BETA PHOTO: A panoramic picture of the San Rafael Reef from t...
Description
To date (OCT. 2009) There have been about 130+ routes put up from about 200' to 2000', some with very easy pitches, some with up to 5.12 pitches, and many are very runout. Climbers used to slab climbing should find the grades about right, others who are not may find some of the runouts quite entertaining. Overall we think the rock is fine to excellent, although you will at times encounter a few soft spots. All of the routes climbed so far have great summits that overhang the back canyons by about 400', so most times the descent is back down the ascent route. These climbs are more like mountaineering routes and even the easy ones give great views and lead one into very unusual rock formations. As already mentioned most pitches are runout. Cam and stopper protection is sometimes available and pro bolts are usually on pitches that are at least 5.7. Many pitches are close to 200', and often only 3 points of protection are all that will be found. It is advisable to carry a small hand drill and a couple of #1 angles in case one gets too far off route.Also carry slings (or extra loose webbing) to back up, if nessasery, old webbing on the rap anchors. The following descriptions are a selection of some of the star routes of this area.NOTE.As of OCT there are now over 130 routes on the Eastern Reef with a total of over 60000'++ of climbing ranging from 5.4 to 5.12..........These routes on the slabs and steeper side canyons were put up on the lead ground up. On the more difficult routes the leader carried not only a Bosch drill ,but also a small rack. On some routes the leader climbed without the drill and at times a belay was not found ( a firm 1895 stance was taken!) until the arrival of the second carrying the twelve pound Bosch, or by hauling it up while standing on thin air. Due to the difficulty of drilling on the lead as few bolts as possible have been placed.Hence many routes show a R for runout after the grade.
Getting There
This very large sandstone slab formation is located about 14 miles west of Green River on I.70 The entrance to a well-maintained dirt road is 2 miles past the Route 24 exit to Hanksville. Here one will find a wire gate. Go through this, and immediately turn left and go under the interstate. The section under the interstate can be sandy, and a much easier entrance to get onto the good dirt road is from a gate on the opposite side of the interstate. With a car this entrance is recommended. This road parallels the slabs for about 6+ miles. To walk to the slabs from this road takes about 20 minutess of more or less flat walking.However some climbs from Three Finger Canyon , Little Spotted Wolf Canyon and Univa trail head are much closer to a parking area.
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Eastern Reef Slabs:
1000' of Fun 5.6 Trad, 5 pitches, 1000 feet, Grade II
Starts from the slot canyon immediately south of the Reefer Madness Formation. Climbs the north wall .Scramble up the canyon for about 300' to the hour glass shaped slab.The climb takes a fine exposed route up slabs/grooves and the final pitch is a line of interesting pot holes (very holy) (P1. Climb the slab passed a bolt towards the left arete.Move around this edge and into an alcove. Continue up the left edge passed two more bolts and some c...[more]Browse More Classics in UT
By Ryan Brough From: Arvada, Colorado Nov 26, 2006
As of 11-25-2006, the dirt road was washed out in several locations. I'm not sure how often or when this road is graded, but I would consider it "impassable" for a car. Even after filling in the ruts with rocks and dirt, we bottomed out in my brother's Subaru. A high clearance 4x4 will speed up your approach to the routes substantially.
Agree it does need some reorganization , but if you do read ALL the info the area's are separated by the three approaches, each climb mentions which road to hike from . Also most of the good routes have photos of the whole crag with the line of the route marked.It is a massive area and even we get confused with where we are and what we have done. Eventually we will have a more comprehensive guide to the area .I must point out that not all the routes that have been done down there are on Mt Project.It is very different compared to most desert climbing which more often than not are towers that are easily recognised.Its a pure adventure area ,and you will usually not find other climbers to consult with as is often the case, for example on sport route crags or the Cottowood canyons.Just keep going you will learn even if like us its often the hard way!!. The main dirt road has now been scraped and is car friendly. Four wheel is still advised to drive the whole distance (about 2 miles) to the mouth of Three Fingers, also the short road (1/4 mile) to the Univa trail head. The first pull off for Spotted Wolf (Death by Chocolate area) is car friendly. Good luck
By Andrew Gram Administrator From: Denver, CO Oct 30, 2007
I can separate the routes out by trailhead - sound good?
Hey, Lance and Ben: I think we met you guys out at the swell at the end of October... Ned and I headed back out there last weekend and we were having trouble locating the Road to Mecca. Is there an old pallet at the start of the wash that you approach on? Is the Death by Chocolate route visible south of where you park the car? We headed up the wash, wandered around a few and then cut across to the base of the swell. The canyon we were in appeared to be more than class 4 scrambling. That would be awesome if you could turn us around to the right direction. Thanks, Errin. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Yes Pallet where you pull off Yes Death by Choc very visible . The Slot canyon approach has a struggle up a V groove etc . There is a different but more complex approach detailed in Road to Mecca that avoids the 4th class approach.Road to Mecca is very easy but fun...
Thanks Paul, good to know we were in the right place then. I just wanted to confirm that. We find it a little difficult to navigate in the Swell. Next time we head out there, we should be able to get in there. The scramble up just looked more tough than class IV so I thought we might have been in the wrong spot. Since there isn't any snow it may be sooner than later. Thanks again.
[revised] I enjoyed the climbing, my climbing partner of 20+ years was freaked out a lot, with cause. I bought a 60m rope just for the trip. It turns out hat my new rope was 15 feet short! Measure your ropes before you go because you need 200 feet ropes! To be fair, the author did suggest a bolt kit "if we got too far off route," but I was on route and still had some 100 foot runouts. (This is sandstone after all.) I'd bring a bolt kit and in retrospect wouldn't have felt bad putting a couple of bolts on every pitch, for those who may follow. [Not everyone who chooses 8's and 9's is a slabmaster.] The problem is you don't know where to put them until you've climbed it.
I would normally never think of adding bolts to a finished climb and wish that if the leaders had been low on bolts that they had suggested placements for those who followed. I did that(suggest bolt placements) on Creature Comforts, in the 'Platte. I was ok with the runouts and single bolt anchors (I hammer my holes), but didn't think others would be. It worked out well enough since I suggested where they ought to go (I didn't want 5 more bolts per pitch or anything). I do believe that there are "statement climbs" on which the runnouts are a big part of the climb, but those are frequently at a high grade where regular people won't get sucked in. I expected 50 foot runouts, but going 200 feet with one piece of gear and not making the anchors isn't "Trad," its soloing. (Care to make a few suggestions before somebody goes up there with a box of bolts and a Bosch and really screws up your beautiful climbs?) I did notice the hard climb in Uneva canyon had lots of bolts.
PS: We rap'd and made every rap anchor with what turned out to be a 185 foot lead rope and a 200 foot 9 mm rope.
This looks like soooo much fun and beautiful, been wanting to go since last year. I'm planning to check it out this coming March 2010 spring break. Anyone who knows the area, want to climb with me? I'll be out there.
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