Prophesy Wall

Lat/Lon: 37.22833°N / 113.63806°W; Click for Google Map
Prophesy Wall, along with Solstice Wall down in Woodbury Road Crags, is one of the
finer “moderate” sport walls in or near St. George and Zion National Park. In terms
of multi-pitch, it offers some of the better “moderate” sport routes anywhere in
southern Utah. I have done the most challenging route at Prophesy, Harbingers, 5.11
b, and that is something I will never be able to say about Chuckawalla or many of the
other local crags in and around Zion and St. George that include 5.13’s in their
portfolio.

At an elevation of 4200’+/- and northwest facing, Prophesy Wall is one of the better
places to escape the desert heat during spring and summer months. The steep
cliffs are a full 60 meters tall at the steepest sections, thus allowing multi-pitch set
ups using buttresses and corners. Like a lot of other areas in and around St.
George, Chuckawalla Wall, Green Valley Gap, Black Rocks, Bluff Street Cracks,
Woodbury Crags and Utah Hills, Prophesy Wall was developed relatively late, during
the mid 1990’s. Prophesy Wall offers a much more private experience than the
sometimes cluttered sport crags closer to town.

There are 24 routes featured in Todd Goss’s new edition guide book, “Rock Climbs
in Southwest Utah”, with 17 of them being multi-pitch. Most routes are bolted, but
some gear is required either for stations or mixed protection. Double ropes are
highly advised as well to avoid multiple rappels or having to walk off many of the
routes. Compared to ratings on other local walls, we found the grades to be
somewhat relaxed. The rock quality is typical of the area, some routes seem
bomber, others are falling off in your hands. The right (west) side sees a lot of traffic
as it has several of the better training multi-pitch routes anywhere, i.e. Sticky
Revelations, 5.10a. Harbingers, 5.11b, towards the middle right is in great shape,
but some of the routes, i.e. Harsh Reality, 5.9, in between these two sections are
quite loose.
Route Description(s)
The Routes are Left to Right, East to West

