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Lone Rock

Utah > W Desert > Stansbury Mountains

Description

The climbs on the North face of Lone rock will almost always be shaded. Excellent quality limestone, but there is a drawback; this area is very popular among shooters. I've heard stories of climbers being shot at (whether on purpose or not it's hard to say).

While I was out there a few days ago we had hiked up to the routes to scout where to climb. While we were standing at the base of the cliff an SUV parked at the bottom and 4 people began setting up targets directly between us and their car. When I talked to them they said they did see us up there, but this was "one of the only places around to shoot, and not a good place for climing. If you want to climb go u to Big Cottonwood."
Especially on weekends, there will be a number of shooters around the area, so watch out if you want to climb here.

If you would like more info on the routes here, check out James Garrett's book Utah's West Desert. Comes with great topos and another fun story of climbers getting shot at.

Getting There

Take I80 West from Salt Lake to exit 77 Dugway/Rowley and head South a few mile 'til you see the brown sign that signals the right turn to Lone Rock. Follow dirt roads and/or 4x4 trails to get around to the North or West side of the rock formation.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

View due North
[Hide Photo] View due North
Heading up the .10c
[Hide Photo] Heading up the .10c
North Face Rappell/Climb
[Hide Photo] North Face Rappell/Climb
Ben roping up for the next lead.
[Hide Photo] Ben roping up for the next lead.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Benjamin Eaton
Sandy, UT
[Hide Comment] Just did a session out on the north face of Lone Rock and had a blast. The dirt road that takes you to the crag is a bit rough right now. It passible in any car, but a high clearance vehicle will survive better on it. The climbing on the north face is very impressive. The routes are a bit dusty from dirt being blown onto it, but still very climbable. May 28, 2013
Jason Shumaker
Salt Lake City, UT
[Hide Comment] Second on Ben's comments. Very accessible steep limestone crag with good bolted protection. The location is remote and peaceful except for the people shooting big and loud guns. May 28, 2013
[Hide Comment] This is a really cool crag that has a couple amazing climbs. That being said while my partner was halfway up one of the routes bullets starts flying past us at very close range... It blew my mind that there was a guy shooting an m16 right on the other side of the hill. I talked to him and he seemed like he could've cared less, and continued to shoot. We got outta there fairly quickly. Watch your back if you are climbing here on a busy weekend. Looks to me that the rednecks have claimed this place as their own. Nov 29, 2014
[Hide Comment] Very similar to Matt's experience. A few buddies and I went out there last October to film some night climbing. As we were setting up our gear, a couple bullets starting hitting the route we just about to climb. We saw some red neck kids down below us and politely asked them to shoot somewhere else. They also couldn't seem to care less and argued that they were there first. That gave them permission to shoot at an established route.

Then when my buddy started stringing things up, he said they we aiming their guns at him. Probably because they thought it was funny.

It wasn't until we pulled out our shotgun and our telephoto lens (then starting taking pictures of them) that they left.

Other than that, really fun climb. Jan 22, 2016
[Hide Comment] Many of the bolts here are rusted. If that doesn't scare you away, all the target practice might. While we didn't feel personally threatened by anyone in particular, the earth built up around the rock acts as a berm for many shooters. As such, you are kind of in the line of fire. Feb 3, 2018
Jon Richard
St. Louis, Missouri
[Hide Comment] The rednecks could care less. I will never go back to this crag unless the people with a "boner" for guns are outlawed from the area. May 29, 2023