Gunsight Butte near mile 17... made it up two pitc...
Description
Endless beautiful cracks along the 700 miles of cliffs that form the shoreline. Navajo and Wingate sandstone. Generally a bit warmer than the Moab area. Adventure climbing with only a few hundred established routes... a lifetime of possibilities. This is truly a spectacular venue for climbing.
Unfortunately, the hundred or so feet of rock below the high water mark (the white stuff) is generally poor for climbing/water soloing.
It's good idea to bring a bolt kit, as the rock tends to deteriorate near the top of many routes, and the vast majority of the cliffs do not have walk off descents. Drilled angles work best in the softer Navajo Sandstone. Obviously, be responsible and smart about where you drill.
Beautiful camps abound, and driftwood generally makes for easy campfires. A portable shitter is required if you're more than a quarter mile from a marina.
Getting There
Need a boat to get to the good stuff! Skiff rentals around $40 a day during the off season (best weather for climbing). Houseboats are very expensive ($3000+ a week). Sea kayaks are perfect.
Starting from the dam, the best climbing is between miles 40 and 139, and roughly 20 miles up the San Juan arm. Wingate appears at lake level around mile 115 and continues to 140.
Beautiful 3-5 pitch spires up the Escalante arm (mile 69), though currently difficult to access do to low water.
Hite Marina (at mile 139) is currently closed due to low water (the Colorado River is flowing here). Coming from the north, the best put in is at Bullfrog (south of Hanksville on highway 276), or Halls Crossing from the south. There is a vehicle ferry that operates between these two marinas.
The entire lake is inside the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and a fee is required (or a national parks pass). Camping limit in one spot is 14 days, though this is only enforced during the summer months when it's generally too hot for climbing anyway.
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Lake Powell:
Print a Mini-Guide - Includes Routes!
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