GrAND CANYON CLIMBING

Hey there,

Im doing a rafting trip down the grand in February and want to do a little climbing while I'm down there. does anyone know if there are any good 1/2 DAY routes within the grand canyon along the section that rafters go.

ask the Deuce on supertopo.

Grapevine Buttress?

I think if it were in Feb and there wasn't a ton of snow I'd have to shoot for Zoroaster Temple.
What about Diamond Peak

Patrck K. wrote:Hey there, Im doing a rafting trip down the grand in February and want to do a little climbing while I'm down there. does anyone know if there are any good 1/2 DAY routes within the grand canyon along the section that rafters go.

Contact Tom Caldwell or Beth Rodden, They have some great info, AZs best climbing takes off from the river. Real great routes just above creamation.

Caldwell and Rodden had an article in one of the climbing mags a little while ago (in the last year I think) about rafting the river and climbing.

Pete Hickman wrote:Caldwell and Rodden had an article in one of the climbing mags a little while ago (in the last year I think) about rafting the river and climbing.

They had a similiar article in a men's health magazine. I can't remember if it was men's health or journal, but your library probably has back copies.

the climbing at the bottom of the canyon is meager and bad. really. closer the rim, and on various tower / features, there is more and it's better. don't bring your gear on a river trip, it's not worth it. shoes and chalk, yes, but not gear

Monument is a great climb/short hike. River left, pull over at the campsite above the Monument rapid and walk up the canyon. Around a 30 minute hike through a beautiful semi-slot canyon and your there. A moderate trad route as I recall...nice little tower well worth doing. There are also really amazing bouldering opportunities throughout. Many of these are obvious caves right on the side of the river, especially in the limestone layers.

Well Well Where to start. I have multiple trips down the Colorado in GC, hikes and climbs.

You need Rock & Ice # 72. Has a TR about climbing and the Grand Canyon by river from the Northern Arizona Grand Masters in it.

First thing I would say about a river trip in FEB is that the days are SHORT. Way short. And the sun either doesn't hit the bottom of the canyon or for long. Another thing to keep in mind is that the weather that time of year is very unpredictable. This alone is enough to throw off your schedule, allowing less time for extra activities like climbing, especially on a row trip.

There are some river side climbing options with or without the rope.

As for 1/2 day climbs. There really aren't any. Anything like Zoroaster, Grapevine, ECT will be ALL day event or more.

I have found that I like to keep river running and climbing separate. Bringing another dry bag loaded with ropes and biners for a 1/2 day of climbing might not be part of the boat packing plan.

There is a chance that your gear will get wet and stay wet for the whole trip.

Enjoy the River Trip and the hiking on your trip. In the end, you will likely say you only got to do 1% of what you wanted.

I would like to do some roped craggin at Parashant. The wall looks great right at camp. This is at mile 198.

There is Ruby Buttress at mile 105 that might offer some shorter multi-pitch.

Then there is the infamous REDWALL CAVERN. I think that climbers should refrain from bouldering'/climbing in the Redwall Cavern. You can really see that holds are braking and climbers are leaving their mark in the back of the cavern. And it is superhard right off the deck.

REDWALL CAVERN has this much GREATER SPIRIT to it and should not be damaged by chalk, broken holds, ECT.