Misfit Prophets, 5.10c, 3 Pitches

Overview/Approach

Misfit Prophets is one of the better middle lines 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. On this particular visit we ran into three to four parties camped out at Prophecy, one couple from as far away as Canada, another from the New England area. As 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 is located. However, Misfit Prophets seems to get its share of attention and was a relatively clean route.

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. As is many times the case, Goss has more pitches built into his routes than necessary and Misfit is no exception. Misfit Prophets is best done as two pitches versus the three he has outlined in his guide book. Bo Beck helped Todd bolt Misfit Prophets. You can visit Bo at his brand new outdoor store location in the Ace Hardware building in St. George (2009), named the “Desert Rat”.

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. If possible, try and find existing trails that venture to the left routes versus making your own.

Route Description

220’+/-, 3 Pitches, 5.10c

1st Pitch- 80’- 5.10c/ Climb the “Jabba the Hut” type feature to its top and then take on the crux of the route, some steep (slightly blank) and sandy slopers up to better varnish trending left to a fixed anchor, 11 bolts.

2nd-3rd Pitches- 140’- 5.9/ Continue straight up steep ground via varnished jugs, trending left right before a fallen tree (2009) and ledge. To avoid getting tangled with the tree, head up left on the last little run out bit to a hidden anchor, nine bolts. You can easily combine these final two pitches, continuing past the anchor up easier ground (5.8) on well varnished holds past five bolts to rap chains on top of the wall.

Descent

Rap the route with one 60m rope, three raps.

Essential Gear

At least 14 draws (some need to be shoulder length slings to reduce rope drag) if you are going to combine those last two pitches. 60m Rope. Will rap back to your gear. This is a north facing wall, will see afternoon sun in the spring. Dress accordingly.

External Links

Other useful sites beside the BLM site include the weather forecast.

• DowClimbing.Com
  Prophesy Wall
  
  
  

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