ADAM HAYDOCK

The west slabs are located on the northwest face of Mt. Olympus in the Wasatch front in Salt Lake County. The approach to the West Slabs is a nice hike up the Bonneville Shoreline trail to a boulder ridden dry wash that takes you to a snow packed couloir which is where the fun begins.

West Slabs Mt. Olympus, Utah

The Snow is on a 45 degree angle so I highly recommend crampons or something that will allow you to grip onto the snow.  It is also good to bring a Ice Axe you can glissade down the couloir ( which is what I did, but with a branch, instead ). I was running on the Bonneville shoreline trail and followed trails up which took me to ( what I realized now to be the west slabs). 

West Slabs Mt. Olympus, Utah

I did not realize that I was climbing on the west slabs until after I got back and did a little research on the area. When I got to the Couloir  I elected to climb the left wall as I ascended up the Couloir which was extra climbing but good overall exercise going up this mountain. I made up to the first of 11 Pitches and, to my surprise, there were a lot of jugs and large cracks to grip.

West Slabs Mt. Olympus, Utah

 The 50-55 degree slope also helped with balance, so I found that these pitches were quite easy to climb without using ropes or aid protection.  I continued to climb up a variation of cracks and found as I got higher I was passing up belay stations, which must have been the pitches described when I looked up the West Slabs.

West Slabs Mt. Olympus, Utah

The total ascent on the slabs was around 1000ft but it really did not feel like it was that far. I felt like it was a lot easier that I would have thought the west slabs would have been and, honestly I was a bit bored with the climbing aspect of it all. 

West Slabs Mt. Olympus, Utah

It was not really that challenging but something where I could see myself practicing for something bigger. Overall its a easy approach to a slabby 1000ft wall so I am sure a lot of people will find this interesting and fun to do.

West Slabs Mt. Olympus, Utah

I would rate the climbs as being 5.4 or less due to the 50-55 degree slope and the numerous options to crack, jug, or otherwise find handholds to get you to the top.

West Slabs Mt. Olympus, Utah

 We hiked in the first 1.75 miles to the rim of Fish Creek canyon which was an impressive vista overlooking Cedar Mesa and the canyon bottom.  We grabbed a great tent site and got some sleep for this 16 mile loop trip we were about to embark on which was going to be quite the hike and rather dry! 

 Once the Sun broke over the horizon we started our way down Fish Creek with the goal to make it to Owl Creek and find a good campsite before heading out the following day.  We negotiated a steep descent down to the bottom of the canyon.

 There is some excellent plunge pools and water that would be great for purifying as you head down the canyon but the water does eventually diminish and I highly recommend filling up your water bottles as you purify this spring water as it will become static and dry up and you will find yourself with very little water for the bottom third of both canyons as well as the connection that needs to be made from Fish to Owl or vice versa.

 There was nothing technical about the canyon and the crux of the loop is the climb in or out of fish creek with a 20ft 5 nothing to scale in order to get to the top. I hand line can be used and might be recommended for lowering packs or for helping people up the crux.

 The canyon itself was spectacular as it slowly dog legged into the connecting canyon and along the way we passed beautiful spires, arches including Nevills Arch in Owl Creek Canyon.

 Both Canyon were similar in flora and geology but I think the fish Creek was a bit more towering than Owl Creek, yet owl Creek had the Ruins which was fascinating to see.

 Finally after passing up a few static pools of water we came up to a perennial flowing stream and spent an hour filtering and boiling water from this location.  It was reviving to get a blast of fresh but smoking hot water into our systems.

 Once this was done, we worked our way up the canyon and found an amazing site to set up camp where the Anasazi must have dwelled 1000 years ago. We made sure that we set up camp far away from any potential artifact and paid close attention to where we were walking as this site had some artifacts.  

 We pondered what the Anasazi hunted, and otherwise thought why this would be the best place for them to set up shelter, yet staring into the canyon wall and thinking that this is the same site that they say 1000 years ago was almost like a time machine of sorts that took us back to their time.  

Than my big Anges tent started flopping in the wind and quickly snapped back into reality that we have it so good and so much easier than how life must have been in Americas past.

 The stars were shinning bright that night and day light came quick so we packed up and headed out to complete the circuit on this loop.

 It took a bit longer than expected but eventually we came up to some beautiful hanging garden plunge pools and more ruins that were easy to spot.

 There was some interesting picto panel on the ceiling that showed the hands of the dwellers which almost appeared to be hobbit like.

 we agreed to make it out to Hogwarts canyon in north wash which is literally right off of 95, about 35 miles south of Hanksville in Utah.  This canyon is rated at a 3AII and it was really straightforward once we were at the head of the canyon drop.

