Hype:

Window Blind has one of the best views in the San Rafael Swell. From it's summit, you can see the Upper Black Box, Mexican Mountain, and many other of the prominent landmarks in the Swell.

Trailhead:

The trailhead starts off the Mexican Mountain road. To get to the Mexican Mountain road, which is near the San Rafael Campground, depends on where you are coming from:

From the north:
Just north of Castle Dale, on highway 10, about 2 miles, find a side road heading east. The road is signed Buckhorn Wash. Follow this road about 15 miles to a signed junction, with Buckhorn Wash to the right. Go right, down Buckhorn wash. There are some great petroglyph panels on the way. 9.3 miles down the Buckhorn Wash road, you will cross a cattlegaurd, and the Mexican Mountain road goes off on the left. This is just before the San Rafael river, and campground.

From the south:
Take I-70 west from Green River about 30 miles, to exit 131. Take the exit, turning right. This road goes east, paralleling the freeway for a couple of miles before turning north. Follow this road 19 miles to where the San Rafael campground is, and the bridge over the river. The Mexican Mountain road is .1 miles beyond the bridge, before the cattlegaurd.

Down the Mexican Mountain Road
Head down the Mexican Mountain road. It is 1.8 miles to a wash with a road heading down to the San Rafael River. Take this road to the river. The road is generally passable by high clearance vehicles, or very carefully driven cars.

Route:

From the parking spot, you need to find a way to cross the San Rafael River. Usually this is a small feat, but on my first attempt, I found a spot over chest deep. Choose your crossing spot carefully, and you will likely not get over knee deep.

Once across the river, follow the obvious wash as it works it's way up to Window Blind Peak. There are no major obstacles, but it is a bit of a walk. As you near the windows, aim for the base of the east window. The route climbs to the notch separating the windows, then up between the two windows.

Pitch 1: The start is a move or two up to a section of easy climbing, soon reaching the notch, and arete between the two windows. Create a gear belay here.

Pitch 2: The next pitch is the business, and heads up the easiest path, encountering cracks occasionally. The rock is very poor quality, and a bit runout. This is a long pitch that will deposit you on a wide ledge with some trees. Leave gear here if you would like. This pitch may need to be broken in 2 if you have 50 m ( 165 ft ) ropes.
 
Pitch 3: Scramble around to the right, then up the easiest path to the summit. This is 4th class. Enjoy the summit views, they are amazing.

There are rappel bolts on the ledge at the top of pitch 2 you can use to make 2 rappels (with 2 ropes) to the ground. Return the way you came.

Maps:

Download map(s): Map 1

My History:

I climbed Window Blind in the fall of 2005. The climbing itself is not particularly good or memorable, but the summit is well worth the effort. It took about 8 hours from car to car.

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