Elevation: 4,500 ft
GPS: 38.04022, -109.59149
Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views: 113,744 total · 571/month
Shared By: Tony B on Nov 19, 2006 · Updates
Admins: slim, Andrew Gram, Nathan Fisher, Perin Blanchard, GRK, D C
Access Issue: 2023 Raptor Avoidance Areas! Limited Toilet Facilities! Details
Access Issue: RAIN, WET ROCK and RAPTOR CLOSURES: The sandstone around Moab is fragile and is very easily damaged when it is wet. Also please ask and be aware of Raptor Closures in areas such as CAT WALL and RESERVOIR WALL in Indian Creek Details

Description

A reasonably good cliff you can be alone at, with a goodly number of good routes! 5 routes on this cliff face North, and about 10 more face Southeast. The latter getting sunlight from sunrise to nearly sunset in the fall and winter. The Bloom book mentions that some of these routes are dusty for lack of travel, as this cliff is relatively unvisited. In reality, while this may be a contributor, the main cause is that the rock is softer here than in some other areas and yields more dust to rain and wind. Still, some routes are quite good, and as Bloom implies, you are likely to have them all to yourself. Of the routes I tried, I found "Go Sparky Go" to be the best for its unique quality of going almost horizontal on a flat vertical wall, "Low Spark" the best for its length (P1: 155', P2:80'), "Sparkling Schnitzel" good all around despite being an OffWidth, and "Sparkling Gefilte Fish" a good warm up. The 12's at Sparks Wall are rumored to be quite good, but I did not get on any of them.

Getting There

To get to Sparks Wall, turn off of the main road left, as for Bridger Jack, Pistol Whipped, Way Rambo, 4X4 Wall, Technicolor, etc...
Not your odometer when turning, this will become useful.
Cross the creek after less than a mile & continue back towards The Cottonwoods area, staying left at all possible right turns and passing Technicolor Wall. After you have gone 3.8 to 3.9 miles, the cliff-band on your right will come very close to the road. A hogback of land falls from this cliff to a rib of raised land near the road, but just before you reach this, there is a pulloff with a jeep road cutting off right, back sharply north in reverse to your direction of travel. Exit the road here and park.
The trail is very faint and easy to loose, but not too strenuous or long, regardless. It should take 20-40 minutes to arrive depending on your rack size and fitness.
To hike up to the cliff, look for a sweeping roof at the center of the SE face, spanning perhaps 50 feet with 3 end-to-end sections at slightly different elevations from the ground. This will be your point of arrival at the cliff. Note downward from there a break in the rotten red cliff-band, just left of a very large boulder perched at its edge. This is also important. Now look down from there to the chossy, dirty "cone" of soil just right of there.
Start hiking by going in your former direction of travel, South. Get on to the first hogback or "rib" of earth and start making your war up to the right side of the cone of earth previously mentioned. By now you should have picked up a trail. Go right up it's side on some flat terrain that is foot-packed past 1 rock cairn. A the top, walk up and left behind a big boulder and a small tree just past the cairn to follow the trail. You will arrive at more flat-ish switch backs, which will wind up and left towards the perched boulder. Go left of the boulder and up to the base of the cliff, arriving at the base-trail just left of the route "Low Spark." The trail at the base of the cliff is surprisingly easy to travel and flat.

42 Total Climbs

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Classic Climbing Routes at Sparks Wall

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.
V6 7A
 28
Airwolf
Boulder
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
 98
Skraps
Trad
5.10- 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a
 218
Sparkling Zygote
Trad
5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b
 59
Sparkling Gefilte Fish
Trad
5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b
 43
Divide and Conquer
Trad
5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b
 55
Scenic Line
Trad
5.11- 6c 22 VIII- 22 E3 5c
 54
Jump Start
Trad
5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c PG13
 48
Low Spark
Trad 2 pitches
5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c
 44
Slings and Arrows
Trad
5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c
 230
Jupiter Crack
Trad
5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c
 21
Sparkling Spurs (1st Anchors)
Trad
5.11b/c 6c+ 23 VIII- 24 E4 6a
 234
Go Sparky Go
Trad
5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a
 79
Sparks of the Tempest
Trad
5.12- 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
 50
Old Sparky
Trad
5.12 7b+ 27 VIII+ 26 E6 6b
 26
Sparkling Spurs
Trad
Route Name Location Star Rating Difficulty Date
Airwolf
 28
V6 7A Boulder
Skraps
 98
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a Trad
Sparkling Zygote
 218
5.10- 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a Trad
Sparkling Gefilte Fish
 59
5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b Trad
Divide and Conquer
 43
5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b Trad
Scenic Line
 55
5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b Trad
Jump Start
 54
5.11- 6c 22 VIII- 22 E3 5c Trad
Low Spark
 48
5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c PG13 Trad 2 pitches
Slings and Arrows
 44
5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c Trad
Jupiter Crack
 230
5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c Trad
Sparkling Spurs (1st Anchors)
 21
5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c Trad
Go Sparky Go
 234
5.11b/c 6c+ 23 VIII- 24 E4 6a Trad
Sparks of the Tempest
 79
5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a Trad
Old Sparky
 50
5.12- 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a Trad
Sparkling Spurs
 26
5.12 7b+ 27 VIII+ 26 E6 6b Trad
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