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The
towering walls of Zion National Park are some of the tallest sandstone cliffs in the world,
sheltering the canyon floor and allowing you to experience your own birth in the sanctuary.
One of the main reasons I wanted to come to Zion is because it's such a beautiful place.
The canyon is like this kind of oasis in the middle of the desert.
It has a reputation for adventurous climbing, there's a lot of cracks, sometimes they're
wide or sandy, there's a bit of loose rock around.
The best thing about it though is the big sandstone walls, they're all around you and
super inspiring for any climber.
The route that we've come to climb is called Touchstone Wall, it's one of the classic big
wall routes in Zion National Park.
The first two pitches are very steep, thin cracks and we'll be aiding those, then there's
a long splitter crack which goes for about 500 feet until a couple of easier pitches
just to the top and then quite an interesting looking descent down to the side of the route.
Because it was our first climb in Zion, we weren't sure how fast we would be and we wanted
to make sure we didn't have to descend in the dark so we decided to fix the first three
pitches of the route to give us a head start the next morning.
Welcome.
Top of the third pitch, just about to wrap down now and where are we done for the day?
Something quite sickening in the stomach about the prospect of jogging a 70 meter free hanging
line.
Right, here we are getting ready to blast.
How's that for a morning exercise?
Nicely done.
We're here just as the sun comes out.
Alright, here we are at the top of the fixed lines, Rob's getting ready to last the next
pitch, getting some dry bagel breakfast and we're ready to go.
The route is right above the scenic drive so as you climb you have this feeling of leaving
the shuttle buses and people behind and getting a different perspective on the canyon as it
opens up underneath you.
This is pitch five and he's lead.
Another tasty wedge.
What have you got for lunch there, Rob?
Strawberry and banana gel.
Up there, five nines, they're cracks.
One of the best things about the climb is that it follows this continuous cracks which
gets easier and easier as you get higher and get towards the top so the last few pitches
you can really start to relax and just climb and take in the amazing views of the canyon.
Yeah, summit.
Alright, we're nearly down, nasty golly descent and now we have a couple of herbs left with
this rather interesting looking anchor.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight pieces of tap.
Yes.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight pieces of tap.
Thank you.
