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Drone Wall

Utah > Wasatch Range > Southern Wasatch > Hobble Creek Canyon

Description

A singular formation in the canyon, Drone Wall contains eleven lines (ten routes and a project) that range from 5.7 to 5.14a. The location is pleasant, among trees and close to a stream, but it is also a local party spot and needs cleaning up now and again.

The rock formation itself is strange and mushroom-shaped and looks like it is composed of the cast-off remnants of a cave. The rock is very pocketed, quite sharp in places, and of quite curious construction. Parts of it look like a contractor dumped a load of concrete, other parts look like cave limestone, still other parts look like a conglomerate of sorts. There is a lot of guano in various spots, and some of the pockets contain soft material that is likely vegetable in origin, but it's probably best not to inquire too closely.

Getting There

The crag is located up the right fork of Hobble Creek Canyon on Uinta National Forest land. Follow the road past the golf course and bear right at the fork. Note when the Uinta National Forest sign appears. Park at a large turnout on the right, .5 miles past the sign (it’s 9.2 miles from the I-15 freeway to the sign). The crag itself isn’t visible from the road.

The Google Maps coordinates for the parking turnout are 40.17185,-111.47215. They differ slightly from what I recorded one day with a handheld GPS receiver; those were 40.17224 N 111.47205 W (using WGS84).

Follow a trail that leaves the up canyon side of the turnout and heads down a gentle slope. The trail leads to a stream; cross this on whatever bridge materials are then current (tree trunks, pallets, etc.). On the far side of the stream follow the trail down canyon about seventy-five feet or so until you see a group of three medium-sized boulders on the left. The trail to the crag starts on the right side of these boulders, is well marked, and heads uphill away from the stream. Total approach time is 3 or 4 minutes from the parking.

Routes from Left to Right

5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b
 65
The Rattler
Sport
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c
 41
Snaked
Sport
5.12a/b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6a
 56
Beeleave
Sport
5.14a 8b+ 32 X+ 32 E8 7a
 6
Prestidigitator
Sport
5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a
 1
The Buzzkill
Sport
5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a
 6
Flight of the Bumblie
Sport
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a
 9
The Hive
Sport
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b
 37
Rain Delay
Sport
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
 44
Dead Finger
Sport
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
 75
The Drone
Sport
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
 33
Stinger
Sport
5.7+ 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b
 47
Tres Hermanos
Sport
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
 34
Bushy Tailed Wood Rat
Sport
5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b
 16
The Rubber Boa
Sport
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
 11
Short, Shitty and Sharp
Sport
Route Name Location Star Rating Difficulty Date
The Rattler
 65
5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b Sport
Snaked
 41
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c Sport
Beeleave
 56
5.12a/b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6a Sport
Prestidigitator
 6
5.14a 8b+ 32 X+ 32 E8 7a Sport
The Buzzkill
 1
5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a Sport
Flight of the Bumblie
 6
5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a Sport
The Hive
 9
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a Sport
Rain Delay
 37
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b Sport
Dead Finger
 44
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c Sport
The Drone
 75
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c Sport
Stinger
 33
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a Sport
Tres Hermanos
 47
5.7+ 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b Sport
Bushy Tailed Wood Rat
 34
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c Sport
The Rubber Boa
 16
5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b Sport
Short, Shitty and Sharp
 11
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c Sport

