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Hey everyone,
I am going to be in the area of Utah for a couple weeks in January. As i have never been there, i was wondering what the climbing situation is like over there during the winter months. Are there any cant miss spots that i should look into? This goes for both ice and rock. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Matt

logikal wrote:Hey everyone,
I am going to be in the area of Utah for a couple weeks in January. As i have never been there, i was wondering what the climbing situation is like over there during the winter months. Are there any cant miss spots that i should look into? This goes for both ice and rock. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Matt

All kinds Matt. desert cracks and ice. Quick access ice would be Great White Icicle or Joes Valley. Cragging would be the St. George area, ask Dow, he'd know. Or, Moab. Alpine climbing would be the North Ridge of the Pfeifferhorn, South Ridge of Superior, and Malan's would probably be in as well. Alpine hiking/scramlbing would be endless, check out Marauders, Joseph Bullough, and many others highlighted on Mountaingazelle's awesome Wasatch pages. Good luck deciding what to do in the Best State in the Union.....uh, 'cept we don't have the Sierra, yet.

Thanks for the info d_shorb! I forgot to mention that i will be coming out solo so if there is anyone that needs a partner for ice/alpine/rock in January let me know! I have a full rack and can lead both trad and ice.

`Matt

logikal wrote:Thanks for the info d_shorb! I forgot to mention that i will be coming out solo so if there is anyone that needs a partner for ice/alpine/rock in January let me know! I have a full rack and can lead both trad and ice.

`Matt

The Wasatch Mountain Club folks are on this site a lot. And frequently put together stuff during that time. pm me during that time, and I can probably hop on something in the SLC or joes areas.

Looks like you are doing more technical stuff but if you wanted to get out for a basic scramble or summit hike one day, I've got over a hundred choices with route info and maps at http://www.willhiteweb.com/utah_climbin ... ts_240.htm

If you are not familiar with Utah at all Matt, it is all about elevation and latitude. That is what makes it such a diverse state compared to some other western destinations during January. St. Georgeis a popular cragging destination in January, 20/30 days would be quite pleasant. Zion, only 40 minutes away, not so much although you can get lucky with a few days here and there. Moab is higher elevation than Zion, but south facing routes are more exposed and open to the sun than most Zion objectives making it doable, based on weather forecast. Red Rockswhich is 2 hrs from St. George is easily climbable probably 20/30 days as well in January. A bit warmer than St. George and longer trad routes. We are combining a Moab tower trip with back country ice climbing near Ouray, CO, in January....the flexibility of pitting these two destinations against each other makes it a successful climbing trip no matter the weather. They are 3hrs+ apart. The camp site you want in St. George is Snow Canyon State Park. Zion and Moab will be cold night camping to say the least. I went to Joe's Valley last year for technical ice around Christmas and was disappointed. Pick the brains of the guys above for better ice destinations than that in January. Joes is probably much better in February. Enjoy!

Thanks again for all the great information guys. Seems there is a lot more climbing out there during the timeframe of my stay than i anticipated. I will look into the above destinations and once i finalize the dates i will see if i can take you guys up on your offers to get out in the mountains.

`Matt

Not sure if you are going to be along the Wasatch front (Salt Lake City metro) or Southern Utah, but most of the rock around Salt Lake will not be prime because of the weather. There is however a lot of rock in Southern Utah that will be great, and if you plan on bouldering there are some world class areas for you in Central Utah (about 3 hours drive from Salt Lake). Check out Joes Valley, and Ibex. Joes would be good because you could possibly climb both rock and ice. Here are some pages for the bouldering if you’re interested.

http://www.summitpost.org/area/range/487342/Ibex.html

http://www.summitpost.org/area/range/35 ... alley.html