Seer Stone - 35’- 5.3/
Softscrub- 45’- 5.7TR/
Elizabeth Blue Moss - 55’- 5.9/ Todd is right when he says "don't let clients
name a route", so why did he here? She must have had some special
influence. Actually not a bad climb for being on the left side where the rock is
usually not so special. Again, like several of his routes on Prophesy, starts out
easy, looks easy and just when you are wondering where the 5.9 comes from,
you run out of any hands and have a knee in the chest balancing mantel to
pull off before you can reach the chains. This is a short route by Prophesy
Wall standards. 5 bolts to chains.
Non-Technical Church Socks- 60’- 5.8/ Not a huge fan of this one, but then it
was hailing on me during a trad lead climb with dust devils slamming into the
wall every few minutes. Pro is a little funky, I kind of ran it out myself, real
uneven and large, I don't normally bang around with a #5 camelot, but
suppose you could use one here. As the cool name implies, not overly
difficult, just a little run out. Medium to large pro to anchor under roof.
Wooden Hammer – 3 Pitches- 5.8/ A dirty route that rarely gets climbed.
Some real precarious varnish you must rely on to pull yourself out of two
separate chimneys that are fractured. Horned owls use the upper chimney as
their dining room, tons of skeletal remains of rodents, etc. The first pitch starts
out with two bolts and then the rest of the route is trad. There are two distinct
chimneys, make your way through the first one by protecting really deep with
large gear and then having to come out onto suspect holds to reach the next
chimney. The 2nd chimney is a squeeze play up to suspect holds again to
pull yourself up and over onto easier ground. The third pitch can be
combined with this second pitch. Once you top out, you can traverse west to a
set of chains, about 15 meters. There will be another set of chains half way
down on top of an arch.
Ship of Fools- 140’- 5.10b/
Whatever Happens… Happens – 90’- 5.9/ Surprisingly nice route. I had done
the Roofs of Jericho two days earlier and looked over at this route and thought
it was another soft rating by Todd on Prophesy. But it is a long steep route that
gives you two 5.9 moves towards the finish, both kind of overhanging type
stuff where you have to trust heavily on some precarious varnish. Although it
is well bolted, a fall on this kind of stuff will take some skin with it. This is a
long route moving over the left hand side of the arch to a rap chain. The rap
below the arch is not for this route. 11 bolts to anchor.
The Roofs of Jericho- 2 Pitches- 5.10c/
Grumpy Old Men – 2 Pitches- 5.10b/
Misfit Prophets- 3 Pitches- 5.10c/
Lunatic Cry – 3 Pitches- 5.10/
The Secrets of Fatima- 2 Pitches- 5.10c/
Past Lives – 3 Pitches- 5.9/ I turned this into two pitches. 20+/- bolts. This can
be a little cold in the morning. Seemed much lighter than a 5.9 I thought. Nice
varnished (darker) pockets and edges. Crux is in 2nd pitch, not so bad, little
airy out on a minor arête to the left of sorts. You can rap it with double ropes,
otherwise a walk off. When rapping, a horned owl came out of her nest and
spun me around. I would have never climbed this route if I knew she was
there. Please avoid this route March-April. A raven tried to steal the eggs and
was almost successful. She finally came back to them. (neat photos of the
nest and eggs)
Harbingers- 2 Pitches- 5.11b/ Definitely the best route at Prophesy Wall and
most challenging. Beautiful solid arête following a tower up the left side of the
middle routes of Prophesy Wall. The first pitch is the same for Conditional
Bliss and Caging the Zealot. Then turn left to the base of the tower. Take on
an overhanging face just right of the arête and turn out onto it for easier
moves up to the crux final which is a wild move, no feet, back right to the
overhanging anchor. 60’ on six bolts. (cool photos)
Conditional Bliss – 130’- 5.10a/ Shares the same first four bolts of Caging the
Zealot and Harbingers, then stay on the wall and follow the left most line.
Seemed easy for a 5.10a. Solid varnished edges past 11 bolts to chains.
Double 60’s get you to the ground, otherwise, 2 raps with a mid station.
(photos)
Caging the Zealot- 2 Pitches- 5.10b/ Shares the same first four bolts or so
with Conditional Bliss, but then take the right fork. Solid varnish edges past 15
bolts to chains. Double 60’s get you to the ground, otherwise, 2 raps with a
mid station. (photos)
Harsh Reality – 2 Pitches- 5.9/ I don’t recommend this one, more of the loose
whitish rock, that is why routes further right have not been developed. A solid
hold came off on me turning the small roof crux. If you are going to do it, I
recommend using long runners and combine the pitches (155’). Once you get
over the roof, make sure to start tracking back right to avoid the loose corner
straight above. 17 bolts to rap anchor, double 60’s get you down. (photos)
The Visionaries- 2 Pitches- 5.10c/
Gordian Knot- 2 Pitches- 5.9R/
Sticky Revelations – 3 Pitches- 5.10a/ First pitch is a very easy 5.7 to a
substantial belay ledge to the right of a big trad corner. Then traverse out right
for the start of the 2nd pitch which is a blast 5.8 up a crack and over a flake.
We combined these last two pitches, so 12 bolts to the top of Prophesy Wall
after the 1st pitch. Two raps with double 60m ropes, three otherwise. The crux
5.10 move is left over a hollow flake towards the top. Fun route, good training
one. Kind of a busy section of Prophesy Wall on weekends though. (photos)
The Exodus Variation- 3 Pitches- 5.8/ This bolted 5.3 escape to the east of
the top of Sticky Revelation's 2nd pitch or Book of Prophesy reduces the
overall route down to 5.8. Not worth doing (you have rap chains at the top of
the 2nd pitch options) unless you want to check out The Visionaires, 5.10c on
rappel.
The Book of Prophesy Variation- 3 Pitches- 5.8/ Buying into this variation
allows you to mix it up with a great trad corner-crack that leads to the same
location as the 2nd pitch of Sticky Revelations. Traverse left from whichever
route you chose for pitch 1 on a substantial ledge into the corner. There is a
belay/rappel station located here. The corner is easy to protect, but Todd
references small to medium pro, when in reality, you can place your #5
Camelot perfectly in a place where you would want it. On the contributing
route photo, I show where that is. Since I did not bring my #5, I placed my #4
in a spot where it probably would not hold making the top of the route
somewhat run out. This is a great pitch for training trad leading because you
must place two small nuts as well as at least one TCU along with your
Camelot’s. The crux is early and then face features to the right start to appear
making the pitch go at 5.8. You will pass one bolt further up as you enter the
white band of rock which is not worth protecting. This section is a little run out.
You have a station directly above for the continuation of Sticky Revelations or
you can go left to a station on a large ledge for the Exodus Variation.
All Decked Out- 3 Pitches- 5.8/ A sustained 70’ of 5.8 edging on solid varnish.
Todd Goss’s “Rock Climbs of Southwest Utah” is out of date regarding “All
Decked Out”. He labeled it R/X and “a lesson on how not to bolt a sport route”.
Somebody, probably Todd, has bolted it straight up since, 9 bolts to anchor.
Tiny roof mantle in between.
Interview with a Psychopath- 5.8/

