whats the weather like in september. i'm planing a trip.

Hi guy, where are you going to go? Weather will not be good in America in September.will you postpone the trip if the weather is bad?
..............
Nishantha
http://www.addictionrecovery.net/idaho

yes, i have to postponed tell oct. something came up. hows oct.

Where were you planning on going?

wasatch and moab and spring canyon.
a local that has been to the places would be very help full. if your intrested let me know, more than welcome to come. never hurts to make freinds in different places

I will be traveling with Ryan...I will meet Ryan Oct 16th around mid morning in SLC. Our general plan is to spend a day and a half around SLC...thinking about LCC half a day, then Bell's Canyon for the next full day...before heading down to Moab for another day and a half. We will both be leaving Oct 19th.

Judging from the averages, this looks like a great time of year to be climbing in Utah. Anything two redneck-SouthEasterners need to be on the lookout for weatherwise?

As mentioned above, for the half day, we are thinking on something around SLC. We would like something with a short approach, preferably multipitch, in the 5.9 to 5.10D range. How long is the approach to The Thumb Area in LCC? 'S-Direct' is looking agreeable.

Also, for Bell's, where is a good place to stay nearby? We will have camping gear.

For both places, how is the parking situation? In some spots here in the SE, just like anywhere else, vandalism can be an issue. Anything to look out for that we should be aware of?

More questions to follow for sure. Thanks in advance for any help.

As far as the stuff in the Wasatch (LCC and Bells):

If you're going to make the hike to one of the Bell Towers I would suggest you take your camping gear with you. There are some nice spots between the first and second waterfalls, or you could leave it lower (right above the lower reservoir) at the more official camp sights. The lower camp spots are about 20 min. from the bottom. The other area I mentioned is about 1-1.5 hrs up, with the benefit of being right across from the towers. There is plenty of good water, however this is a watershed which = no dogs.

May I suggest to climb the first 2 pitches of the ellsworth mcquarry route and then do the arm and hammer traverse to zion's curtain. The traverse can be semi-aid climbed with some long slings that are attached to the bolts, or free climbed if you are a total stud! I haven't done either YET, but I could see how hard the free climb would be while I was on the Ellsworth McQuarry route. Various climbers have told me that they used the slings to aid it. Or if a 5.7 is good enough for you do the first 4 pitches of the Ellsworth McQuarry route. Check out some of my pics to see it.

For weather Oct is a great month. The heat is down and the afternoon thunderstorms are rare. It can get cooler during the nights or even snow, but it really depends on the year. We were climbing well into November last year, but other years it snows before Halloween. I wouldn't let that possibility deter you though. It is unlikely that the weather will ruin your trip...

There are 2 places to park for Bells. One is on Wasatch Drive, just south of 9400 S. From here you hike between some homes on a wooden staircase (3/4 of the way) up to the 1st reservoir. The other is on 9400 S. just east of Wasatch in the mouth of the canyon. It is on the right side of the road. This is the MUCH better hike! Vandalism shouldn't be a problem for either area (I have never had a problem).

For LCC the thumb area is about a 20-30 min. approach. However, there are tons of climbing areas on the way to the thumb. Most routes in the canyon have at least a 10 min approach. I can't recommend anything over a 5.9, but some of my favorite (more than 2 pitch)routes are Pentapitch (5.8) with Sasquatch (5.9) as P2. Total it is 4-5 Pitches P1 (5.6), P2 - Sasquatch (5.9), and P5 (5.8) are all awesome. The coffin (5.9) is a Great 2 pitch. You could climb Crescent Crack (5.7) for the first 2 pitches then hop on the "direct variation" (5.9-) and then the "final link" (5.9 bolted slab). 4 Pitches total. Do one rap and you are at the base of the coffin for the next 2 awesome 5.9 pitches. Plus crescent crack has one of the shortest approaches I have seen in LCC.

I Hope this helps...

Thanks alot...

Good to hear on the weather...it's likely that we will still be experiencing the odd 80 degrees day here in Alabama, so the cool weather will be a welcome change.

The Thumb in LCC is appealling to us because of the nature of the climbing and what I suspected was a reasonable approach. It is also tall...my buddy has no multipitch or granite experience, so this should be fun for both of us...I love slab.

Thanks for the info. We may pass on Bell's in order to maximize the climbing...

