A very nice overlooked climb in zion.

Step off the pillar and make a hard first move. Following the bolts to the crack, either place a cam, in the hard to see crack or run it to the next bolt. after 3 more bolts enjoy fun finger and hand crack for 60 more feet to a 2 bolt anchor

Side note: Earlier this season a friend and I reto fitted the missing hangers and updated the gear on this. All Bolts have modern hangers and are at least 3/8in bolts. 3 bolts are now 1/2"ers, But the rest should be updated sometime soon, seeing how the 3/8 bolts are the originals.

Karmic Edges

Edge of Reason

Spaceshot (Free)

Cosmic Trauma

Vernal Equinox

Spaceshot

Leaning Wall Ridge

Moon Patrol

Climb dead vertical to overhung face below cosmic trauma..The route ends at a chossy break just below the summit.

P1 60ft 5.11c..Step off the pillar and climb big sidepulls and sharp edges to the first crux at the 4th-5th bolt. Trend left to a two bolt anchor at the left.

P2 90ft 5.11c..Step left off the belay to good stance and climb overhanging crimps just right of the flake system, when possible reach out and climb the flake to a 2 foot roof. Clip the fixed draw and climb the 2nd crux on a hard sequence of decent holds. (while at the fixed draw look right and ponder another sequence through the blankness) after the roof work back toward the center of the wall.

P3 5.11- 90ft.. The money pitch. Head straight up the wall following good holds, and long reaches to an good stance below a 3 foot roof. Make your way through the roof on huge hidden holds and a handjam or two finish right at the anchor.

The free version of Spaceshot is a climb that is often overlooked compared to it's neighbor, the Moonlight Buttress. While not as continuously difficult as Moonlight, Spaceshot serves up more varied and interesting climbing. It consists of several different cruxes of varying styles with moderate climbing in between and offers incredible position on the upper section of the route.

The crux pitch was originally equipped by Justin Sjong, Tim Kemple and Adam Stack. They were, unfortunately, weathered off and the full FFA eventually fell to the Anderson brothers who made an impressive 1 day ascent, in June! This included piecing together the bolted variation to the summit bolt ladder and flashing said 5.12 pitch, at the top of the route, on the fly.

Parties capable of freeing this route should have no trouble scrambling the 30 foot 5.8 step at the start, but it is protectable with a couple 3's and 4's. If hauling, you'll want to hit the 5.9 corner above this step on your right, and haul your bags to the top of the pillar. If climbing in-a-day then go around this pillar to find the start of the route. My route description starts here.

P1 5.9, 40 meters - Start in a left facing corner 100 feet left of the pillar described above. This tops out on a spacious ledge with 2 widely spaced drilled angles and a slung boulder. This anchor would be much better if someone added a single bolt closer to the left angle and equipped it for rappelling so the tat could be removed.

P2, 5.10-, 40 meters - Head up and right and mantel a ledge below a roof. Climb thru this roof and up the corner on your right. Low angle terrain up top takes you to a 2 pin anchor below the first aid pitch. This is a spacious bivy. The crux is on your right.

P3, 5.13- (11-, PG13), 40 meters - It is strongly recommended to climb this pitch with 2 single lines. Alternatively, I've spoken with a few people who climbed it using 48 inch runners on each bolt and a single line. Stem up behind Bozo's Pinnacle and climb intriguing face features weaving their way up the face above. Eventually traverse 40 feet left and regain the aid seam, climb the insecure slabby seam and keep your cool thru the sandy run-out, eventually gaining the anchor. Drilled angle & modern bolt. The position of this hanging anchor sucks, to say the least. However there is a good, no-hands stance, about 10 feet below the anchor. While it's possible to extend your belay, I think both the aid and free climbing communities would appreciate the anchor being placed in the ideal location for the stance, but that's a discussion that the local community would need be involved in.

P4, 5.12c, 40 meters - Climb the incredible fingers and tips crack above. Some bouldery cruxes take you to a hanging aid belay. Clip this and traverse left to the OW/Flare. Climb the OW for 20 feet and pick one of 2 options. Build a gear belay and stand on a great ledge out left or traverse up and right 15 feet and belay at a smaller stance on a 2 pin anchor.

