Spaceshot....

Is the space orbit ledge good enough to bivy on with 2 or more people. Or is it too slopey to be comfortable?
Looking to do space shot as my first aid wall and wish to bivy for the experience. I also have a portaledge. Are there any other walls that would be good recommendations for first time aiders?

Thanks so much.

Earth Orbit ledge would be doable, but not very comfortable. If you are going to be hauling bivy gear, you may as well bring the ledge and be comfortable.

That said, I think trying to not haul on your first wall would give you a higher chance of success. Touchstone is a great 1st wall with a lot of free climbing on it, that gets easier for the most part the higher you go.

Spaceshot was my first route in Zion. I would suggest sleeping at the base of the headwall and charging the rest of the route in a day. If you get to Earth Orbit at dark, you can sit and wait till light. If you get to the top at dark, don't try to do the descent unless you are positive you can find the raps. We got lost and had a pretty big epic getting down. The Organasm is a good option to learn how to monkey around in ladders. Most importantly bring tons of water. If this is your first wall in Zion, you will get thirstier that you have ever been. Bring more water than you would need climbing all day elsewhere. Its been years since I climbed this for the 3rd time, however I am sad to hear there are missing pins that require hooking the holes. The pin should be replaced/glued in or a new hole made with a bolt. A hole is a hole, therefore it should not be artificially made to be scary.

Email me if you have any more questions.
buildingeye@gmail.com

tda
slc, ut

jacobleowook wrote:Is the space orbit ledge good enough to bivy on with 2 or more people. Or is it too slopey to be comfortable? Looking to do space shot as my first aid wall and wish to bivy for the experience. I also have a portaledge. Are there any other walls that would be good recommendations for first time aiders? Thanks so much.

Too slopey to be comfortable for three people. Two is doable. I don't remember the ledge has good anchoring options for a portaledge. Pitch 3 has easy bivy options. If you do get stuck on pitch 7, I would just rough it. No reason to bring a portaledge.

As for descent, it's a pain in the ass only for the second rap. Remember, after the first rappel off the big tree, walk down to the left side as much as you can. It's a bolted station.

I've done this route, and taking a single portaledge worked out pretty well for us. There is a great "ledge for one" down low on the route (other person used the portaledge). The sloping ledge up high had protection options for a ledge. The other person can use stacked ropes to mitigate the side slope.
I agree with Stevie Nacho that you don't want to try the descent, for your first time, in the dark.

We slept two on Earth Orbit ledge when we did this route. I thought it was pretty comfy.