Sandstone & Limestone Pt. 1

Tis' the winter season...

Israil Direct PC: Kim E.

Habitat for Humanity PC: Kim E.

Device Ignitor Left

Hobo Habitat PC: Kim E./Shelli W.

Hobo Habitat PC: Kim E./Shelli W.

Alien Baby 

Unknown Crimp Line 

Moe's Valley

I just got back from a week-long trip to Moe's Valley in St. George, Utah, which is, according to my memory, the longest trip I've ever been on. The only other one that I can recall in recent memory is my trip to Joe's Valley for Thanksgiving last year, where I spent 4 days climbing with my friend, Justin, from Colorado. 

In order to prepare for the trip, I planned on getting my skin ready for some sandstone so I planned on doing some climbing on the sandstone at the Anvils in the weeks coming up to the trip. Unfortunately, I was only able to get one session in, seeing that as I took a bad landing off of the Alien Baby boulder and managed to bruise my buttcheek, which was a real pain in the ass *ba dum tss* for the next two weeks. 

As for the one session at the anvils, it wasn't all too bad. I went there with Anthony, Chris, and Will, a local from flagstaff, and we played around on the classics in the area. I managed to finish off some goals I had for the area, Alien Baby Left, and some weird crimp line next to Mars Attacks. I also played around with the foot-first beta on Alien Baby Right. 

Fortunately by the time I was driving to Moe's, my injury had healed up pretty nicely. I was staying at a place with my friends Kim and Shelli, who both had been to the area before. I didn't have too many expectations but I did know that Moe's did have a few sandstone roofs, so I was interested in trying those. I haven't climbed roofs or anything steep in a while so I was going to mostly treat it as a vacation to get back into shape and assess how I felt about the area in comparison to the climbing in Arizona. Shelli was injured, so she was a very supportive member while Kim and I toured around the area while meeting other familiar (and other friends who we haven't seen in years). Although I did go into the trip with the intention to not do any roof climbing, the trip ended up being a roof tour of sorts around the sandbox with both of us putting down some of the area classics. A video of the spray-fest is shown below. 

Low-tier climbing, high-tier spray

My opinion of Moe's is quite mixed, but then again, I'm also more of a forest guy, anyway. 

On the positives:

• The variety of climbing is much higher in Moe's at an accessible grade (V5-V8), so there are plentiful amounts of crimp-fests, compression blocks, dynos, etc... It is very easy to go from one boulder to another, so there's always something to do. 
• The approach and access to the climbing is quite easy to get to. The guidebook is available and there are plenty of online resources and documentation about the area. 
• (Not exactly a positive in my eyes)- the climbing is quite straightforward. None of the lines I ended up trying took more than a few goes, including how to figure out moves. Most holds and grips on the boulders we tried did not leave much to the imagination. 
• Landings are much better than what we have in Arizona

Downsides:

• The climbing, although straightforward, was very awkward and didn't feel like it flowed as much. 
• The movement felt a bit uninspired and uncreative. I felt like I definitely didn't have to use my brain as much to do sequences as I would have at home.
• Most classics seemed to be morphology classics.
• The sandstone here could be quite abrasive and would shred the skin quite quickly. I'm mostly referring to some of the boulders in Mario land. 
• Too much sand. "It's coarse and get's everywhere- Anakin Skywalker". I enjoy the forests a bit more.

Overall, would I go again? Probably! There were a few problems I would like to give more efforts on that I wasn't able to this time around like Gription and Israil Direct. I do enjoy driving and taking in the sights of the massive American desert. The sight and vastness of it truly never ceases to amaze. It's always nice spending time out in a different area and seeing what else is out there, though it's also hard to beat the feeling of having good rock close to home and quieter sessions with close friends. There's plenty of good rock and company here (if you know where to look 😉)

On the way home

Cemetery Wandering

Went wandering around the cemetery a week or two ago, scoping out some lines I would like to try this winter. Some yard work might need to be done for the approach...

The Helmet 

The Orb

Final Cut 

Crystal Ball

Fallen Angel