PRINT: Rock Climb Grumpy Old Men, Southwest Utah

Grumpy Old Men

5.10-, Sport, 110 ft (33 m), 2 pitches,

Avg: 2.7 from 48 votes
FA: T Goss, D. Biniaz
Utah > Southwest Utah > Saint George > Prophesy Wall

Access Issue: Do not camp on the land below and west of the crag. It is private property and is now posted. Details

Continue down the road about another mile toward the double camelback formation near Gunlock. This is BLM owned land, and offers parking and dispersed camping where you won't be the guy to get the Prophesy closed to climbing.

Description

P1: Ascend what looks like a wide crack with Stegosauraus backplates sticking out of it. The spines are a very unique feature- the likes of which I have never seen. They looked delicate but we didn't break any off. They give you a series of jugs and good feet until they peter out near the top.Most of the climb is pretty easy with a reachy 5.9 crux near the top. Fun fun fun! (110ft)

P2: Ascend a series of softer, more fragile crimps and edges through a small roof, paw around for the solid stuff, then continue to fire the face towards more varnished and secure ground. Cool plates of hard sandstone litter the upper headwall. Persevere and be rewarded. Sketchy fun fun! (90ft)

The climb goes for two pitches. Good if run as a single or mulit-pitch.

Location

Middle of the wall.
As you approach you will see a light colored, slopey looking and pretty featureless wall and you might wonder how there could be a 5.9 there. You don't see the flakes sticking out until you get closer. Look up for the first bolt. It's about 20-25 feet off the ground.

Protection

P1: 12 bolts and rap anchors.

P2: 10 bolts and chains.

A 70 meter rope is recommended. Walk off or rap the route.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Crux section of P1.

Grumpy Old Men

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Stan Pitcher
SLC, UT

I am a bit grumpy about this route! The first bolt is quite high and its unnerving climbing on the strange flakes - this was some of the hardest climbing on the pitch and it seemed silly not to have a lower bolt. There maybe protection possible in the crack but I didn't have any with me. Then on the 2nd pitch I could not see the third bolt anywhere above the bulge. After climbing up (and down) a few times to look I bagged it - seemed it would be a bad place to take a long fall.

You can rap from the top of pitch 1 with a 60m. Dec 12, 2011

Patrick Stark
St. George, Utah

5.10c

Climbing to the first bolt is fine. Big holds. First pitch has a strange bulging section near the top that will make you think a bit. One would not want to fall sending the roof on the second pitch. The bolt over the roof is out of sight and a fall here could lead to a nice smack on the ramp below. The holds over the roof are solid and the bolt is up there; of course by the time you get to it you don't really need it anymore. Ha! May 5, 2013

darrell hodges

5.10b

A bolt has been added to the start of the first pitch and another one up higher. So, pitch one now has 12 bolts. Mar 22, 2014

Marius vanderMerwe
Saint George, UT

I hope the bolts were added with the blessing of the first ascensionists. If so, then fine. If not, then please don't modify the routes. There are plenty of other routes with closely spaced bolts to go and climb. This is climbing ethics 101. Mar 23, 2014

darrell hodges

5.10b

The new bolt at the bottom is actually a bit too low to be really effective. If you blow it nearing what is now the second bolt, you'll still deck. Mar 24, 2014

Dr. Dan
Steamboat Springs, CO

1st and 2nd pitches both very fun and very different character. Both pitches are well protected. You do need to pull the little roof on P2 in order to clip the bolt, and it is not visible from below, but this is rock climbing. May 10, 2015

Matthias Gottmann

5.10b

The guide book shows this route on the wrong crack. The actual route is one crack to climbers right (with the expected bolts). Where the book shows this route is an easier crack with no bolts. Nov 11, 2019

Elliot Spaulding
St. George, UT

Matthias is right about this. The location in the book is wrong. Should be fairly obvious when you get up to the rock. It's the crack with bolts and not the crack that doesn't have bolts. Oct 1, 2020

tenesmus

I've never seen a route name paired with more appropriate comments than this. Oct 2, 2020

Logan Bradford
Lindon, UT

They really missed the boat on naming this after some reference to Land Before Time. Like... "Don't Eat Talking Trees" or "Little Foot." Except, now we have a bunch of guys bickering in the comments, so I guess we can't change the name now... Nov 7, 2020

Ethan Daffner
Yakima, WA

Only climbed the first pitch- very very fun and unique 5.9/10- climbing Route veers right after the stegosaurus crack and adds A LOT of rope drag for lowering/TRing. May 6, 2021

Kaeli C
Salt Lake City, UT

Getting to the 2nd bolt on P2 a little spicy/awkward. I fell twice from the roof...didn't find any money holds but also was probably more pumped than I realized. Just putting that out there since it's not a quick roof to pull imo. Nov 11, 2023