Rock Climbing In Southern Utah

Clearly, there are mountains and rock features all over the world; but there is only one Southern Utah, and no place is quite like it for rock climbing.  Avid rock climbers are hard-pressed to find the beauty, variety, and easy to moderate to killer challenges so close together as rock climbing in Southern Utah.  Here’s why.

Five Mighty National Parks

Utah’s five national parks offer not only stunning scenery, but also rock features for every skill level. From Arches National Park to Canyonlands to Capitol Reef to Bryce Canyon to Zion, they are paradise for outdoor enthusiasts, especially hikers, geologists, campers, photographers, and rock climbers.  Mother Nature has, over thousands of years, carved out a smorgasbord of gorgeous vistas and rock monuments that beckon the athletic.

Saint George, Utah

Tucked away in the southwestern corner of Utah is the city of St. George, which has more and better sport-climbing routes than any other place, per capita, in North America.  The county offers a bevy of challenges and rock types: red sandstone, limestone, and volcanic black rock. Some of the most popular are Crawdad Canyon, Cougar Cliffs, Turtle Wall, Bluff Street Cracks, Dutchman’s Draw, Running Scared Crag, Chuckawalla, Woodbury Road Crags, Utah Hills, Zen Wall, Green Valley Gap, Snow Canyon, Prophesy Wall, and Underworld.  Snow Canyon State Park is especially incredible to see and to tackle.

Zion National Park

Famous for its hiking trails, like the iconic Angels’ Landing, Zion is home to rock climbing that many of the gnarly have only dreamed of.  Zion has over three hundred oft-climbed rock features, one of which is called “Space Shot.” Space Shot runs about 800 feet and is Grade IV, with a Class rating of 5,10.  It is challenging enough for most who enjoy free-climbing, but probably are not headed to Tokyo in 2020 for the first Olympic rock climbing event. “Moonlight Buttress” is a 5,12 so offers a higher level of difficulty to test your mettle.

Rating Systems

Rock features are rated most often by class and degree of difficulty.  For example, Class 5 routes are vertical climbs, ranging from 4 to 15 in difficulty, with 15 being overhang and the highest degree of difficulty.  5th class climbs require both feet and hands to accomplish.  Because Angels’ Landing ends with a steep ridge, but does not require hands to climb, it is considered Class 4 scrambling.

Olympic Rock Climbing

In the Tokyo Olympics of 2020, rock climbing will see its debut.  The competitions will include “lead climbing,” “bouldering,” and “speed climbing,” in a combined event.  Forty climbers—20 men and 20 women—will compete over four days. The top qualifiers from the first rounds will complete all three disciplines in the finals.

Rock Climbing In Southern Utah

Article By: Clear Content Marketing