Essential Gear
Double 60m ropes will serve you much better on Prophesy Wall than a single,
otherwise you will be walking off and doing double raps where one would do. Most of
these routes are 2-3 pitches long and bolted complete, but some are mixed and a
few are pure trad. The approach is no biggie, so you might want to just bring your
gear bag. If you load up on draws, like 15-20 between partners, then you will be able
to combine quite a few of the pitches if utilizing proper double rope management on
lead. Remember, you are several thousand feet higher than St. George, so if you are
visiting Prophesy Wall in the winter, bring a decent jacket. Some of these routes are
still quite loose. My partner ran for his helmet on one of my leads as a hand hold
broke loose. Helmets are never a bad idea.

Getting There
Drive north of St. George on Bluff Street which is State Highway 18. Stay in the right
lane as you exit town. Continue north past Snow Canyon on the left to mile marker
18. Turn left onto a gravel road and drive past the Sand Cover Water Reservoir on
your right. Prophesy Wall is obvious to your left. You can turn down one of two roads
on your left and drive to a large above ground reservoir pipe. There is a decent trail
that leads to the right side. If possible, try and find existing trails that venture to the left
routes versus making your own.

Red Tape
The BLM manages nearly 22.9 million acres of public lands in Utah, representing
about 42 percent of the state. The regulations regarding most BLM land are fairly
wide open compared to State and Federal parks. It appears you can camp and climb
in this area at will. Pit fires are highly discouraged if not illegal. Like most of the rock
back in the St. George area, you should not climb at Prophesy Wall within 24 hours of
any rain.

My favorite place for dinner is the sushi bar at Samurai, 245 Red Cliffs Drive, St.
George. The best breakfast and coffee can be had on Bluff Street at Jazzy Java. Great
owner, solid espresso, free internet and huge omelet breakfasts for under $6 (2007).
The Outdoor Outlet is one of my favorite independent climbing stores anywhere. They
know the climbing area well and have a great selection of gear at competitive prices.
St. George is the place to center your self for climbing at Prophesy Wall.

When to Climb
Utah Hills and Prophesy Wall offer better rock than most of the crags in and around
St. George proper, but are at considerably higher elevations. Climbing in the winter
can definitely be too cold. But of course that means they are great escapes from the
searing heat in the summer. I consider the season for Prophesy to be year around
for the most part. If you are climbing anywhere in southwestern Utah during the
summer months, you more than likely better get up early and finish your climb early.
The walls can get brutally hot.

Camping/Lodging
There are three campgrounds within the city limits of St. George none of which I have
experienced. Temple View RV Resort at 975 South Main Street; Settlers RV Park at
1333 East 100 South; St. George Campground at 2100 East Middleton Drive.

Of course my druthers would be to stay at the campground in Snow Canyon State
Park. This has to be one of the finest State campgrounds anywhere with direct
access to tons of climbing routes. The campground is open all year, no holiday
closures. There is a limit on your stay of 5 days. They have 33 total units, 17 of which
are reserved for the big boys (RV’s) with utility hookups. The tent sites were $14 in
2005. Drinking water is available on site along with vault toilets and even showers.
The running/hiking/equestrian trail system is pretty cool and as long as you don’t run
into the occasional Segway group, the whole park is usually very quiet, particularly
during winter months.

Notes: Will be out here many more times, but March, 2007 was when I first got out
here with Zach. We tackled the hardest routes Prophesy had to offer, quite a
moderate area by Zion standards. Had an unusual horned owl encounter. Was a
little cool on the first lead of the morning, but it warms up pretty quick. Mostly better
than average rock, nice private environs.