Sport Climbing near Moab

Going to Moab with friends at the end of March. None of us are trad climbers, and I'm the only one who climbs harder than 5.10. Are there any reasonable spots to check out and get them on some sport climbs, or should we bring crash pads?

I am going to be climbing in Moab that same week. Have been there several times before.

Wall street has some decent moderate routes. Some sport, some trad, some mixed. I'd suggest taking a stick clip and/or a crash pad, as many of the 1st bolts are pretty high and a lot of the climbs are at or above your group's grade.

I've never gone to Mill Creek because I am a 5.10 climber and most of the climbs there are 5.12, with a few 5.11's and a handful of 5.10's. Nothing easier there.

Stolen Chimney on Ancient Art is not super hard but I'd read the MP comments about this route, especially those by Sam Lightner. Not really a good place to go unless you are a solid trad/5.10 leader.

Just my 2cents....

Bring crash pads.

Kevin Hadfield wrote:Bring crash pads.

Definitely.

And for what it's worth, it sounds like Ancient Art is way above the heads of your group (but not necessarily you. Just your group as a whole).

Jon H wrote: Definitely. And for what it's worth, it sounds like Ancient Art is way above the heads of your group (but not necessarily you. Just your group as a whole).

http://www.mountainproject.com/v/stolen-chimney/105717310

Ancient Art is maybe 5.7 or 5.8 A0 if you aid the bolt ladders. The trad pitch is 5.6/5.7 and only requires a single set of cams .3-3.

Mill Creek could be an option the wall across the log has like 5 or 6 excellent 5.10 sport routes. Weather could shut you down up there though, I have been snowed on in late April up there.

Before I had trad gear I had success getting on trad routes by asking someone cleaning a route to tag my rope and draws up it. You should be able to get a lot of climbing in without trad gear on Wall Street and Ice Cream Parlor.

Chris Schmidt wrote:You should be able to get a lot of climbing in without trad gear on Wall Street and Ice Cream Parlor.

That's definitely true about Ice Cream Parlor as I recall.

Chris Schmidt wrote:Ancient Art is maybe 5.7 or 5.8 A0 if you aid the bolt ladders. The trad pitch is 5.6/5.7 and only requires a single set of cams .3-3.

That's an awful lot for someone that doesn't - never? - climbs trad, even if they can climb harder than 5.10. Someone who doesn't climb trad shouldn't start with Ancient Art (or anything else in the ever-chossy solidified mud of the Fishers).

Marc801 wrote: That's an awful lot for someone that doesn't - never? - climbs trad, even if they can climb harder than 5.10. Someone who doesn't climb trad shouldn't start with Ancient Art (or anything else in the ever-chossy solidified mud of the Fishers).

+1
Again, I'd suggest reading the MP link I posted above before considering this climb...

Jim Fox wrote: +1 Again, I'd suggest reading the MP link I posted above before considering this climb...

+++1. Yeah, not a great route for inexperienced climbers. Crowded and not straightforward. Epic waiting to happen.

Ice Cream Parlor and maybe Wall Street. Bouldering.

FWIW. If the guy climbs 5.10 and his friends don't climb as hard as him they may not enjoy Big Bend either.

Telling someone with no multipitch experience or self rescue skills to guide even less experienced climbers up AA is really bad advice.

Show up at Indian Creek with lots of weed, beer, water, and food. Be nice to people there. That place is overrun with climbers. It will probly work out for y'all.

R. Moran wrote:FWIW. If the guy climbs 5.10 and his friends don't climb as hard as him they may not enjoy Big Bend either.

Recall the OP said he was the only one of the group that climbs *harder* than 5.10. He really didn't say anything about the group's abilities and comfort levels.

Mikecease wrote:Show up at Indian Creek with lots of weed, beer, water, and food. Be nice to people there. That place is overrun with climbers. It will probly work out for y'all.

LOL. Just keep in mind that weed is still illegal in UT and I've heard lots of stories about police visiting Indian Creek and checking things out....

Seth Kane wrote:Again, make sure you aren't getting in over your head but I think people here are over stating the difficulty of Ancient Art. I consider myself a 5.9 leader, and I think it's well protected, not as chossy as everyone makes it out to be, soft for the grade in the desert and straight forward (...you follow the bolts and the obvious chimney...to huge belay ledges and rap the route. There's few multi routes that are MORE straight forward). I agree that if you haven't done any multi it might not be the best route, largely due to crowds. But if you're at the end of your trip, feeling confident on 5.9s at potash, know what to do on multipitch, and are feeling up for an adventure, I'd say it would be an excellent introduction to desert towers.

I don't think people are talking about the difficulty, but instead it being a terrible choice of route for a first time trad climber. It would be a terrible choice even with zero crowds. Has the OP ever even done a chimney? They're not exactly common on sport routes. Has he ever placed a cam?

And for anyone used to climbing on solid rock, the Fisher's *are* chossy.

Marc801 wrote: I don't think people are talking about the difficulty, but instead it being a terrible choice of route for a first time trad climber. It would be a terrible choice even with zero crowds. Has the OP ever even done a chimney? They're not exactly common on sport routes. Has he ever placed a cam? And for anyone used to climbing on solid rock, the Fisher's *are* chossy.

AA is a pile of dried mud and, while not difficult climbing, pretty runout and weird at places. There have been some pretty bad accidents there.
I wouldn't suggest this as a good climb for someone without trad experience, but that's just my opinion...

Seth Kane wrote:I'm not going to continue to argue that he should climb ancient art- we don't have enough information to tell him if it's a good idea (if he's done some multipitch sport or followed trad and is confidently sending 5.10 outside ya he'll probably be fine...if he's a 5.10 gym climber probably not..) Ultimately he needs to make his own decisions and I think immediately dismissing ancient art is potentially doing him and the adventure that desert climbing is all about a disservice. I'll also offer up another more of an adventure then single pitch four feet from the road route: mountainproject.com/v/regul… Edit: agreed that if the OP hasn't climbed a chimney before he probably shouldn't climb it. While not a very difficult chimney, the combination of not knowing how to place gear and not knowing how to chimney could be bad.

Looking Glass is a fun adventure. Not really much challenge as a climb, but the rappel/rope swing is great fun. Good suggestion.

Ice Cream Parlor has several sport climbs 5.10 and under. I'd suggest starting there. If you're not used to sandstone slabs, warm up on Left Slab or Black Slab to get a feel for the feet. It's west facing and gets sun all afternoon.

Wall Street is SE facing and gets morning sun. It has a number of sport routes, from 5.3 on up. As others have said, the first bolts are often high. Potstash, Brown Banana, Banana Peel, and Nervous in Suburbia are all good options and a bit better-protected than a lot of the other routes (NiS has some distance between bolts, but all the hard moves are immediately above a bolt).

Pure sport climbers shouldn't even consider AA.

that is definitely not a rattlesnake. ^

That is definitely a rattlesnake. You normally see multiple rattlers in those little caves.