Tis the (Climbing) Season
It's Climbing Season in Moab - Here's What You Need to Know
Tis the (Climbing) Season
No more chasing the shade this year. It’s climbing season in the Utah desert, with ideal sending temps and fewer cars at the trailheads in Moab. Whether you’re just venturing into outdoor climbing or you’re a regular weekend warrior, climbing in Moab is a rite of passage for climbers of all abilities.
Types of Climbing in Moab
Moab and the surrounding Utah desert offer multitudes of climbing adventures, from perfect first-time top-ropes to more skilled sport, trad, and boulder routes.
Trad climbing, or traditional climbing, involves carrying and placing protection through cams, nuts, etc. rather than clipping into pre-placed bolts. Trad climbers have to find the route that works best for their gear and their abilities.
Sport climbing differs from trad climbing with its pre-bolted routes. Because of this, routes are pre-determined and climbers clip into the bolts as they ascend the wall.
Bouldering involves climbing shorter routes that involve fewer moves. Rather than wearing a harness and attaching to a rope, boulderers carry crash pads to their climbing sites and use them as softer landing pads when they descend (or fall) off of a bouldering problem.
Our Favorite Local Crags
Crags are climbing areas that often have several routes for climbers to choose from. Depending on your skill level and experience outdoors, we think you’ll love our favorite local Moab crags.
- Mix of moderate to difficult sport and trad routes
- Perfect for: Climbers that want to tick off some iconic Moab routes
- Often pretty popular so get there early!
- Exclusively bouldering, with a good amount of easier routes (V2-V3)
- Perfect for: Breaking a sweat while bouldering, then cold plunging into the Colorado
Spires in Arches National Park
- A few multi-pitch 5.8/5.9 spires and towers, including West Crack on Owl Rock and Stolen Chimney at Ancient Art wall
- Perfect for: Otherworldly views of the national park
Our Favorite Gear
In the Field Station Moab Gear Shop, you’ll find plenty of locking, straight gate, and wire gate carabiners from our friends at Black Diamond. The Gear Shop is also fully stocked with premium chalk, chalk bags, wall snacks, and more.
If you flew into Moab and didn’t want to deal with bringing your gear, our Moab rentals are perfect for you. We offer Black Diamond crash pads.
Looking for something we don’t offer, or want a guide to take you up a few routes? Check out our friends at Moab Cliffs & Canyons who can outfit you with everything you need for a day of safe climbing.
A Note About Climbing in Moab
As is true with any outdoor activity, we firmly believe in leaving our natural areas better than we found them. This is especially true within the Moab climbing community.
Moab and the surrounding areas are home to ancient petroglyphs, first left on the stone by Native peoples almost 8,000 years ago. These pieces of rock art should always be avoided when climbing, and no climbers may establish routes close to these rock surfaces.
It’s also always good to avoid sandstone after it rains, as the rock is fragile and can break easily.
Lastly, always check raptor conditions as some climbing areas will close down during raptor mating season to protect these special birds, often in the spring.
Ready to plan your Moab climbing trip? Book your stay at Field Station Moab now.