MOAB area Cragging

Category: Utah Elev: ~4,000 ftRock Type: Navajo sandstone (Wall Street), Wingate sandstone (River Road crags)
Dates: Sept 2014(x1 day), Nov 2019(x1 day), Jan 2020 (x1 day), Nov 2023(x1 day)Partners: Dow Williams (2014), Mike Cichon (2019), Rob Dillon (2020), Nate Arganbright (2023)
Trip Report #s: 385, 387(these trip report numbers correspond to two times I cragged in the Moab area and established this page on my website)

List of Climbs I've Done & Some Photos

In the Moab area, you can find climbs ranging from single-pitch roadside to 600' desert towers. Cragging provides a nice option when the weather is iffy/chilly or to fill a gap between tower climbs or Indian Creek days. This page just summarizes the cragging I've done in the Moab area.

The first time I really spent a day cragging near Moab was over Thanksgiving break 2019, after an unforecasted snowstorm deposited 5 inches of snow on us in the Creek. We spent the day at Wall Street on Potash Road. A few weeks later, over winter break, I cragged for a day at River Road as I was passing through the area on my way to Arizona. A few year later, I returned in Thanksgiving 2023, when yet again chilly temperatures and snow thwarted climbing plans and resulted in just a single half day of cragging.

On this page, I keep a list of the climbs I've done at Potash Road and River Wall. Below the list, I have random photos from cragging at Potash Road and River Road.

Table of Contents for this page

List of Climbs I've Done in Moab Cragging Locals

Moab Area Cragging

photos from POTASH ROAD & River Road

Some random photos from cragging at Potash Road and River Road

Color coded by area:
Potash Road     River Road

Potash Road

First trip to Potash Road: Wall Street

Date: November 27, 2019 (Wed)      Partner: Mike Cichon

After climbing on Where Have All the Wild Things Gone, Mike and I drove to Indian Creek, where we planned to spend the rest of Thanksgiving week. However, an unforecasted snowstorm deposited 5 inches of snow on us after our first day. So we drove back to Moab and cragged a day at Wall Street while we waited for the snow to melt in Indian Creek. Wall Street is a popular cragging area near Moab. And for good reason. The 500-foot cliff of Navajo sandstone towers above the Colorado River and UT 279, and there are more than 100 routes, both bolted face and cracks, ranging in difficulty from 5.4 to 5.12. With its sunny aspect, Wall Street is a great place to spend a cool day.

1. The crags tower right off the road at Wall Street.
2. The crags tower right off the road at Wall Street. 
3. The definition of roadside cragging.
4. Flakes of Wrath.
5. Flakes of Wrath Direct.
6. Bad Moki Roof. The route busting out right under the roof is a 12d called Horizontal Mambo.
7. Mike leading Bad Moki Roof.
8. Deep rope scars in the soft Navajo sandstone. To avoid unnecessary wear on the rock and our rope, Mike and I had gotten into the habit of what we started calling a "Utah Counterweight Rappel" where the leader pulls up rope and raps down on a single strand with the belayer acting as a counterweight.
9. More deep rope scars.
10. The two parallel corners are Another Roadside Distraction (left) and Astro Lad (right). We climbed both. Both were excellent.
11. Another Roadside Distraction.
12. Mike cruising up Astro Lad.
13. Astro Lad. 
14. Looking down Astro Lad. 
15. Parked at Static Cling, racking up.
16. Static Cling.
17. Potash Bong Hit, a fun toprope off the anchors at the top of Static Cling. The flake is somewhat hollow so hence the name of the route.
18. Mike climbing Potash Bong Hit.
19. This offwidth is called Walk on the Wild Side. Pro  to a #7 cam. Mike also placed a couple of Big Bros (not necessarily needed, but we had them so why not).
20. Mike starting up Walk on the Wild Side.
21. Looking up the offwidth of Walk on the Wild Side.
22. Looking down the offwidth of Walk on the Wild Side.
23. View down canyon of Wall Street. It's a really pleasant setting by the river.
24. View up canyon of Wall Street.

Second trip to Potash Road: Day Canyon & Wall Street

Date: November 23, 2023 (Thu)      Partner: Nate Arganbright

For Thanksgiving 2023, Nate and I decided to go to Moab. We found a cute airbnb 7 miles south of Moab, where we would stay Thursday through Saturday nights. Unfortunately, the weather deteriorated in the days leading up to the trip, so our plans to climb tower routes every day were thwarted. But given the Estes Park forecast was for snow and freezing temperatures, we decided to go anyway, and hopefully get in a few pitches of climbing and do some desert hiking. On Thanksgiving Day, we managed one half day of climbing at Potash Road. We climbed one route in Day Canyon and two routes at Wall Street.

