Climbing in Moab

Climbing: Moab Area

The area surrounding Moab is a desert climbers dreamland. The climbing
around here is done on sandstone. Varying hardness’s of sandstone defines
the different places to climb around here.

My personal favorite place to climb around here is Wall Street. Wall Street
is located right next to Potash Road. When I say “right next” I mean “right
next”, you can belay from your car at this place. The climbing here is unbelievable, everything from 5.8 trad or sport routes to .12’s. Wall Street is about a mile and a half long, climbs grace it’s entire length.

Click here for an on-line climbing guide of Wall Street.

Castle Valley is not too far from Moab. This area is home to Castleton
Tower, this is a 400 foot free standing tower. First climbed in 1961 by
Layton Kor and Huntley Ingalls this is still today considered a plum in
desert climbing. Just a glimpse of this tower is impressive, rising above a
talus cone this slender stick of stone is quite a sight.

Further past Castle Valley are the Fisher Towers. The Fishers are home to
many free standing spires and lots of mud climbing. The Titan is the tallest free standing tower on the Colorado Plateau.

Arches National Park has plenty of climbing to be found as well. The Park Avenue and Courthouse areas are very popular. Owl Rock is probably the most commonly climbed tower in the park. This tower goes free at a fairly easy 5.9, large jugs lead to a set of rappel chains, a short scramble and you are at the top of the 100 foot tower.

Indian Creek and the Sixshooter towers are located South of Moab near the
Needles section of Canyonlands National Park. Indian Creek is a crack climbers dream, many famous climbs such as the Incredible Hand Crack, Supercrack, and Tricks Are For Kids are located here. The South Six Shooter is the shorter of the two towers, there is a 5.6 route that reaches its top. The North Six Shooter tower is home to the famous Lightning Bolt Cracks. This route goes at 5.11 and summits the 325’ tower.

There are also many places to camp and climb off of Kane Creek Road. The
Kane Creek Tombstones afford many routes up to the rim. The Ice Cream
Parlor is a popular area to get accustomed to desert climbing.

For the best desert beta be sure and stop by the Moab Climbing Shop. This
shop has been around since 1992. The owner Kevin Chase has pioneered many
first ascents in the Moab area. I have stopped in there several times and
found the employees and Kevin to be very helpful. If you are going to Moab
and need some gear wait till you get here and buy it from Kevin!

Additional Resources

Book Siteseeing Tours & Other Adventures Here

Moab Desert Adventures
A rock climbing and canyoneering guide service in Moab which provides guide trips to the climbing areas around Moab including Wall Street, Kane Creek, The Towers and Indian Creek.

Books

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