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ST. GEORGE — Scaling a towering cliff in Zion National Park is daunting enough. Yet two local rock climbers pushed the envelope further by completing the longest peak climbing traverse, covering 28 miles in March.
James Barrow, 27, and Connor Baty, 20, completed the feat in four days. Jerel Lillywhite, the manager of Desert Rat, said in an email to St. George News that the men's epic push included summiting 20 distinct peaks, covering extremely challenging terrain and over 18,000 feet of elevation gain.
The men climbed 15 technical rock climbing pitches with grades up to 5.9+R/M2R. ("R" stands for "runout," which refers to a climbing route where protection may be available but is spaced far apart, according to hardclimbs.info)
"This is an insanely incredible accomplishment, and the fact that it was pulled off by two local kids is staggering," Lillywhite said. "These guys are very accomplished climbers, but they aren't professional-sponsored climbers. Nothing of this length or technical difficulty has been done in Zion in probably over 20 years."
Read the full article at St. George News.
