Climbing Forecast › Zion › Moonlight Buttress

ZION · DESERT SANDSTONE · bird ban

Moonlight Buttress climbing conditions

Good — dry and climbable

Right now

Temp83°F
Wind3 mph
Gusts5 mph
Humidity31.1%
Rain 48hdry
Last rainNone recent

Assessment

No recent rain

7-day forecast

Scroll through each day — hourly detail is shown inline.

Today Wednesday 26 August
Good
Temp70°F
Raindry
Wind6 mph
Gusts5 mph
Humidity49%
No recent rain
  • Check the sand at the base is powder-dry before climbing — if it clumps together, the rock is still wet inside
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 66° dry 6 — 62.9%
07:00 66° dry 7 — 57.9%
08:00 66° dry 6 — 53.9%
09:00 65° dry 6 — 55.6%
10:00 64° dry 6 — 57.6%
11:00 63° dry 6 — 59.6%
12:00 62° dry 6 — 61.3%
13:00 62° dry 6 — 60.8%
14:00 68° dry 6 — 49.5%
15:00 82° dry 5 — 31.3%
16:00 88° dry 4 — 21.7%
17:00 91° dry 6 — 19.1%
18:00 93° dry 7 — 17.8%
19:00 95° dry 7 — 16.8%
20:00 96° dry 9 — 16.1%
21:00 96° dry 11 — 15.8%
Thu Thursday 27 August
Good
Temp72°F
Raindry
Wind6 mph
Gusts—
Humidity42%
No recent rain
  • Check the sand at the base is powder-dry before climbing — if it clumps together, the rock is still wet inside
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 67° dry 6 — 51%
07:00 65° dry 6 — 56.9%
08:00 65° dry 7 — 56.9%
09:00 65° dry 7 — 50.5%
10:00 65° dry 7 — 48.7%
11:00 65° dry 7 — 49.7%
12:00 64° dry 7 — 50.4%
13:00 63° dry 7 — 52.2%
14:00 69° dry 7 — 43.2%
15:00 83° dry 6 — 27.8%
16:00 89° dry 4 — 20.5%
17:00 92° dry 6 — 17.3%
18:00 94° dry 8 — 15.2%
19:00 96° dry 10 — 14.3%
20:00 97° dry 11 — 13.9%
21:00 97° dry 11 — 14.4%
Fri Friday 28 August
Good
Temp72°F
Rain0.00 in
Wind6 mph
Gusts—
Humidity40%
No recent rain
  • Check the sand at the base is powder-dry before climbing — if it clumps together, the rock is still wet inside
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 71° dry 4 — 37.4%
07:00 67° dry 5 — 43.3%
08:00 66° dry 5 — 45.1%
09:00 65° dry 6 — 46.3%
10:00 64° dry 6 — 48.6%
11:00 64° dry 6 — 49.2%
12:00 64° dry 6 — 48.9%
13:00 64° dry 6 — 49%
14:00 69° dry 6 — 40.5%
15:00 82° dry 5 — 25.7%
16:00 88° dry 6 — 19.5%
17:00 91° dry 10 — 18%
18:00 93° dry 13 — 17.4%
Sat Saturday 29 August
Good
Temp68°F
Raindry
Wind4 mph
Gusts—
Humidity43%
No recent rain
  • 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 74° dry 2 — 34.9%
12:00 68° dry 4 — 43.4%
18:00 90° dry 10 — 20.2%
Sun Sunday 30 August
Poor
Temp63°F
Rain0.01 in
Wind5 mph
Gusts—
Humidity96%
0.3mm rain forecastDo not climb wet desert sandstone — holds break and cams pullHumidity 96% — 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 69° 0.01 in 5 — 51.9%
12:00 62° dry 5 — 95.8%
18:00 84° 0.01 in 7 — 36.8%
Mon Monday 31 August
Poor
Temp59°F
Rain0.03 in
Wind4 mph
Gusts—
Humidity94%
0.7mm rain forecastDo not climb wet desert sandstone — holds break and cams pullHumidity 94% — 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 67° 0.02 in 4 — 72.5%
12:00 58° dry 4 — 93.7%
18:00 79° dry 9 — 37.5%
Tue Tuesday 1 September
Poor
Temp59°F
Raindry
Wind3 mph
Gusts—
Humidity75%
Should be dryOnly 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
  • Elevated humidity for a desert crag — subsurface drying will be slower than expected
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
06:00 66° dry 2 — 45.3%
12:00 58° dry 3 — 75.1%
18:00 81° dry 9 — 20.7%
Wed Wednesday 2 September
Caution
Temp48°F
Raindry
Wind4 mph
Gusts—
Humidity50%
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 55° dry 4 — 40%
12:00 48° dry 4 — 49.7%
18:00 83° dry 4 — 8.3%
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'. The route Moonlight Buttress (5.8 C1 aid or 5.12c free) was famously free-soloed by Alex Honnold in 2008 and remains one of the most-photographed big walls in America. 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

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