P5, 5.10+, 20-30 meters - If you belayed from the pin anchor then this pitch is quite short. Climb splitter fingers to thin hands and belay at the first pin anchor on your right. Small stance.

P6, 5.10+, 50 meters - Arguably one of the best positions you'll find for a splitter hand crack. Swim up secure jams and soak up the exposure along the way. Eventually boulder over a steep block at the top and find yourself on Orbit Ledge. Be sure to protect your follower and then traverse waaaaay right to a 2 pin anchor. This ledge could be an emergency bivy, but it's pretty sloping.

P7, 5.12b, 40 meters - The Anderson brothers originally split this in to 2 pitches, which would reduce drag a fair bit. We did it in 1 and the rope drag wasn't bad until we were on much easier terrain. Traverse right and clip some angles, eventually mantelling onto a small ledge (optional belay bolt here). Climb difficult terrain straight up the original bolt ladder until it blanks out. Head left here and pull off a tricky mantel onto a sandy sloping ledge. Start heading back right and climb easy terrain to the summit and 2 sweet ASCA bolts for the belay.

Descent: Head down the drainage between the Leaning Wall and Desert Shield. Find a large pine tree with some tat and rap with one 70 meter rope. Head down skiers left until you find a bolted rap anchor. From here down its several double rope raps to place you at the springs below.

A quality clean aid line up the middle of the Leaning Wall.  A step up in difficulty from Space Shot, but generally a lot less crowded.  You can easily fix the first 3 to 4 pitches and then fire the rest in a day, so you don't have to haul.

P1-P3: Same start as Space Shot.

P4: From the ledge were the Space Shot bolt ladder takes off, traverse left and squeeze through the "worm hole" then up to a ledge below a right facing dihedral/squeeze chimney.  We had the leader squeeze through the "worm hole" then toss a trail line down to pull the rack up.

(5.8 80 ft)

P5:  The start of the route. Squeeze up the chimney, to a bolt ladder through a bulge, to a hanging belay. (5.9 C1, 110ft)

P6:  Climb a sweet thin crack using small cams and offset nuts. Ends at a bolted stance below a flared chimney. (C2+, 110ft)

P7:  Aid up the thin crack in back of an awkward flared chimney then over a tricky roof to another hanging belay.  I found the smallest 3 Lowe Balls especially useful on this pitch. (C3, 100ft)

P8:  A little tricky. Aid up and right following discontinuous cracks and hooks to a large ledge at about the same level as Earth Orbit ledge on Space Shot.  Watch for loose rocks as you pull onto the ledge.  (C3, 100')

P9:  Traverse up and left along ledges to the bottom of a big loose gulley. (5.8, 50ft)

P10: Scramble up loose gulley then traverse left along a ledge to a crack in arete around the corner.  Set up a belay off an old bolt and 5" cam.  (5.grunge, 100ft)

P11:  Around the corner climb 5.9 crack in arete using lots of face holds to a 2 bolt belay.  This pitch has somewhat of a north aspect so it has a lot of lichen and can be wet in the winter.  (5.9, 70ft)

P10/11 Variation:  Scramble up loose gulley, then continue straight up 5.10 offwidth.  This combines 10 and 11, but it's not very fun. (5.10, 150ft)

P12:  Scramble 4th class to the top. (150ft)

Descent: The same as Space Shot.  Use caution in the dark, especially if it's winter as there can be icy sections.

This route ascends the left flank of the

Leaning Wall

.  If you want pure adventure when you come to Zion, hop on this line. I found this route to provide more adventure than many aid routes in the area.

With runouts plentiful, and plenty of wideness, I recommend this route for pure excitement. I'm not saying that this route is so hard you need to train for it, but I will say that this route will separate the men from the boys. Leave energy for the ending overhanging v-slot.

Easily done in a day by a quick party.

More involved than the

Northwest Buttress

of

Angel's Landing

, and sure as hell harder than its trade neighbor

Spaceshot

.

—TDA

I don't know...unless it's 1000 feet off the deck, C1 can be pretty monotonous. In any case, this route is worth doing for the exposure on the last pitch alone! It is also a good practice route for bigger and better things.

I understand this can be a pretty crowded route on weekends so if you're planning on doing a one day ascent, you might as well forget about it if you get behind a party that's hauling. It gets good sun (SW facing) so it can be done comfortably in cooler weather.

