Road Trip to Road Side Cragging in Moab
Early spring in Canada typically means one thing in the climbing community, an exodus of your friends to the desert south west. As ice season winds down and temperatures in the desert start to improve, those of us looking for rock begin to make our plans. There are numerous areas in the American Southwest that climbers can choose from and one of the more popular destinations is Moab, Utah.
Moab is a hotbed for climbing, the quality and range of styles has something for everyone. Multi-pitch, splitter cracks, towers and bouldering; it can all be found in Moab. Recording only 10 inches of rainfall a year, Moab is one of the number one destinations for climbers looking for an escape with quality climbing and practically a guarantee of not getting rained out during your trip.
Wallstreet is the most popular and accessible crag in Moab and possibly the world. The routes are located on a wall that towers over the Colorado River as it makes its way through the desert southwest. The word “approach” is almost humorous to use when discussing the crag, depending on where you park you might not be able to open the door to your vehicle because the cliff is too close but the average approach time is typically about one-minute.
Wallstreet has a large and varied selection of quality, accessible routes, there is a route for almost everyone, easy top rope slabs, classic cracks and spicy bolted routes to choose from. Having a wide range of classic climbs and literally no approach, Wallstreet can often be busy and deservedly so, especially during the weekends when the population of Moab seems to double. Just walk around and check out all of the license plates, it a clear sign that Wallstreet draws not just the locals, but climbers from all over North America.
At some routes, the f irst piece of protection is a little high. At most crags, that would mean spotting the lead climber so they don’t land too hard. At Wallstreet, you spot the climber so they don’t land too hard and so they don’t roll onto the road and get hit by a car. It really is that close. Whether or not you like approaches, the stone at Wallstreet is some of the best around and worth checking out.