A day trip to Joes Valley—climbing for beginners

What to expect in this post:

This is basically the “first time climbing at Joes” starter pack. Where to rent gear, get the food, what to bring, and were to find the classic beginner boulder that tends to be the face of Joes Valley climbing. Just scroll to the heading with information that you’re interested in and dig in!

brought to you by unfortunate events

I’d like to say I’m writing this for the sole reason that the pinterest people liked my first climbing post. Unfortunately I am just living vicariously because I haven’t been able to really climb for over a month. RIP. I partially tore a tendon in my forearm while I was training on a hangboard (my first pully injury so I’m a real climber now, all my advice is credible thanks) and I’ve only climbed twice since then. The Dr. told me I could use my hand but to be pretty careful not to damage it further. So I didn’t cancel my trip to Joes Valley. I just taped the finger I couldn’t use to one that I could, and climbed really carefully. No problems there. I went to the gym a week later, sent a silly little v4 and then couldn’t bend my finger more than half way for another week. I can take a hint if it’s strong enough, so I won’t be climbing for the next month. Anyways, I’ve been reminiscing and this is what you get out of it. Humor me:)

(This is an edit from future Ellie) clearly I was overconfident in my self discipline and CANNOT take a strong hint because two days after I posted this I got invited to go climbing and I said yes immediately. Didn’t even hesitate. “It’ll be fine!” I freaking love that phrase. Anyways I didn’t get on anything crazy and it did end up being fine so no one get on my case please and thank you:)

Getting there and what to bring

To get there, navigate to Joes Valley reservoir. It will get you to the right canyon, and from there you’ll find your routes on the mountain project app. The whole trip is a little over two hours if you’re leaving from provo.

As far as what to bring, this list is pretty straightforward:

• Climbing shoes (Your most beat up pair, real rock eats rubber like CRAZY)
• Shoes that are easy to take on and off, you probably don’t want lace up hiking boots
• snacks of course
• Hammocks (lighter and easier to hike with than camping chairs)
• crash pads (if you don’t have any I’ll explain where to rent some later in the post)
• CLIMBING TAPE because the only thing real rock shreds more than climbing shoes is callouses

That’s it, those are the basics. You should be aware that there isn’t any cell service up the canyon, so download your maps and routes before you get there.

Where to rent crash pads

I don’t own crash pads. They’re a pain to store and when I climb outdoors I typically lead climb. To be very honest, mantleing (topping out on a boulder) scares the living daylights out of me even after all these years, and I don’t boulder outside as often as I should. So I’ve never invested in my own pads. No stress though because about half a mile from the mouth of the canyon is a place called “Cup of Joes.” It’s a cute little coffee shop, and they also rent out crash pads. You can reserve them ahead of your trip by heading to their website: thecupofjoes.com. It’s 10$ for the small pads for 24 hours, and 15$ for the big ones. Also, they’re just really nice people so go and say hi:)

The Joes Valley food traditions

Okay, if you’re gonna do a Joes trip you gotta do it right. Here are the Joes valley food stops that my coaches put me on (they said they were a necessary part of a Joes trip and who am I to argue). Number one, on your way up in the morning, you need to stop at Food Ranch. It’s a gas station and it’s been iconic to the Joes Valley culture for years. It was out of business for awhile, but it’s back and better than ever, which is perfect because you gotta go get their donuts. It’s what they’re famous for. Also while you’re there, embrace the tourism and make sure you take a picture in the giant chairs. It’s like initiation.

So donuts for breakfast, and pizza for dinner. There are two pizza places in town. One is called Fatty’s. I don’t care about Fatty’s. R Pizza is where you need to go. Man that place is elite, I’ve never had such good pizza in my life. They have a reputation that precedes them and they deserve it. It’s not a Joes trip without R pizza. Go get yourself some breadsticks.

Where to climb

Download Mountain Project, and in the app you need to download the Joes Valley routes. I would plan the routes you want to hit and screenshot them or download them well in advance of the trip. You wont have service to do it in the canyon, and you don’t want to waste your day looking for climbs.

If you’re new to outdoors climbing, I would go to the Angler wall. It’s the quintessential Joes climb. I’ve never been able to get even close to sending it, even though it’s only rated a v2. BUT in that area there are tons of beginner outdoor climbs that most people should be able to mantle. You need to be aware that outdoor ratings and indoor ratings are HUGELY different. I climb v5-v6 indoors, and v2 outdoors. It’s an entirely different ballgame.

The angler wall is only about 20 minutes up the canyon, if that. There’s a really big pullout that can fit at least five cars, and it’s only a 3 minute walk off the road to get to the boulder, which sits right on the bank of the river. I’d get there early though because this tends to be a popular spot.

You’re set!

Go climb some rocks. And if you have a ton of fun, I don’t want to hear about it. Just kidding:) I’m hyped to be climbing again soon. My instagram page is private but feel free to messege me on pinterest if you have other questions about what to expect from a trip to Joes, or outdoor climbing in general!

Thanks for reading!

I’m glad you’re here:)

-El