Any camping recommendations near or in LCC?

You could camp in Tanner's Flat in LCC. I'm not sure when they close it for winter though... That's about the best or at least closest place you'll get to the climbs in LCC. What days are you guys going to be at LCC, and what route are you going to do on the thumb?

Maybe we'll hook up with you guys, are you climbing on Sat too? I have needed a reason to do the thumb! My only tip is based on where you are getting your beta. The climbing books forget to mention the real first pitch. You could scramble it but it seems like a pitch. When I tried this last year (1st year trad climbing) we climbed the scramble section as a pitch and our 2nd pitch was really the 1st pitch! So we turned off too early and got off course. Luckily we decided to bail when things didn't seem right. When we got back to the road we looked at this huge roof that we were heading right for without realizing it. It was too bad that the book wasn't more clear on this otherwise we would have the thumb under our belt...

Feel free to join us...would no doubt help the approach.

We are going down to Moab for Saturday...I hear there may be some splitters down there...then heading out Sunday.

word those splitters or going down my friends.
thanks for all you guys help, like ben said fell free to join us just keep in touch. its Oct. 17-19 2008

Tanner's Campground will be closed when we are visiting...

Can anyone make a recommendation for another camping location, developed or not, in the vicinity of LCC? Again, for the evening of Oct 16th...thanks.

Looks like some of the campgrounds are open until the 21st of Oct, (including Tanners flat) that's wierd, did you call them? Here are all the organized campsites in BCC and LCC. Otherwise you could do a 15 min hike into bells or a 20-30 min drive up corner canyon (which is 15 min from LCC) There may be some camping up BCC that is not restricted to designated campsites but I have never tried that. I fact I camped in BCC for the first time this weekend.

BCC
http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/wcnf/unit/slrd/recreation/camping/bi>>>>>

LCC
http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/wcnf/unit/slrd/recreation/camping/li>>>>>

s-crack to s-direct. can't miss. Tristin is a sport climber (heh, just kidding!) and probably did the standard thumb route which is unpleasant.

you fellas climb at Stone Mountain and Looking Glass don't you? You'll hike it.

thats right sandstone is the way to go!!! for free

So...we have the first objective nailed down, hemmed in, got her in the poke, yadda, yadda...The Thumb via S-Crack and S-Direct in LCC. All we need is a nearby campground and we'll be set. Surely we can figure that one out...

Now, for the next serious question:

Following The Thumb, we plan to head down Moab way via my buddy's Dad's house for some desert sandstone action. Initially we thought we'd just roll down to Potash for some cragging, but we've decided we can't pass up the opportunity to knock out a tower.

This would be ideal:

Near Potash, 3 or 4 pitches, 5.8+ to 5.10+, easy/short/straightforward approach...

Does such a tower exist? We will be climbing this one on Saturday, so crowds may be a bit of an issue. Clearly, given our mile-wide anti-social streak, we'd prefer less crowded spots. Any recommendations?

castleton - North chimney or Kor Ingalls

sister superior - jah man would be .10a at the T wall but rent the 4x4 to take some of the hike away (its not that bad if you don't).

or ancient art in the fishers.

oh, and you can camp at any of the campgrounds in lcc or more than 100 feet from the road.

5.8-5.10 towers with easy approaches:

Owl Rock (west crack) Arches NP
Right Chimney Arches NP
Stolen Chimney Fisher Towers
Lizard Rock Fisher Towers (if you do AA, might as well tick this)
Hallow Souls Kane Creek (other cragging nearby: Ice Cream Parlor, Abraxxis wall)

There are probably some others I can't think of right now. Definately consider slogging up to Jah Man if you have the time.

Thanks guys...

Here is the final itenerary:

Thurs: I fly in from Birmingham, meet Ryan, eat, drink beer, sleep.
Fri: The Thumb...been climbing NC slab in preparation...Ryan can get by with youthful uber hardness and some rope tension until he starts to jive on the granite. Rap the route, head South for a couple hours for a big meal and a sleep in a bed.
Sat: Wake up, drive down to Moab, hike/jog to Castleton, do the Kor-Ingalls...rap the North Face, hike out, drive up to a major sleep in a bed after a big Lebanese meal.
Sun: Wake up, head to SLC for the flight out...

Mon: Limp into work and recover...I love that part.