind, such as the Snakeskin area or one of the corridors. And the boulders have lots of sides to them.

If it is windy, then you can drive out to Crystal Peak or jump on the sand dunes over at Topus Mountain or dig fossils in Fossil Mountain or drive out to that place James calls Masada, or drive out to Wheeler Peak and see Lehman Caves, or go to U-dig and find some trilobites or go up Amasa Basin and look for flag stones or go looking for some crazy mines to play in or hang out at the strange museum in Delta.

zoso · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2007 · Points: 790

Or simply take more ADD medicine.

Greg Gavin · · SLC, UT · Joined Oct 2008 · Points: 888

Fossil mountain has some great bouldering that although not comparable to Ibex in terms of quantity can still match it's quality. Same quartzite just fewer boulders to choose from. Which if you're like me, and can't rally around cranking hard all day is all you really need. A plus is that the camping over there is better than on the Ibex side imo. Winter is definitely the time to explore the west desert! Temps are bearable, and the roads are most always dry.

Check out Marjum canyon up north of Ibex in the House range. Access either from the east or swing around Notch peak to the south, and access from the west. Some climbing out there, but mainly solitude is what you'll find (along with some amazing fossil beds). I seem to remember some steeper looking caves that could have held some potential, but never bothered walking up to check them out.

Has anyone here camped on Wheeler Peak west (way west!) of Notch peak? It looks huge, and remote! Rumored also to have the oldest stand of Bristle Cone Pines on Earth, right?

Matt Berrett · · utah · Joined May 2010 · Points: 10

Thanks, great advice!! I think I will for sure be heading out there in the next few weeks. Sounds like I gotta wait for a good high pressure.

Andrew Gram · · Salt Lake City, UT · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 3,725

The Wheeler Peak in Nevada? It isn't really remote - it is in Great Basin National Park, and has a road a good chunk of the way up it. Makes a great ski tour in the late spring right after the road opens again.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Northern Utah & Idaho
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