Western Front
5.7,
Sport, 330 ft (100 m), 3 pitches,
Avg: 2.3 from 47
votes
FA: Christian Knight and Jason Desmond
Utah
> Wasatch Range
> Southern Wasatch
> Rock Canyon
> Bad Bananas
Description
This is a fairly low angle climb up the western faces of the
Bad Bananas formation. The climbing is not too varied but you get high up and can travel fast.
The crux is probably getting off the ground or maybe the second move. The first pitch is not too fun but the upper faces make it worthwhile.
This route crosses
Be All That You Can Be,
Good Plantains,
Dancing With Feral Debutantes, and ends on
Brain Full of Spiders, so you are basically just following the easiest way up the wall.
P1: You can reach the first bolt from the ground and is mostly to protect a tumble off of the ledge if you fall on the opening move. Once you clip the second bolt you traverse right for about 25 feet and join up with the end of the first pitch of
Be All That You Can Be. Once you clip the anchors for
Be All, traverse down and to the right for about 40 feet passing the second pitch of
Be All and ending on a small rock ledge with a set of ring anchors.
P2: Follow the line of bolts up the steeper face crossing
Good Plantains at the last bolt for the second pitch and ending on the 2-bolt anchor for
Dancing With Feral Debutantes.
P3: Continue up Dancing With Feral Debutantes for 4 bolts and then stay right on the low angle slab instead of getting on the steep face. Follow 4 bolts up the slab until you meet up with the last 3 bolts of
Brain Full of Spiders which ends on a set of ring anchors.
Location
This route starts about 25 feet up and to the left of Be All That You Can Be in a small alcove where the green tillite rock ends and the white quartzite begins.
Descent
Walk off to the west down the ridge to the parking or to the east and down the gully to the water tank. You can rappel off but you need a 70 meter rope.
Protection
P1: 5.7, 100' 5 bolts to a 2-bolt anchor.
P2: 5.7, 115' 12 bolts to a 2-bolt anchor.
P3: 5.4, 115' 11 bolts to a 2-bolt anchor.
Protection: 12 quickdraws, slings (to reduce rope drag), locking biners, and you will really want to bring a helmet.
[Hide Photo] Be careful repelling, rope can get stuck. Walk off is recommended
[Hide Photo] Aaron Child and Christian Knight on the second pitch of Western Front.
Pocatello, ID
Great job equipping this route, guys! It's super well bolted (with beautiful stainless bolts!) and would be a great route for beginning multipitch climbers.
We didn't bring any route info and didn't know we could rappel this route with a 70, so we did 4 rappels with a 70m rope down Brain Full of Spiders. Apr 17, 2010
PG, Utah
Salt Lake City, UT
1: Returning to the anchors at the beginning of Pitch 3. This required almost the entire length of my 70m. Also the anchors (at the beginning of Pitch 3) didn’t have any rap rings, so be prepared to give up a biner if you go this route.
2: Returning to the anchors at the beginning of Pitch 2.
1: We walked back to the anchors for Be All That You Can Be, rappelled, and ended up pretty close to the base of the route. Sep 4, 2021