Bouldering in Joe's Valley, Utah

Climber Nicholas Tibbs setting up on The Angler

Location: 3 hours south of Salt Lake City, closest town is Orangeville, Utah

Type of Climbing: Bouldering Mecca

Type of Rock: Sandstone

Camping: Free BLM land just about everywhere

Guidebooks: An Insightful Guide to Joe's Valley Bouldering

The Amenities
Not much is going on in the town of Orangeville, but there is a Phillips 66 gas station that is also a supermarket that, surprisingly, won't break the bank like other small town grocery stores will. It has everything you will need but it's probably better to just come prepared.



The Climbing
This might be the best bouldering I have ever done. So much to explore and climb on quality sandstone. The rock is ascetically pleasing and even more pleasing to the hand and foot. The sandstone is clingy and can be a little rough on the fingertips but you'll be thankful when your 25+ ft up on a sloper.

There is so much variety here that anyone from V0 to V13 will have fun. Power moves. Balancy moves. Sketchy/techy mantles a plenty.

The Guidebook
This is one of the few times that I will say the guidebook is (almost) perfect. The mile markers are spot on to the areas, the boulders/problems are easy to decipher, and the book is in color with camp information worth noting. The only problem is that the more detailed maps of each area do not have distance markers. So if you wanted to know the distance from the road to the first boulder, then the second to the third, you're S.O.L. and have to resort to eye-balling it.

The Camping
It's free, yay! This isn't really a destination of any kind except for climbers so finding camping will be easy, or was for us and it was October. (the high traffic time)

There are campsites all through the Valley, but I would suggest starting at the Buox Area, since you can camp within walking distance from a plethora of classic problems.

The Weather
I was here in October when it's supposedly crazy-high-traffic-time and for good reason. It was 60-65 everyday, sun shining and perfect temps for sending. Only downside, was that it got cold and stayed cold in the shade.

The Recommendation
It's one of those places that you must go if you are a climber. It's an incredible place with a crazy amount of established problems that you could literally spend years climbing. The temperatures are perfect if you pick the correct times to go and with free camping, your costs are truly minimal.

If thinking of going and coming out of state, put it on the list. If you are looking to climb in San Rafael, Indian Creek, Moab, etc, you are only another hour-ish or less away and is worth the stop. You could potentially come from out of state and just climb here for a week, honestly.

The Ticklist
Crack Area:
Lanky V3
Sweat Arete V3
Wash Out V3
Dirt and Grime V4

Mine Cart Area:
The Wave V3
The Crest V3

Riverside Area:
The Angler V2
K-town V4
Chi V3
To Infinity V1
True Love V2
Club Tan V2

Buox Area:
Speed or Crack V2
Tradeesque V4
Speed V4
Bowling Ball V4

The Photos

Climber Nicholas Tibbs on The Angler

The Video


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