Grumpy Old Men, 5.10b, 2 Pitches

Overview/Approach

Grumpy Old Men is a decent sport route sandwiched between other comparable length (longer) sport routes on the wall, the Roofs of Jericho (5.10c, the great climb to the left over the arch) and Misfit Prophets (5.10c), another decent route further to the right on Prophecy Wall near Veyo, UT, just north of St. George. I am constantly surprised at how many climbers I run into, even midweek on Prophecy, who consider this wall a destination! We have much better climbing than this in the area. Although it is great to have Prophecy Wall as yet another of some 40 local crags, I must state that the rock quality is not the best we have to offer. I have done most of the routes on Prophesy Wall and without question, the better rock is at the west end where Sticky Revelations (5.10a) is located. However, Grumpy Old Men did present a pumpy and interesting pull over a roof, albeit on suspect rock.

My recommendation is to combine Misfit Prophets, Lunatic Cry, Secrets of Fatima and Grumpy Old Men for a full day of climbing in the mid 5.10 range. All four routes can be located together in the middle of the wall. Lunatic Cry is the only route requiring trad gear, the other three are fully bolted. On most occasions Goss will have more pitches built into his routes than necessary (I think he is into making them sound like bigger ideas than they really are), but Grumpy Old Men should in fact be done in two pitches. We had a 70m rope and my wife did not want to pull the roof on second, thus I lowered her to the ground for the belay which created quite the rope drag when I continued on as one super long pitch (220’).

Drive north of St. George on Bluff Street which is State Highway 18. Stay in the right lane as you exit town. Continue north past Snow Canyon on the left to mile marker 18. Turn left onto a gravel road and drive past the Sand Cove Water Reservoir on your right. Prophecy Wall is obvious to your left. You can turn down one of two roads on your left and drive to a large above ground reservoir pipe. There is a decent trail that leads to the right side of the wall. If possible, try and find existing trails that venture to the left routes versus making your own.

Route Description

220’+/-, 2 Pitches, 5.10b

1st Pitch- 110’- 5.10a/ The first pitch follows the tall seam up the wall (which could easily be protected with gear, but of course Todd chose to bolt it (I can just imagine his furniture is all bolted down as well). As it peters out at an overhang, move up and right (crux move) to reach the fixed station. Like ten bolts or so.

2nd Pitch- 110’- 5.10b/ My wife did not want to do the second pitch and I made the mistake of suggesting she rap back down to the base of the wall for a more comfortable stance to belay me from for the second pitch (since we had a 70m rope). That created some serious rope drag up higher. Move up and to the right side of a chossy arch. Make committing and exposed moves back left and pull the roof of the arch on large, but somewhat precarious, sandstone jugs. This is not the best rock on Prophecy Wall. Then follow the bolts in steep varnish up to rap chains.

Climbing Sequence

Descent

Misfit Prophets rap chains to your right are probably the cleaner rap. But I had to clean the second pitch so rapped the route which works with a 70m rope.

Essential Gear

70m rope if you are going to rap the route. At least ten draws. Bring your mama for that jug pull, someone is going to get scratched up a bit “when” one of the holds breaks off

External Links

100’s of St. George area multi-pitch rock climbs

Best Coffee and Eats in St. George: Xetava Gardens Cafe Hands down best coffee, breakfast and lunch place in Washington County as well as best ambience for dinner on weekends. A true desert experience….and yes there are some established routes on those incredible Kayenta walls!

Best Camp Site: Snow Canyon State Park One of the more pristine camping arrangements anywhere in the lower 48 and you can walk to many multi pitch routes. I live at the entrance, stop by for a visit. If you need gear, I more than likely can loan it to you or have it drop shipped at the campsite.

Images

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