Climbing, Canyoneering, & Caving in St. George, Utah
Learning the soft approach rappel in my canyoneer course.
When I set out to travel the West, Utah wasn’t on the list of places I wanted to visit. But shortly after I finished my summer seasonal job in Idaho, I found myself there on a trip with a friend to explore her home state. When we parted ways, I thought I’d stick around for a few more days or so and then move on. Much to my surprise, I ended up in Utah for another month.
There’s something unique about the desert, and even though at first I didn’t care for it, it quickly grew on me and is now one of my favorite places I’ve been. I especially enjoyed the St. George area, primarily because I was able to connect with people and easily make friends to go out and do rad things with. Southern Utah is filled with people who like to adventure and don’t let the early sunset or occasional cloudy day stop them from exploring the great outdoors.
I typically enjoy the wilderness in my hiking boots, but in St. George, I tried new things and explored in a completely different way. Although I still fit in some beautiful hikes, I mostly spent time on, in, and in between rock.
Climbing in St. George
I’ve wanted to try rock climbing for as long as I can remember, but having grown up in Michigan, there’s not a lot of access to get started. Over the summer, I was able to climb three times outdoors on some easy crags and boulders, but all it really did was whet my appetite to it. I tried to get into climbing in northern Utah, but it just didn’t work out. So when I was able to connect in at the gym in St. George and find some climbing buddies, I was intrigued to stay.
I’ve never been a sports girl, so this is the first time in my life where I felt like I was really training and trying to excel at a sport. In St. George, I was able to climb at the gym 3-4 times a week and outdoors on the weekend. Shoutout to Bud and Carol—my workaway hosts—who were some of my biggest cheerleaders always asking what I’d been learning and trying. And I recommend Contact Climbing Gym, which I guess is fairly new to the area, but has bouldering, top rope, and a full gym upstairs. Plus! Yoga is included in the membership, and I so greatly enjoyed being a student once again!
I’ve been told a lot by people that I meet, and by people that know me well, that I’m the person that just goes for it and doesn’t let anything stand in my way. I’ve never really understood or have seen that part of myself until now. I want to be a climber; I want to go outdoors on rock and have fun; and I’m ready to work at it be there.
Of course when it comes to rock climbing, safety comes first. So I hardly have any photos of this process because it requires all hands on deck to keep you and your partners safe.
It was hard to leave St. George and leave my climbing friends behind, but luckily one came out to Vegas where I headed next and we had a great climbing weekend where I gained more new skills (more on that later!).
Canyoneering in St. George
Just as I arrived to St. George area, I was able to connect with a local canyoneer who took me out with a friend to explore my first canyons. This was a sport I didn’t even know existed until a couple months ago! It involves hiking, down climbing, exploring, and rappelling.
I found I liked it more than I expected, so I enrolled in a class where I was able to learn all the basics in creating anchors, tying knots, setting up rappel ropes, and working together with your team to keep everyone safe. I wish I was able to explore this sport a little more, but I’m grateful to now have this certification so it’s easier for new people to trust to take me out as I continue to travel around.
Caving in Bloomington Cave
Just as I was about to finally leave Utah, I was invited by my canyoneer course classmates to explore Bloomington Cave with them and rappel the first descent. Once again, I found myself staying longer than expected! And it was definitely worth it.
We had a good crew go down, and what I found most exciting was fitting into all the tiny spaces and crawling through the cave. Some spaces were so narrow that you had to get on your belly and pull yourself through. I came out a little bruised and scuffed up, but full of life! If I come back to visit this area, I’m definitely going to explore the rest of the cave.
See Ya Later But Not Goodbye
I know I’ll be back in this area once more, probably next fall again when the temperature is ideal for outdoor activity—I’m not convinced I’ll love the 100+ temps in the summer. What I thought would be a week turned into over a month. I’m now in Vegas (only 2 hours from St. George) and have just a few weeks left to wander before I meet up with my mom in New Mexico. Who knows, maybe I’ll find myself in St. George again sooner than expected if the adventure presents itself!
