The northernmost member of the set of spires that runs south past Sister Superior and the Rectory to Castleton. This massive mesa, bigger than the Rectory, hosts a handful of seldom climbed, adventurous routes and a beautiful, pristine summit. As of this writing, all known routes are on its west face. As far as routes go, The Value of Audacity is reputed to be the hardest and best, Hallelujah Chimney (1970's 5.10) sports a 100' fist crack and a 200' chimney while Renate Goes to 11 is characterized by moderate, occasionally interesting climbing on rock that is loose more often than not.
Getting There
Approach: drive up the dirt road as for Sister Superior and park along the road when below Hallelujah Chimney (you'll have just passed the North end of Parriot mesa and Crooked Arrow Spire on your right) then follow talus steeply upwards for 1100' and about 45 minutes.
There are rappel anchors on Hallelujah Chimney: 100', 190', 120'.
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for The Convent:
This is an awesome route that adds some spice to the typical desert splitter experience. The first pitch sports aesthetic, powerful climbing protected by a purple and gray TCU crack leading to a gently overhanging handcrack. The second pitch is quite the opposite: starts wide and gets wider. All in all, it means you bring a lot of little gear and a lot of big gear. There is one bolt on the second pitch. Choose the middle way young grasshopper.P1- scramble up through somewhat broken rock in t...[more]Browse More Classics in UT
Salvation Chimney: in the mid 90s, I tried this rig as the end of an enchainment of the ridge. On the first pitch, I was pulling out ring angles with my fingers. We bailed off of the second pitch- deciding that this absolutely horrible climb was ruining a day of otherwise amazing climbing. The chimney was caked with filth. One of the worst routes I've "almost" climbed in the desert.
Decent off of the convent: From the highest point on the NORTH end of the Convent, walk South (towards Castleton) down the hill for about 50 yds. and look for a cairn below a mushroom roof. From the cairn you will see a distinct ledge and a new and improved rap down Choir Boyz. One 70 gets you down. IMPORTANT - stick to the corner when arriving at last rap station, otherwise it is easy to find yourself swinging in the breeze.
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