25. Moab weather forecast. Three holiday days of bad weather surrounded by sunny workdays. 
26. Nate's Thanksgiving breakfast: biscuits and gravy, sausage, eggs, and hashbrows, washed down with a lukewarm coffee.
27. Railroad tracks alongside Potash Road.
28. Our first route of the day: Pocket Rocket (5.10c) in Day Canyon. A unique and fun jug haul with a powerful start.
29. Nate leading Pocket Rocket (5.10c) in Day Canyon. A unique and fun jug haul with a powerful start.
30. Looking down Pocket Rocket (5.10c) in Day Canyon. 
31. Hiking under Potash Road. This is the start of the hike into Day Canyon.
32. Roadside cragging at Wall Street. We climbed the route behind my car: El Cracko Diablo (5.10, trad).
33. El Cracko Diablo (5.10, trad). A fun pitch of crack climbing.
34. Nate leading El Cracko Diablo (5.10, trad). 
35. Next we climbed Eat the Rich (5.10c). I led this route. A nice finger crack in a corner.
36. It began to cool down, but we had an hour to burn before we could check into our Airbnb, so we drove into Arches National Park and did the short hike to Double Arch.
37. Thanksgiving crowds at Double Arch.
38. Our Airbnb 7 miles south of Moab. Cozy, with power, wifi, small kitchen, and bed. What more do you need?
39. Nate's Thanksgiving dinner. Sure beats the electic orange mac and cheese topped with tuna and ranch dressing of Thanksgiving 2021!
40. Puzzle at the aibnb.

River Road

First trip to River Road: El Segundo (5.9+, 2p)

Date: September 10-13, 2014 (Wed-Sat)      Partner: Dow Williams

September 2014: Climbed El Segundo (5.9+, 2p) near the entrance to River Road canyon. Photos from this climb are on my Moab 2014 trip report.

Route Overlay for El Segundo (5.9+, 2p) at River Road Crags.

Second trip to River Road: Terma (5.9, 3p) and Spear of Destiny (5.9, 1p)

Date: January 3, 2020 (Fri)      Partner: Rob Dillon

I was desperate to climb something during my winter break, and weather looked sunny (albeit chilly) in Moab. Moab local Rob Dillon responded to my mountainproject post. Our plans to climb in the Creek were a bit too optimistic for the sub-freezing temperatures and cloudy skies, and we ended up cragging just a half day at River Road. We managed two routes: (1) Terma, a 3-pitch 5.9 to the rim whose first two pitches are bolted and (2) Spear of Destiny, a unique and fun 1-pitch 5.9 route climbing the chimney behind a detached pillar, with bolts for protection. With the winter conditions, we had the entire River Road to ourselves. I drove to Arizona the next day to find climbable temperatures.

1. Approach to Terma on River Road (photo taken at end of the day when the sun actually came out to tease us for a few minutes).
2. Terma follows the ramp feature in three pitches to the rim (photo taken at end of the day when the sun actually came out to tease us for a few minutes).
3. Shoeing up at the base of Terma. It is not quite a warm day.
4. Pitch 1 of Terma. Follow the bolts.
5. Pitch 2 of Terma. Follow more bolts.
6. Nice bolted anchors on the route. Sling evidently installed at the same time as the extra bolt.
7. Rob doing jumping jacks to keep warm.
8. Pitch 3 of Terma. This is a gear-protected pitch (the previous two are sport-bolted).
9. View north from the top of Terma on River Road.
10. On top of Terma on River Road.
11. More jumping jacks. 
12. Next, we headed over to Spear of Destiny, which climbs the chimney between the main wall and the obvious detached tower a few hundred feet to the left of Terma.
13. Spear of Destiny climbs the chimney.
14. We found the summit register on the ground. Guess the wind blew it off of the top of the tower.
15. Rob starting up the chimney.
16. Another chimney photo.
17. And another.
18. And another. Chimneys are great for photography.
19. View south down River Road from top of the Spear of Destiny.
20. After the two routes, we returned to the car. We drove up to check out the conditions on Castleton and the Rectory.
21. The trailhead for Castleton is quite a peaceful (and chilly!) spot to camp in the winter.

previous and next adventures

(November 2019: First time cragging on Potash Road: Wall Street)
(January 2020: Cragging at River Road)
(November 2023: Second time cragging on Potash Road: Day Canyon and Wall Street)