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Grayo

5.8 PG13, Sport, 50 ft (15 m),  Avg: 2.5 from 4 votes
FA: Jeff Baldwin, 1990
Utah > Wasatch Range > Central Wasatch > Ferguson Canyon > Grayo

Description

From the starting platform climb a crumbly slab to a bolt then traverse left over the 10' abyss to reach good holds on the arete. Work your way up to another bolt then run it out to the anchor using the arete and fat crystals on the slab.
The rock is very gritty (traffic seems minimal in the area) and some flakes are happy to come off. Make sure you look at what you're pulling on.

Great warm-up which deserves more traffic, it's just a bit heads-up for a first climb of the day. Get on it before it exfoliates itself into oblivion!

Location

Grayo climbs the West face's left arete.
See approach information for the area. The route is visible from the trail, you can't miss it.

Protection

2 bolts to a bolted anchor with chains.
A small cam could reduce the longish but moderate runout at the top (I think finger size, didn't have anything)

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Ben Folsom
[Hide Comment] To the left of Grayo (approx. 100')there is a single bolt which protects the bottom of a left facing, shallow dihedral. Does anybody know what this is? Is it a completed route or an abandoned project?

Also, to the left of that is a nice steep crack leading to a very acute dihedral in between the two jutting aretes which look like wings. Maura and I climbed that route sometime in 2007. I didn't post it as a FA because it seems like a pretty obvious line. There was no sign of previous passage, and I think I left webbing around a tree at the top to descend. It felt like around 5.9+ to 5.10 and was actually fairly good. If anyone knows if this has been climbed before, has a name, rating, etc... please post up or let me know. Jul 3, 2009
Boissal .
Small Lake, UT
  5.8
[Hide Comment] Grk and I were eying the line between the wings, looks really cool, maybe a bit gritty?
I never saw the lone bolt you mention but we spotted a piton in the same area in a dihedral. Looks like there's been some activity up there, I'll try to catch a few pictures this week.
Do you know what the route on the backside of Grayo is? 1 bolt with webbing on it, steep short line with a hard looking start? Jul 5, 2009
Ben Folsom
[Hide Comment] If I remember correctly, the route between the wings wasn't really gritty at all, I remember thinking it was really good.

The thing on the short, steep, backside of Grayo is a mystery... I have no idea what it is. (You are talking about the East facing thing just around the corner right?)

I will try to post a picture here of the wings and the unknown bolt & piton route. The bolt is down low near the start of that unknown line. There is a piton about 1/2 way up.

1. Route in between the large wing aretes. 2. Unknown bolt route.


#1 is the route that Maura and I climbed in between the wings. Probably 5.9+

#2 is the unknown bolt & pin route that is in the Ruckmans guide as "unknown". Jul 6, 2009
Arie
Smog Lake City, UT
  5.8
[Hide Comment] The short little nugget on the backside of Grayo is a long lost route of mine from ages ago (January 2000). It went at the inevitable rating of 5.10 A1 (or 2)- I had hoped to free it, but several attempts all ended in flail-a-thons. Consider it open to any free attempt. Getting off the deck is perhaps v5 and the upper section has better holds, but the gear is shady. Some left over webbing will help with clipping the first (and only) bolt. My memory has faded, but I do remember placing a rurps or two and a drilled bat-hook (among other hooks...). Belay off the Grayo anchors and scramble off.

Thanks for the beta on the "wings" feature. I've always wanted to have a go... but always get seduced by the lower ferg oddities.

cheers. Jul 6, 2009