Parriott Mesa - Castle Valley

RATING: Exposed lower 5th class climbing.

LENGTH: 4-6 Hours

GEAR: Harness, webbing, a few locking carabiners, rappel device

RAPPELS: 2 to 15 m ( 50 ft. ) / often down climbed

WATER: None

SEASON: Any, no snow.

Hype

Parriot Mesa offers one of the premier, if not the premier, hiking adventure around Moab for very experienced hikers, climbers, and canyoneers. This is not a route to be taken lightly, as it offers breathtaking exposure, it also requires some technical ability to safely ascend. Many hikers do this without any technical gear, but a harness, locking carabiners, and webbing for a teather is the minimum recommended gear.

Expect breathtaking views, a steep hike, and exposed scrambling. Castle Valley and the surrounding towers present a great backdrop for this hike, with the La Sals, the Colorado River, and Fisher towers looming in the distance. This is the adventure hiking route, and includes a bit of via ferrata, albeit a poor mans version.

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Photos (click on photo for more detail)

Cristina Amat on the Approach To Parriot Mesa

Comments

3"s of fresh snow made this journey especially spicy on the slickrock sections. Probably around 5.5 if the fixed lines were to be removed. Nice to have them in the snow though. No summit register found. Had to ditch my rope at the 4th class step across between the crux chimneys for a safe return on self belay due to the snow covered slickrock on the far side and felt fortunate to not have needed it beyond... was able to place a #1 cam at the first summit block, and a #2 cam at the second in order to have safe handholds at the finish to help protect the downclimb. This one falls in line with the Palisade near Gateway, CO. as well as Tomsich Butte out in the Swell,Ut.

by: San Juaneer [Nov 26, 2010]