The common strategy for this route seems to be to fix the lower section the first day and then come back the next day and fire to the top.  A trail leads to the base of the climbing, a short section of sandy rock that leads to a ramp.

P1

(Easy 5th) Begin by climbing up sandy rock to the large, left-trending ledge/ramp above. Follow the ramp to the base of a chimney (identified by a tree about 10 feet up the chimney).

P2

(5.6/5.7) Climb the fun chimney to a belay (two drilled pins) on a large ledge. If you are fixing a line from here, you may want to back the belay up with a cam (#3 Camalot). We had a 70m rope but a 60m should be able to reach the ground if fixing.

P3

(5.5) Walk around right and climb a sandy trough up to a ledge at the base of the headwall.

P4

(C1) This is where the steepness begins.  Aid the bolt ladder and eventually a thin crack on a steep slab, reaching a belay where the wall steepens.

P5

(C2) Continue up the crack system to a belay.  Skip this belay and tension right into a thin seam.  Aid the seam (crux) with creative nutwork and continue up to the next anchor. The seam aids perfectly fine with nuts, offsets, and tricams, so

leave the cam hooks at home

(camhooks aren't exactly clean aid pieces in sandstone)

P6

(C1) The crack at this point widens enough that it can be free-climbed at a reasonable grade. The guides claim 5.10 but it looks a bit harder and very sustained.  If you're still in aid mode, as is likely the case, continue upwards in your aiders to the second set of anchors.

P7

(C1) This pitch looks like it might actually be 5.10.  The crack leans pretty seriously to the right by this point, making retreat difficult.  Continue aiding upwards to the enormous Solar Orbit Ledge which looks like a good, but slopey, bivy.

P8

(C1) This is the cool part!  Traverse the ledge to the far right side, surmount the roof, and aid the bolt ladder to the top.  Make sure you look down for a while at the lip of the roof... big exposure!  The second has the option of taking a running swing into space at the lip (highly recommended).

Topo

This adventure route follows up the obvious tiered ridge line of the Leaning Wall. Almost all belays are on large exposed ledges and have some of the best views in Zion. All fixed gear was placed prior to our ascent. A piece of cord was found as high as pitch 5. That in addition to the ridge being so easy and obvious, I have to assume the whole route had been climbed before in some manner or another.

Approach

Hike south from the Temple of Sinawava until reaching a large boulder the east side of the road, near the toe of the ridge.There are many different options for opening pitches on the ridge's south side. We did our best to take the best looking path.

P1

Climb up the orange hand crack, through a bush and onto a large ledge.

(5.10, 20m, 2 bolt anchor)

P2

Scramble up a boulder and traverse right across the large ledge. Climb up a black corner with an offwidth that slowly tappers. Belay at a chimney with scree and boulders.

(5.10, 25m, gear anchor)

P3

Move the belay deeper into the chimney. Climb straight up toward the large roof and break out right around it on the slabby face. Belay at slanting ledge right and under the roof.

(5.7, 20m, gear anchor)

P4

Follow up the fingers corner to some scrambling sections and another large ledge.

(5.8, 20m, gear anchor)

P5

Begins with a thin hand cracks to the ledge then an awkward mantle onto the highest pinnacle. Avoid the hollow flake immediately above and instead traverse the face left while aiming for a blind corner. Follow the corner for 15ft as it begins to taper. Then traverse out left again on techy face moves to a stance belay in a corner.

(30m, 5.10, gear anchor)

P6

Head left up the wide crack to double cracks in a left facing corner. Following the corner until it ends at a small ledge out right.

(25m, 5.8, gear anchor)

P7

Forest pitch. Climb up the short mossy face and then corner before reaching a huge forested ledge. Bushwack to the base of the wall and an obvious crack.

(25m, 5.8, gear anchor)

P8

Climb straight up the low angle crack until reaching the large slanted ledge.

(25m, 5.8, one bolt and .3 anchor)

P9-10

Finish as for

Vernal Equinox

Descent

Standard Leaning Wall raps

An adventurous outing of mostly 5.10 and under free climbing with a techy under-vert seam pitch (5.12 with C2 quality protection). Expect some bush encounters and be ready for a serious runout up mossy and fragile flakes on pitch 6.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Leaning Wall