Climbing Forecast › Zion › Moonlight Buttress

ZION · DESERT SANDSTONE · bird ban

Moonlight Buttress weather & climbing conditions

Poor — wet, too windy or closed

Right now

Temp57°F
Wind5 mph
Gusts8 mph
Humidity96.8%
Rain 48h0.06 in
Last rain1h ago

Assessment

1.9mm rain forecast
Do not climb wet desert sandstone — holds break and cams pull
Humidity 96.8% — potential fog/cloud, rock may be damp from condensation

Drying Time

2% dry · 16-32h to dry

7-day forecast

Scroll through each day — hourly detail is shown inline.

Today Saturday 10 October
Poor
Temp32°F
Rain0.07 in
Wind5 mph
Gusts8 mph
Humidity97%
1.9mm rain forecastDo not climb wet desert sandstone — holds break and cams pull
  • Do not climb — wet desert sandstone is severely weakened, cams can pull and holds break, permanently damaging the route
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 — 0.01 in — — null%
14:00 — 0.01 in — — null%
Sun Sunday 11 October
Poor
Temp61°F
Rain1.3 in
Wind16 mph
Gusts—
Humidity87%
32mm rain forecastDo not climb wet desert sandstone — holds break and cams pull
  • Do not climb — wet desert sandstone is severely weakened, cams can pull and holds break, permanently damaging the route
  • Good friction temperature range for desert sandstone
  • Elevated humidity for a desert crag — subsurface drying will be slower than expected
  • Breezy — helps drying
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 57° 0.06 in 10 — 98.1%
07:00 56° 0.01 in 10 — 98.5%
08:00 56° dry 10 — 98.2%
09:00 58° 0.01 in 12 — 96.8%
10:00 60° 0.01 in 15 — 88.9%
11:00 63° 0.00 in 17 — 75.6%
12:00 62° 0.06 in 18 — 74.5%
13:00 60° 0.1 in 18 — 91.3%
14:00 59° 0.09 in 17 — 93.8%
15:00 61° 0.1 in 15 — 92.5%
16:00 58° 0.08 in 12 — 94.2%
17:00 56° 0.07 in 12 — 97.3%
18:00 57° 0.06 in 11 — 98.9%
19:00 55° 0.07 in 10 — 98.1%
20:00 55° 0.06 in 10 — 98.8%
21:00 54° 0.02 in 10 — 97.3%
Mon Monday 12 October
Poor
Temp55°F
Rain1.1 in
Wind9 mph
Gusts—
Humidity92%
28.1mm rain forecastDo not climb wet desert sandstone — holds break and cams pullHumidity 92% — potential fog
  • Do not climb — wet desert sandstone is severely weakened, cams can pull and holds break, permanently damaging the route
  • Good friction temperature range for desert sandstone
  • Elevated humidity for a desert crag — subsurface drying will be slower than expected
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 51° 0.01 in 5 — 97.6%
07:00 51° 0.02 in 6 — 99.7%
08:00 52° 0.04 in 5 — 97.9%
09:00 53° 0.07 in 5 — 97.2%
10:00 53° 0.05 in 6 — 96.9%
11:00 54° 0.06 in 9 — 97.2%
12:00 55° 0.06 in 11 — 98.9%
13:00 55° 0.02 in 8 — 95.7%
14:00 59° 0.1 in 11 — 81%
15:00 55° 0.06 in 10 — 89.3%
16:00 56° 0.04 in 6 — 86.5%
17:00 56° 0.1 in 9 — 87.4%
18:00 53° 0.09 in 5 — 95%
19:00 51° 0.01 in 6 — 99.1%
20:00 51° 0.03 in 7 — 98.5%
21:00 50° 0.09 in 7 — 97.8%
Tue Tuesday 13 October
Poor
Temp48°F
Rain0.07 in
Wind5 mph
Gusts—
Humidity81%
1.8mm rain forecastDo not climb wet desert sandstone — holds break and cams pull
  • Do not climb — wet desert sandstone is severely weakened, cams can pull and holds break, permanently damaging the route
  • Good friction temperature range for desert sandstone
  • Elevated humidity for a desert crag — subsurface drying will be slower than expected
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 44° 0.02 in 4 — 93%
07:00 44° 0.01 in 4 — 96.9%
08:00 44° 0.01 in 5 — 97.3%
09:00 45° 0.01 in 4 — 97.4%
10:00 47° 0.01 in 4 — 88.9%
11:00 48° 0.01 in 5 — 79.2%
12:00 49° 0.01 in 6 — 74.8%
18:00 50° dry 5 — 63%
Wed Wednesday 14 October
Poor
Temp57°F
Raindry
Wind5 mph
Gusts—
Humidity55%
Drying — 30h since rainOnly 30h since rain — desert sandstone 48h minimum wait
  • Check the sand at the base is powder-dry before climbing — if it clumps together, the rock is still wet inside
  • Good friction temperature range for desert sandstone
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 33° dry 2 — 92.7%
12:00 57° dry 5 — 55.2%
18:00 56° dry 6 — 48.5%
Thu Thursday 15 October
Caution
Temp63°F
Raindry
Wind3 mph
Gusts—
Humidity45%
Should be dryDesert sandstone — check base sand is powder-dry before climbing
  • Check the sand at the base is powder-dry before climbing — if it clumps together, the rock is still wet inside
  • Good friction temperature range for desert sandstone
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 33° dry 2 — 96.1%
12:00 62° dry 3 — 44.5%
18:00 58° dry 6 — 56.6%
Fri Friday 16 October
Poor
Temp61°F
Rain0.09 in
Wind14 mph
Gusts—
Humidity55%
2.2mm rain forecastDo not climb wet desert sandstone — holds break and cams pull
  • Do not climb — wet desert sandstone is severely weakened, cams can pull and holds break, permanently damaging the route
  • Good friction temperature range for desert sandstone
  • Breezy — helps drying
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 49° dry 8 — 60.9%
12:00 61° 0.03 in 14 — 55%
18:00 57° 0.05 in 5 — 88.8%
Sat Saturday 17 October
Poor
Temp61°F
Rain0.1 in
Wind4 mph
Gusts—
Humidity66%
2.9mm rain forecastDo not climb wet desert sandstone — holds break and cams pull
  • Do not climb — wet desert sandstone is severely weakened, cams can pull and holds break, permanently damaging the route
  • Good friction temperature range for desert sandstone
  • Elevated humidity for a desert crag — subsurface drying will be slower than expected
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 51° 0.03 in 3 — 97.2%
12:00 61° 0.01 in 4 — 65.6%
18:00 60° dry 5 — 62.9%
Access
Never climb wet Navajo sandstone
Bird ban (03-01 to 07-31)
Zion peregrine falcon and California condor closures apply to named routes and walls. NPS publishes an updated PDF; check nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/climbing-closures.htm before racking up. Not typically a full-formation closure for Moonlight.

About Moonlight Buttress

Moonlight Buttress is Zion's iconic big wall — a 1,200-foot east-facing pillar of perfect Navajo sandstone in the main canyon, resembling 'a huge pillar resting against the wall'. Approach: cross the Virgin River from the Big Bend shuttle stop (be prepared to wade). — NPS is explicit that the rock is 'heavily weakened when wet' with holds ripping off and permanent damage to routes.

Region
Zion
Rock type
Desert sandstone
Aspect
east-facing
Altitude
4472 ft
Exposure
medium
Seepage
low

Other crags in this region

Cerberus GendarmeKolob Canyons