Wasatch in April

So if you were from out of town and had two days to climb near Salt Lake City in April, had never climbed in the area, and wanted to climb multi-pitch trad, in the 10b or below range, where would you go and what would you climb? Sasquatch/Pentapitch sounds great, but will it be cold? What else? The Black Streak? Too cold?

Thanks in advance for any and all advice!

Will

Multi-pitch trad < 5.10b, relatively easy to distinguish for someone not familiar with the area?

The Coffin. Both pitches (around the east side of the "Coffin Box"). South facing, provided the weather's been warm 'n' dry for a good couple ah days... should be a good time.

Crescent Crack plus the Final Link would make another fine, fine outing, with the above caveats as well.

A nice thing about these two areas is, they are south-facing and relatively low in the canyon, so they can even be climbed in Feb. after a few days of 40 degree temps to warm+dry the rock a tad. I was pretty tempted to get up there over the weekend, which in the middle of ice season is not a good thing.

ice season isn't over? oh, its just me that's over it...

Your linkup isn't in order: Crescent Crack, Final Link, rap right to the base of the Coffin.

Also, the Thumb may be dry - S-crack to S-Direct is really cool.

Cragging in Green A gully sounds nice.

BCC classics abound. AF, Maple, etc will have climbable stuff too. But it's high LCC season in April.

Will Eccleston wrote:Sasquatch/Pentapitch sounds great, but will it be cold? What else? The Black Streak? Too cold? Thanks in advance for any and all advice! Will

Early or late April? Might make a difference. Ifs its sunny and has been for a spell, then the Pentapitch area might be doable, but, we're havin' a biggish winter and it might still be drying out.

Black Streak is on Devil's Castle. Best approach in early April is to buy a lift ticket from Alta. Note that DC tops out at over 11,000 feet, and, it'll be cold and possibly frozen and if not frozen, wet. All the route up there face north and don't see much sun. Usually doesn't come back into season for rock climbing up there until most the snow is gone, and, that can be June at the earliest.

Altered States might be dry. Gate routes might be dry (Tarzan to Tingey's Torture). Fin, Thumb, Cresent to Final Link, and the stuff down lower in LCC should be good by then. Peeler friction (duck slab routes) might be doable.

Cheers.

tenesmus wrote: Your linkup isn't in order: Crescent Crack, Final Link, rap right to the base of the Coffin.

good point. that would make it a 5p outing ;)

tenesmus wrote:Also, the Thumb may be dry - S-crack to S-Direct is really cool. Cragging in Green A gully sounds nice. BCC classics abound. AF, Maple, etc will have climbable stuff too. But it's high LCC season in April.

AF and Maple are a little thin in the trad lines, AFAIK. Agree with your estimation of getting the goods in LCC though, provided it's dry enough. Some of those cracks weep water for a bit if there's still snow in the high country.

Arm and Hammer, Bells Canyon. A bit of a walk but well worth it.

I second Arm and Hammer. Well worth the beautiful hike in. super classic. I just did the Coffin today 17 of FEB! most of the crescent crack buttress was dry.

The first two pitches or one if running together of the Ellsworth/McQuarie which is the start to Arm & Hammer though south facing are apt to be wet in April. Also with the big snow year crossing the creek may be a bitch.

I would say head up to the Gate Buttress (Schoolroom and Green A) and get on some of the one pitch climbs that you can link together. For instance, Mind Blow to the Hook, or some others like Gordon's Overhang as a full single pitch. Or Wheels on Fire which is 2.5 pitches. Probably get in more quality time than spending time figuring out how to get to the Thumb or Fin which have some great long lines. The other is that in these areas there will be others to help point you to climbs.

Thanks folks for all of the great suggestions. My wife will be out there for a conference, and I was going to come out and climb with her after, but generally when I fly somewhere to climb I want to get on the ultra-tall stuff. I guess it's a little early in the season for that, so I think we'll hit it another time. I really appreciate all of the beta though.

Will

Allen Sanderson wrote: Also with the big snow year crossing the creek may be a bitch.

I vividly remember some epic creek crossings just above some waterfalls. The creek may not be too bad as depending on the temperatures, April may be early for the runoff.