Over, Around, Down and Through the Looking Glass in Moab, UT
Perhaps one of the coolest places we visited in Moab was Looking Glass Rock. Not only is Looking Glass an amazing piece of rock formation, it's also a blast to play on! The experience at Looking Glass comes in three parts: climb, rappel and swing. Here's how it works:
The Climb:
I have a bit of a hard time officially calling this part a climb as it seems to be closer to advanced scrambling (climbing grades are 5.4 - 5.5ish) however, it would be much more intimidating without the protection of anchors, ropes, etc. Looking Glass is climbed in 3 pitches and the views along the way and at the top are absolutely breathtaking.
The Rappel:
Once you've summited Looking Glass, you move down into a small opening at the top of the natural amphitheater. Several anchors and webbing are already in place for the rappel. Once hooked up, you drop through the crack into the amphitheater for a 100+ foot free-hanging rappel. Once again... the view is to die for. Absolutely gorgeous.
The Swing:
Once all rappellers have descended, it's time to swing! The swinger ties in with their harness on one end and a belayer takes the other. The swingers then hikes up to a ledge along the base of the amphitheater cliff face as the belayer takes in all the slack from the rope. Once the swinger is in position and the rope is taught, it's jump time. As you leap from the ledge, the rope swings you out far away from the wall and a good 80 feet above the ground. My favorite part was flipping upside-down and viewing the valley through an inverted reality. Definitely cool.
Of course, no Vagabloggers climbing/rappelling/giant rope swinging adventure is complete without a little video coverage:
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Getting there:
From Moab, take Highway 191 South and head roughly 25 miles out of town. There will be a sign for Looking Glass Rock, take a right there and follow the dirt road until you see the obvious Looking Glass Rock form.
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