Climbing Forecast › Castle Valley › The Priest

CASTLE VALLEY · DESERT SANDSTONE

The Priest weather & climbing conditions

Poor — wet, too windy or closed

Right now

Temp44°F
Wind3 mph
Gusts4 mph
Humidity96.5%
Rain 48hdry
Last rain64h ago

Assessment

1.8mm rain forecast
Do not climb wet desert sandstone — holds break and cams pull

7-day forecast

Scroll through each day — hourly detail is shown inline.

Today Sunday 25 October
Poor
Temp54°F
Rain0.07 in
Wind4 mph
Gusts4 mph
Humidity64%
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° 0.04 in 2 — 88.9%
07:00 43° 0.00 in 3 — 90.3%
08:00 44° dry 3 — 87.2%
09:00 47° dry 5 — 84.8%
10:00 49° dry 3 — 80.9%
11:00 52° 0.01 in 4 — 72.7%
12:00 52° 0.01 in 3 — 70.7%
13:00 54° 0.01 in 3 — 65.3%
14:00 57° 0.00 in 6 — 55.3%
15:00 57° dry 7 — 53%
16:00 57° dry 6 — 53.5%
17:00 56° dry 4 — 56.8%
18:00 53° dry 2 — 71.2%
19:00 51° dry 3 — 73.2%
20:00 49° dry 2 — 75.1%
21:00 48° dry 2 — 74.7%
Mon Monday 26 October
Poor
Temp54°F
Raindry
Wind4 mph
Gusts—
Humidity61%
Should be dryOnly 24h 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 42° dry 2 — 92.7%
07:00 41° dry 2 — 94.8%
08:00 40° dry 2 — 95.6%
09:00 44° dry 4 — 84.8%
10:00 48° dry 3 — 74.6%
11:00 52° dry 4 — 67.9%
12:00 54° dry 4 — 60.3%
13:00 55° dry 4 — 58%
14:00 56° dry 5 — 56.8%
15:00 57° dry 4 — 55.5%
16:00 58° dry 3 — 53.3%
17:00 58° dry 3 — 53.5%
18:00 55° dry 2 — 67.7%
19:00 52° dry 2 — 71.9%
20:00 49° dry 3 — 77.1%
21:00 48° dry 2 — 75.5%
Tue Tuesday 27 October
Caution
Temp57°F
Raindry
Wind6 mph
Gusts—
Humidity53%
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 41° dry 6 — 89.4%
07:00 41° dry 5 — 88.5%
08:00 41° dry 5 — 86.6%
09:00 46° dry 6 — 75.7%
10:00 50° dry 6 — 66.5%
11:00 54° dry 4 — 58.7%
12:00 56° dry 5 — 54.6%
13:00 59° dry 5 — 52.6%
14:00 61° dry 7 — 47.2%
15:00 62° dry 8 — 44.5%
16:00 63° dry 9 — 44.1%
17:00 62° dry 7 — 45.2%
18:00 58° dry 4 — 57.9%
Wed Wednesday 28 October
Caution
Temp57°F
Raindry
Wind3 mph
Gusts—
Humidity51%
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 42° dry 2 — 75.9%
12:00 58° dry 3 — 50.5%
18:00 59° dry 1 — 59.3%
Thu Thursday 29 October
Good
Temp57°F
Raindry
Wind4 mph
Gusts—
Humidity47%
Should be dry
  • 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 43° dry 2 — 66.1%
12:00 58° dry 4 — 46.8%
18:00 58° dry 1 — 65.8%
Fri Friday 30 October
Good
Temp55°F
Rain0.00 in
Wind4 mph
Gusts—
Humidity58%
Should be dry
  • 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 46° dry 2 — 73.2%
12:00 55° dry 4 — 58.1%
18:00 55° dry 9 — 69.9%
Sat Saturday 31 October
Poor
Temp54°F
Rain0.03 in
Wind2 mph
Gusts—
Humidity75%
0.7mm 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 47° 0.01 in 1 — 80%
12:00 54° 0.01 in 2 — 75.3%
18:00 56° 0.01 in 4 — 65.2%
Sun Sunday 1 November
Poor
Temp50°F
Rain0.1 in
Wind5 mph
Gusts—
Humidity82%
3.2mm 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
  • Elevated humidity for a desert crag — subsurface drying will be slower than expected
Time °F Rain Wind (mph) Gust Hum
11:00 51° 0.05 in 5 — 81.9%
17:00 45° 0.01 in 0 — 86%

About The Priest

The Priest is a freestanding Wingate tower on the opposite side of The Rectory from Castleton — from many angles the odd geometry does look like a robed figure. Offwidth technique required. Same Wingate 48h rule and Moenkopi approach as the rest of Castle Valley.

Region
Castle Valley
Rock type
Desert sandstone
Aspect
mixed-facing
Altitude
6168 ft
Exposure
high
Seepage
very-low

Other crags in this region

Castleton TowerParriot MesaSister SuperiorThe Rectory