The Hoback Shield ("The Shield") is a slabby escarpment of nice limestone with a good selection of route different than any found elsewhere in the valley. If you enjoy calf pumps, pinches, dimples, and a few good roof pulls, check this place out!
Best in spring and fall. Summer is OK until the sun hits it at about 11 AM. The cliff is directly south facing. A good combo day can be made by hitting the Shield in the morning and Rodeo Wall in the afternoon.
Most of the routes were developed by Joe Sottile (AKA Maxwell Yanoff), Greg Miles, and a few others in the early 90s. Miles returned in the early 2000s to retrobolt a few of the sportier classics, thus making them extremely popular. Also in the early 00s, Trevor Bowman added a nice selection of moderate sport routes. Despite the rebolting efforts, routes here are still considered sporty by some. Bring your slab head!
There are a handful of trad routes here which should prove exciting for anyone interesting in polished limestone cracks. Also, many of the sport routes have second pitches that go to the top of the cliff and are protected by trad gear. Please be careful if you decide to top out. Much loose rock exists up there.
There aren't too many routes at the Shield, but it breaks down naturally into five distinct zones (from left to right):
Left (from Shady Grove to A Thousand Cranes) Right (from The Joker to Electric Shower) Center (She's Got To Have It to The Hunter) McFlatus Roof (Naughty Guides-Nhervus Sheep) Far Right/Warmup Area (The Bulge-Hoi Polloi)
Getting There
The Shield sits above the Hoback River a few miles south into Hoback Canyon. Going south from Jackson, cross the Hoback River twice on Highway 191. Look for the cliff on your left after about 12 minutes from Hoback Junction. Park in a pullout on the right side of the road, just beneath the cliff. If you pass the junction for Granite Hot Springs and cross the Hoback a third time, you've gone just slightly too far. Follow switchbacks up to the base of the cliff. Allow about 10 minutes.
Hoback Shield
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