Trip Report
TR : Maple Canyon, Utah, part 2 of ???

by Russ Walling
Sunday October 4, 2009 10:07pm

The next stop on the Russ and Sooze tour was Maple Canyon. I'd seen the pics... I've heard the stories. This place is sooo me!!! Steep and juggy, with bowling balls and potatoes everywhere! Sadly, it did not turn out that way. Seems Sooze somehow knew I would hate the place..... and kept it a secret ( she was right. )

photo not found
Missing photo ID#127719

Having equal parts of technique flaws, tunnel vision, and boneheadedness, my time there was not that enjoyable. Day one started with a 42 hang ascent of a random 10d warmup. UNHOLY! Sooze kept telling me the best holds were where the jugs had fallen out, and to stay away from the actual embedded "jugs". That BS strategy got her up everything, and me hucking giant mo's to impossibly smooth downward sloping Crisco™ enveloped nodules, that spit me off with barely any stall at all.

Anyway, this installment is a bit thin on actual climbing pics, but the area is really lush and there are a few flora pics tossed into the mix. All you hardmen looking for rad asss cranking pics, take some time to smell the roses. It ain't all about getting denied on a stinking, slippery, deceptive, juggy, polished, impossible 10d.


Anyway, standard caveats in force, Quicktime 7 at a minimum, plant your mouse over the "I " button in the upper right corner for captions to the pics, mouseover the bottom center of the images to navigate, let it have time to load, blah blah blah.....

http://www.fishproducts.com/supertopo/vacation_09.maple (browser version)

http://www.fishproducts.com/supertopo/vacation_09.maple/slideshow.mov (QT version)


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Russ Walling 		About the Author
Russ Walling is a gym climber from Poofter's Froth, Wyoming.

Comments
MisterE

Gym climber
Small Town with a Big Back Yard
  Jul 13, 2009 - 04:47pm PT
Day one started with a 42 hang ascent of a random 10d warmup. UNHOLY!

Classic!!!
caughtinside

Social climber
Oakland, CA
  Jul 13, 2009 - 04:58pm PT
Unholy!!!

Good stuff. I shudder to think how many poor backordered bastards you've got by the balls now!
Crimpergirl

Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
  Jul 13, 2009 - 05:00pm PT
Glad to hear I'm not the only one ending up on some things that aren't my style leading to a hang or 89.

Oddly, this place sounds like heaven to me! Now, just to get Dave out there without him knowing that is where we are headed!
L

climber
Just livin' the dream
  Jul 13, 2009 - 05:06pm PT
Another nice one, Russ.

Very funny!
bluering

Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
  Jul 13, 2009 - 05:14pm PT
Pretty area.

The rock looks like a ChossFest though.
couchmaster

climber
  Jul 13, 2009 - 05:26pm PT
Nice - sounds like a total dogathon™ Russ, RAD!!!
hagerty

Social climber
A Sandy Area South of a Salty Lake
  Jul 13, 2009 - 06:16pm PT
The rock looks like a ChossFest though.
Looks can be deceiving! Think "frozen in place river bottom". It's actually pretty solid, although an occasional cobble does let loose, usually with encouragement from someone trying to use it in some manner. The solidity of unclimbed lines is of course suspect.
marty(r)

climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
  Jul 13, 2009 - 06:35pm PT
"The needle digs a whole/the old familiar wound...
try to kill it all away/but I remember EVERYTHING..."

Nice empire of dirt. What's next?
steelmnkey

climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
  Jul 13, 2009 - 07:07pm PT
Nice pics of the flora dude!

Bummer you had a nightmare of a time there. We've hit it twice ('00 and '08) and although it ain't really my cup o' tea, it was okay both times.

Did you do the Big Kahuna?
couchmaster

climber
  Jul 14, 2009 - 11:55am PT
Rock on dudes!!!!

Here's one for Sooze.
Jaybro

Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
  Jul 14, 2009 - 12:55pm PT
Shameless, Wide fetish cross post;
I've been there about a dozen times. The place rocks! I bet Sooze channeled her inner Bolus. Hope you stopped at the Norbest factory store, or you have to go back!

Pinching pendulous grapefruits in a cave, is about as close to ow as you can get, except for the pro, and other, minor, details.
susan peplow

climber
Joshua Tree, CA
  Jul 23, 2009 - 12:17am PT
Where is part 3? I'm itching for a vacation....or at least relive the last one.

What's next?????? Chateau Chainsaw and Ferguson Canyon

~Sooze
Mimi

climber
  Jul 23, 2009 - 12:29am PT
Where's Verm when I need him. Is that a breccia or a conglomerate?
Captain...or Skully

climber
Boise, ID
  Jul 23, 2009 - 12:33am PT
I thought it was Vertical & beyond Choss.
C'mon, it changes every day.
Nice pics, ya'll.
Jingy

climber
Random Nobody
  Jul 23, 2009 - 01:27am PT
Nice TR.. Great captions!!!

So nice of the Utah authority to cage indian art... sort of like what they've done to the entire race, but that's for another thread...


Thanks for the update Russ...

oh, yeah... about Maple.. I didn't like the place much during my short and sweet climbing peak... (peak lasted all of two weeks back in 2000.. been sliding downhill ever since.
Mungeclimber

Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
  Jul 23, 2009 - 02:36am PT
nice stamen display


got to get there... reminds me of pinns too much...

sideways shot in particular...
T Moses

Social climber
Paso Robles
  Jul 23, 2009 - 02:47am PT
"Local flora" seems to dominate, eh? "Put a bullet in me" It's not that bad. Kind of an acquired taste I think.

Munge: It's kinda like Pinns but not. Think The Arch but all the cool cobbles sticking out are slick quartz stuff and round. I thought it would be great just like Pinns. It took a little getting used to. Fun stuff anyway.
Mungeclimber

Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
  Jul 23, 2009 - 02:54am PT
werd, I'll go back to that part of the state again on the way to Moab at some point. I've got an old guidebook for it too. It's by Jason Stevens from 97.
Prod

Trad climber
  Jul 23, 2009 - 08:31am PT
Pretty area.

Thanks,

Prod.
Brian in SLC

Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
  Jul 23, 2009 - 11:39am PT
I've got an old guidebook for it too. It's by Jason Stevens from 97.

That's just about the latest...his last one is from 1999 I seem to recall. Maybe there'll be another some day...ha ha...(running joke here in Utar).

Empire of Dirt...classic! There's an ice climb in the box in Maple that's called that.

Yeah, take some time for me to get in the mood for Maple rock. The ice there, while fickle, is super great when its in.

Nice shots!

-Brian in SLC
Brian in SLC

Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
  Jul 23, 2009 - 01:07pm PT
Yeah, its been "at the printer" for around 5 years now.

When it comes out, my bet is a bunch of folks are goin' to be bummed that their first 5.12 redpoint got downrated to 5.11b...

-Brian in SLC
Brian in SLC

Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
  Jul 23, 2009 - 02:03pm PT
...and anything that says FA Peterson.

Or...maybe "Pederson".

Grades are all over the map there. But, its easy to see why. Hard place to put in routes. And, its hard to grade, then, have the route change a bit, and have to regrade.

Weird and fun. I've reassessed what I'd consider as chossy and unclimbable for sure.

-Brian in SLC
tenesmus

Trad climber
slc
  Jul 24, 2009 - 12:09am PT
cool pics. That place is strange, but once in a while its just fun to simply grab the jugs behind the cobbles and pull.
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