Rock Canyon vs. Maple Canyon
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This last weekend we met 3 super nice climbers while climbing in Rock Canyon. We were discussing a nice, tricky little 5.7 way up the canyon and they had mentioned that a Rock Canyon 5.7 is nothing like a Maple 5.7. Topic changed at that point and since then I have been wondering what they meant, Maple easier or Rock Canyon easier? Never been to Maple, so who can enlighten me? |
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I can't answer that for ya, but if you've never been to maple, you need to go check it out. Might be a little crowed at the lower grades, but it's an amazing place. |
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IME - Rock Canyon 5.7 is easier than most other areas in Utah. |
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Austin Baird wrote:IME - Rock Canyon 5.7 is easier than most other areas in Utah.Depends on the route. Flakes is not an easy 5.7. Neither is Main Crack. On one hand, a lot of the RC sport routes can be pretty short, so they can seem easier. On the other hand, I always felt that the easier Maple Routes were pretty straightforward: reach up, grab the big cobble, repeat. (And there are plenty of short 5.7s in Maple, too.) I dunno. I've climbed a lot in both places and 5.7 pretty much seems like 5.7 to me. |
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Agreed on many of the trad routes - I just assumed that, since he was talking about maple, he meant sport routes. |
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Maybe it is the cobble trust in Maple? Its solid rock, but its a world apart from limestone. Rock Canyon limestone is nice quality and not slickened up yet with sharp holds running around. Maple is nicely rounded conglomerate where I'd say >50% of the holds are rounded to some degree and sometimes require some sloper grip. Also a lot of the pebbles are quartzite pebbles and have that "I might be slippery" feel. But, the 7's were 7's and pretty fun. Won't find the pockets and sharp edgy feet you get in Rock Canyon everywhere in Maple necessarily. |
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William Kramer wrote:This last weekend we met 3 super nice climbers while climbing in Rock Canyon. We were discussing a nice, tricky little 5.7 way up the canyon and they had mentioned that a Rock Canyon 5.7 is nothing like a Maple 5.7. Topic changed at that point and since then I have been wondering what they meant, Maple easier or Rock Canyon easier? Never been to Maple, so who can enlighten me?I've never noticed any difference between rock canyon and maple canyon grades. They were probably just not used to the cobblestone of maple. |
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Thanks for all the info, always on the lookout for spots for the kids, yet have some 10's and 11's as well so everyone can play. |
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William Kramer wrote:Thanks for all the info, always on the lookout for spots for the kids, yet have some 10's and 11's as well so everyone can play.The left fork of Maple Canyon is that kind of spot, with a flat 10 minute approach to all of it. The Angry Inch at Pipeline is still one of my favorite routes anywhere. |