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Prestidigitator (Nikon PL510)
[Hide Photo] Prestidigitator (Nikon PL510)
Kyram, Cutting loose on the Prestidigitator 13d-ish (Nikon PL510)
[Hide Photo] Kyram, Cutting loose on the Prestidigitator 13d-ish (Nikon PL510)
Jeff R pulling over the Crux on Snaked (11b) at the Drone Wall.  August 2018.
[Hide Photo] Jeff R pulling over the Crux on Snaked (11b) at the Drone Wall. August 2018.
John Ross's photo which shows the "easy" routes on the Drone Wall.  
<br>
Drone Wall, right side:
<br>
10. The Drone 5.8
<br>
11. Stinger 5.9
<br>
12. Tres Hermanos 5.8-
<br>
13. BushyTailedWoodRat 5.8
[Hide Photo] John Ross's photo which shows the "easy" routes on the Drone Wall. Drone Wall, right side: 10. The Drone 5.8 11. Stinger 5.9 12. Tres Hermanos 5.8- 13. BushyTailedWoodRat 5.8
<em>Drone Wall</em>, middle right.<br>
<br>
7. 5.12c<br>
8. [[106287462]] 5.10d<br>
9. [[106287215]] 5.10c<br>
10. [[106287210]] 5.8
[Hide Photo] Drone Wall, middle right. 7. 5.12c 8. Rain Delay 5.10d 9. Dead Finger 5.10c 10. The Drone 5.8
Drone Wall; middle-left.
<br>
2. [[106291056]] 5.12a
<br>
3. [[109407694]] 5.13c/d
<br>
3a.[[126211622]] 5.11c
<br>
4. [[118972281]] 5.11b
<br>
5. [[107231280]] 5.11d
<br>
6. Project
[Hide Photo] Drone Wall; middle-left. 2. Beeleave 5.12a 3. Prestidigitator 5.13c/d 3a.The Buzzkill 5.11c 4. Flight of the Bumblie 5.11b 5. The Hive 5.11d 6. Project
Nice shady area
[Hide Photo] Nice shady area
<em>Drone Wall</em>, right side.<br>
<br>
10. [[106287210]] 5.8<br>
11. [[106287205]] 5.7
[Hide Photo] Drone Wall, right side. 10. The Drone 5.8 11. Tres Hermanos 5.7
Drone Wall, middle.
<br>

<br>
6. project
<br>
7. project
<br>
8. [[106287462]] 5.10d
[Hide Photo] Drone Wall, middle. 6. project 7. project 8. Rain Delay 5.10d
<em>Drone Wall</em>, left side.<br>
<br>
1. [[106287468]] 5.10b<br>
2. [[106291056]] 5.12a<br>
3. [[109407694]] 5.13c/d
[Hide Photo] Drone Wall, left side. 1. The Rattler 5.10b 2. Beeleave 5.12a 3. Prestidigitator 5.13c/d
The left side of <em>Drone Wall</em>.
[Hide Photo] The left side of Drone Wall.
<em>Drone Wall</em> as it appears from the approach trail.
[Hide Photo] Drone Wall as it appears from the approach trail.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Stan Pitcher
SLC, UT
[Hide Comment] Don't park at the "large" pullout/trailhead, park a little further at the modestly-size pullout. Beautiful here in the fall! Oct 9, 2012
[Hide Comment] Fun area. Plenty of easy stuff, and plenty of hard stuff. I wish there was more in between climbs (stuff in the 5.9, 10a, and 10b) range. We made the mistake of parking at the "large" pullout which just means you have to walk a bit further up the creek until you see the three boulders. Aug 25, 2018
[Hide Comment] If you park at what Stan calls the "modest-size pullout" then the trail is literally straight across the stream from the pullout.

It's super cool rock. Really fun to climb, and a lots of routes. The only issue (and this was a big issue....) was that there were wasps everywhere. They were crawling in and out of the holes in the rock, so reaching up for a hold or reaching into a pocket felt really sketchy. I don't know if this happens every year.... I would go back in the late fall/winter (The easier wall is in the sun) Aug 23, 2019
[Hide Comment] I was happily surprised to find out how nice this little crag is. Now we don’t always have to drive all the way to Wyoming to climb superb (albeit sharp) pockets like this. I only wish there was more like it. May 25, 2020
Logan Bradford
Lindon, UT
[Hide Comment] Having now been to Wild Iris, I found the rock very similar at Drone to there, except the 10b on the far left side. So, I'd call this Dolomite for the most part. Jul 27, 2020