Moab For Honeymoon - need recommendations

Me and my fiance will be heading to Moab for our honeymoon in March of 2020. Trying to start planning the trip. Looking for some recommendations for areas to climb and some good guidebooks. Neither of us have ever been to Moab. We are sport climbers and we climb 5.10b and below. Thanks for the help!

Update: also willing to drive up to an hour and a half outside of towntown and only spending 2-3 days out of 7 total days climbing so not too worried about the limited sport climbing. Just looking for suggestions. 

High on Moab seems like a good place to start. Also - Moab is famous for the trad climbing, so while there is sport climbing, the selection may be smaller

Matt Castelli wrote: High on Moab seems like a good place to start. Also - Moab is famous for the trad climbing, so while there is sport climbing, the selection may be smaller

Thanks Matt! Yea trying to learn Trad and get some experience in before going. Just don't have that knowledge yet to be a trad leader

if you aren't a competent trad leader, i think that the moab area will be very limited for a 5.10 sport climber. are you spending your entire honeymoon there?  how long?  it may make sense to sport climb elsewhere and do other things in moab.  if you can become a competent trad leader (and when i say competent i mean more in the way of dealing with loose rock, placing good gear, etc as opposed to how hard you climb), then there are actually quite a few routes well below 5.10 that are fun and adventurous for the grade.  some of these may require a small amount of easy aid (french free, bolt ladders, or straight forward gear) but they are pretty fun.

first things first though - is there any sort of climbing your fiance hates? you don't want to be dragging her up a sandy squeeze chimney if that isn't her idea of a good time.

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/105717292/honeymoon-chimney

There are certainly a few classics in the area that you could be ready for if you get into trad - Ancient art, castleton, etc. And there is that 5.easy slab climb up an arch to a free-hanging rappel south of town as well (can't remember the name). Arches has some - interesting - climbing like Owl Rock. Some easy routes on the Six Shooters down in the Creek too, if you are willing to drive there (the arch climb is on the way).  Just my 2 cents on routes. 

For a rest day, I recommend Elephant Butte mountainproject.com/route/1…;

slim wrote: if you aren't a competent trad leader, i think that the moab area will be very limited for a 5.10 sport climber. are you spending your entire honeymoon there?  how long?  it may make sense to sport climb elsewhere and do other things in moab.  if you can become a competent trad leader (and when i say competent i mean more in the way of dealing with loose rock, placing good gear, etc as opposed to how hard you climb), then there are actually quite a few routes well below 5.10 that are fun and adventurous for the grade.  some of these may require a small amount of easy aid (french free, bolt ladders, or straight forward gear) but they are pretty fun.

first things first though - is there any sort of climbing your fiance hates? you don't want to be dragging her up a sandy squeeze chimney if that isn't her idea of a good time.

Hoping to be able to become a competent lead trad climber. Taking a 3 day class with a certified instructor locally here in West Virginia. I know most people recommend after taking a course to find a mentor. Any suggestions if you don't know any trad climbers? What could I do next to practice. 

I want to climb some of the trade routes in the Moab area but just not 100% sure if I will be competent enough by the time I am out there.

wall st. high concentration of sport climbs 10b and under...plus you can belay from your car

If you do indeed get more into trad climbing, be warned that it can be very addictive and demanding of all resources.  Moral of this story: Don't have kids.

Austin G wrote: I want to climb some of the trade routes in the Moab area but just not 100% sure if I will be competent enough by the time I am out there.

Do the sport climbing on your own, then hire a guide to bag a tower or two!  Let me know if you need a recommendation for a guiding company.  If you want to go all out you could even hire them to make you a "Honeymoon suite" on top of a tower or on a portaledge.

Matt Castelli wrote: There are certainly a few classics in the area that you could be ready for if you get into trad - Ancient art, castleton, etc. And there is that 5.easy slab climb up an arch to a free-hanging rappel south of town as well (can't remember the name). Arches has some - interesting - climbing like Owl Rock. Some easy routes on the Six Shooters down in the Creek too, if you are willing to drive there (the arch climb is on the way).  Just my 2 cents on routes. 

The 5.easy slab is called Looking Glass Rock.  That's a great recommendation for these folks.  

I personally think AA can be a bit sketchy for new trad leaders (sub-par rock quality, can't exactly sew it up, chimney climbing is novel to many sport/gym climbers).  Castleton has the same chimney/"runout" issue, plus you actually have to be able to crack climb for the first pitch (assuming you're going up North Chimney).  I see a lot of shenanigans on those two routes from folks that are in over their heads a bit.  It might be a less stressful way to start a marriage to hire a guide to play rope gun instead of doing it on your own.

Years ago there was a wedding in Zion and the couple decided to hike Angel's Landing.
The woman wore a long wedding dress which caused her to trip and she fell to her death.

Lesson; dress appropriately. 

Adam Fleming wrote:

The 5.easy slab is called Looking Glass Rock.

Not the Wilson Arch?

Marc801 C wrote: Not the Wilson Arch?

Wilson Arch is also 5.easy and has a free-hanging rap, but requires trad pro.  Both it and Looking Glass are south of town.  I see more folks on Looking Glass than Wilson.

The theater and cinema have great sport routes on river road. I hit it when I was newly married doing the same thing. 

You could *probably* manage Castleton if you get some experience, but you won't feel comfortable on the North Chimney unless you feel somewhat ok on 10a desert cracks. I'd definitely second the recommendation to get a guide, you could do some awesome routes in the 10 range and it'd be way more relaxed.

Pocket Rocket is 10c but fun and easy for the grade with the crux being right off the ground but protected. Boognish tower is a 5.9 sport chimney also in day canyon, both classic and fun.

Train hard, get better and you can clip bolts all day in Millcreek. Plenty of 11s up there.

Austin G wrote:

Hoping to be able to become a competent lead trad climber. Taking a 3 day class with a certified instructor locally here in West Virginia. I know most people recommend after taking a course to find a mentor. Any suggestions if you don't know any trad climbers? What could I do next to practice. 

I want to climb some of the trade routes in the Moab area but just not 100% sure if I will be competent enough by the time I am out there.

There is a crack clinic early in Oct run by Nate Sydnor and others from his guiding company, based out of Moab. I was highly encouraged to check it out... but time constraints working against me. Nate is cool dude, and if the clinic helps you avoid gobies... worth it. That would be for Indian Creek though. 

Your climbing will be limited - primarily to Wall Street. Even IF you become more of a trad leader, this is crack climbing, which is its own discipline altogether. And crack climbing your first few times is anything but fun, to be honest. Rent some Mt Bikes, Drive the LaSalle loop road, rent a jeep and hit some cool trails like Fins and Things, easy slots canyons that would include some repelling, ...there's a lot Moab has to offer that will make your first trip more enjoyable.