Suggestions on climbs in Zion area

Going to be in Zion before New Years and have never climbed down there. New to trad leading, are there some 5.6-5.7 climbs we could mess around on in an afternoon?

only area i can think of is in the new supertopo guide on zion. It's got a bunch of 5.6-5.11 single p routes that went up in 05.

Forget the name. The parking is at the last switchback before the tunnel going east through the park. Park there and hike the path southwest around the formation till you see the visitors center. You'll pass by a table and chairs someone made out of huge rocks and know you're at the climbs when you see bolts on low angle slabs. ~25 min

Area faces southwestish so should be your best bet for warm rock that time of year.

The Cragging around Touchstone during the winter can be good (if the suns out). The Cave route, Route furthest to the left is 5.7. There are not too many easy climbs in Zion.

I suggest black rocks in St George. It will be warmer than Zion, and it's easy to set up TRs. The rock is really good too. There is a great guidebook for St George, or I'm sure there is info on here.

EMT is thinking of the Confluence Crag in Zion, but seriously, your best bet is St. George.

I haven't climbed there in winter, but I really enjoyed climbing in Snow Canyon which is up behind St George early November last year. It was a nice place to camp and climb for a couple of days. Plenty to keep you busy.

The climbing shop in St George had copies of the guidebook for the area.

Are there crack climbs in Snow Creek that compare equally to IC?
Any recommended routes in the 5.9 to easy elevens?

Go check out the "Bluff Street" crags in st george for some IC like splitters. short, but pretty good.

For a really good time, The Beckey Route, Great White Throne

Have you been on that Nate? I'd love to climb that some time, but it never makes it very high on the list before more climbs get in the way.

I have a topo for that route on the GWT and lots of pitches are old school 5.9... A "readlly good time" can mean lots of different things!

N.F.B. what happened to "Not for the Public"

farm cracker wrote:Are there crack climbs in Snow Creek that compare equally to IC? Any recommended routes in the 5.9 to easy elevens?

Yeah Jerz,

I was kind of kidding about GWT Beckey, but I'll always rember our good times up there. Fun in a terrifying way... if you are in to that sort of thing. Maybe Mike Anderson will free it??? That would be PROUD!

Some of those slab routes at the east entrance look like they would be fun and you get to tag a summit as well...

The new supertopo guidebook has them listed.

Wow, Atomic looks cool, Snow Canyon in general.

At this point, as I told Nate, I'm in the doghouse with the wife over my might-be upcoming roadtrip. Whoever said You can have it all was a liar.
But the desert is the place for cracks for sure, and I may be from the farm but I'm a cracker in need of (a)jam.

Well I got to check out Atomic Indian last week, but it was nothing compared to Zion. That place is awesome.
Unfortunately the trip was a bust. A breakdown in Wyoming left us waiting for parts. Instead of climbing sunday morning we show up in Kolob Canyons tuesday afternoon and it looks like the trip could fly. While scoping out Paria Point we start talking to some old guy in the parking lot with big binoculars only to find out its the guy that put up Touchstone! And the guy is totally casual and friendly and gives us beta for a route right there but warns us about the weather.
We should have listened. After fixing a rope it snowed over half a foot that night.
Shit.
It took us two more days to get the rope back because of the snow on the slabs.
But like Arnold says, I'll be back.
Zion is awesome.

We have a lot more free climbs in Zion then most think. Bryan Bird recently released his gem with Chris, "Zion Climbing Free and Clean", you should get a copy.... here is a decent list of the ones I have climbed.

Must do's...Chasity Crack, 5.11; Holly Roller, 5.11; Headache, 5.10; Made to be Broken, 5.10; Iron Messiah, 5.10 (my favorite repeat, 10 pitches); the single cracks at Cerberus Gendarme, particularly Fat’hedral (5.10) and Fails of Power (5.11); Mrs Buttersworth, Ashtar Tower, a couple of 5.9's that lead to a tower summit...West Ridge of Temple just because...on and on...a lot more moderate stuff then folks think.

Dow Williams wrote:We have a lot more free climbs in Zion then most think. Bryan Bird recently released his gem with Chris, "Zion Climbing Free and Clean", you should get a copy.... here is a decent list of the ones I have climbed. Must do's...Chasity Crack, 5.11; Holly Roller, 5.11; Headache, 5.10; Made to be Broken, 5.10; Iron Messiah, 5.10 (my favorite repeat, 10 pitches); the single cracks at Cerberus Gendarme, particularly Fat’hedral (5.10) and Fails of Power (5.11); Mrs Buttersworth, Ashtar Tower, a couple of 5.9's that lead to a tower summit...West Ridge of Temple just because...on and on...a lot more moderate stuff then folks think.

I was asking this same question about three weeks ago and found myself in St. George as suggested. Prophecy Wall was great!

Check for closures! I think Snow Canyon is closed in many areas right now and Black Rocks was closed while I was there. Leave you Dogs at home too.

Wehling wrote: I don't think most people consider those moderates Dow, but maybe that's just me....