 It was nice to be able to pull right up to the canyon trailhead at hog springs instead of having to drive through mud roads and long high clearance pathways to get the car stuck in and north wash is known to have some nice canyons right off the road making this visit perfect for any car.

 I was watching the rain clouds in the distance and all aspects of the canyon flashing were considered which came out to be that we had a lot of escapes and were safe from any kind of potential flash, yet the clouds and potential for rain was rather thin.

Chambers is located in robbers Roost which is situated right near the Dirty devil river in Utah. apparently this is a classic canyon with super tight squeezes and chamber like rooms which offers 3 to 4 hours of no rope access shimmy climb downs.

being a caver, I have seen my fair share of tight squeezes so I was not really getting excited about this one but it was right across from where I was when I was knocking out fallen angel, Lost Angel, and Angel cove, so I swam across the Dirty devil river and hiked up to the crack in the floor for chambers.

Chambers was quite tight and required a lot of shimmeying with all different kinds of techniques that needed to be deployed so I rate this one at a 3BII with the restrictive squeeze slots. They would open up into small rooms with the sun just barely peaking through and some others barely any sun at all.

Crack Canyon is a non technical walk through canyon located in the heart of the San Rafael Swell that cuts right through the center of the swell allowing people to hike from one side to another and view the amazing sandstones and strata along the way.

The parking lot is a .5 mile walk to the canyon and once you are at the head of Crack Canyon you will be greeted with some amazing swirling sandstone features cut by wind and water. that formed alien looking passage with 3D like circular shapes.

This is the most photogenic part of the canyon IMO but just getting to the entrance of the canyon is worth the visit in itself.

continuing down the canyon the colors go from oranges to cream pastel colors and whites which identify a nice parameter of color spectrum in such a short period of time.

The canyon leaves hints of all kinds of sandstone features from swirly Neapolitan textures to wind torn mosaics that just about fit every bi of the color spectrum.

There are a few down climbs to negotiate so if climbing and shimmying is not in your best interest....no need to worry, the drops are small and offer a host of negotiating techniques you can deploy but it might be good to bring some webbing or rope for a handline if you need it. 

The canyon cuts through some of the best narrows in the Swell as well as offering a time to open up and close back in with a variance of the changing geology as you continue down canyon.

To get back out you simply retrace your path and come back up the way you came back down. you can also start from the bottom and work your way up if that is of interest but I enjoyed seeing the high entrance of crack canyon with all of its glory.

I would recommend at least 2 to 4 hours to work your way through the canyon which will include a trip from car to car.  This one is a must see and I highly recommend visiting when you are in the swell.

I headed out early to Robbers Roost and got on the road leading to White Roost as it was closer and there were some storms popping off in the distance so I did not want to get stuck out in the Roost.

The road was actually pretty darn good for being a dirt road leading all the way to White Roost which I found to be impressive so I think that most cars should be able to get to the White Roost campsite and trailhead.

The route starts off at the mesa top and you hike south east for .75 miles until you enter the beginning of the canyon.

The canyon starts off small and the walls start to rise and you down step deeper into the trenches

In the first section you encounter some tight squeeze passage that you have to braise yourself through like a sandpaper meat grinder as you shimmy down to the bottoms of these slots.

You encounter three or four of these shimmy down climbs where no ropes are required and sections where it pens back up again.

After this section the canyon itself opens up considerably into a slab rock canyon gorge with varnished walls and soon slots up again which is where the raps start.

The raps were a little awkward as you have to get on rope and work your way down shimmying on rope until you get to the drop in order to continue your rap to the bottom of a pitch.

The canyon walls were a tight and the walls were high making the technical section very dark but quickly opened back up into light sections where the final raps came.

The last rap was around 50ft into a pool of water where you splash down and have to get off rope in the water and pull down your rope.

You can see the end of the canyon and day light which was just a short swim away but not before you get drenched in the cocktail of dead bug and green briny water.

I climbed out of the water and at last I was back in the sun surrounded by tall varnished canyon gorge wall and green trees.  it was actually nice canyon and the slots were pretty short and straightforward if you are looking for a good half day trip.

The gorge continued for another mile and I had to hike up a slot and out back up to the mesa top.

from there it is just another mile hike to the car which I could see from almost a mile away due to the flat desert and the sun shining on the suube.

I got back to the car and it was nice and sunny out with a cool windy silence in the air, I think I am going to start to like it out here in the Roost.