2020 Festival Highlights
A live AND virtual celebration was held in 2020 with athletes from around the globe participating in virtual panels and sharing their wisdom with all who joined. The In-person portion was still able to feature some of the Fest highlights such as the rodeo games and clinics! COVID may have required smaller crowds but didn't dampen our spirit of celebrating Joe's Valley, its neighboring communities, and the climbers who come to appreciate it!
2019 Festival Highlights: Sunday, September 29, 2019
The final day of the 5th Annual Fest started out with Coffee from Cup of Joe's and delicious donuts from Stewart's Market in Castle Dale. The SLCA and Access Fund hosted a town clean-up that was a huge success - we filled up the entire back of the Senior Citizen Bus. Thank you so much to all the people who came out to volunteer, and for the Senior Citizen Center for loaning us the buses. There's some more climbing photos thrown in, because no one can get enough of Joe's Valley climbing photos! Thank you to all of our amazing photographers. Photos are by Spenser Tang-Smith, Josh Ruchty, Charlie Kessner & Victoria Chiu.
2019 Festival Highlights: Saturday, September 28, 2019
Saturday, what a day! Got the day started off right with breakfast burritos provided by Lamy's Mexican in Huntington, UT and a sunrise yoga session taught by Courtney Howard. Then participants got to sample new shoes from the day from leading brands like LaSportiva, SCARPA, Black Diamond, and Mad Rock. During the day, there were clinics for all ranging from a Gym-to-Crag taught by Lizzy Ellison to Climbing Photography with Josh Ruchty to Climbing Confidence with Isaac Caldiero. Participants returned to the Rec Center in the evening for a Uinta Brewing Happy Hour, Climber Games...and our now-infamous Drawing for Prizes from our generous sponsors! There was also another Petzl Night Bouldering session, but we'll save those photos for Sunday. :) Photos are by Spenser Tang-Smith, Josh Ruchty, Charlie Kessner, Jon Davidson, Victoria Chiu & Roman Crawford.
2019 Festival Highlights: Friday, September 27, 2019
Things really picked up on the Friday of the Fest! This was the first year we introduced a Geology Tour of Joe's Valley, something we're sure to bring back next year. There was even more jerky made at the Makin' Beef Jerky clinic, and we started a new tradition: the Rodeo Games Clinics, where participants can learn to lasso or techniques for riding a steer, or have the chance to ride a horse. The Rhino Skin Rodeo Games were bigger than ever, and we closed out the evening with stories of Joe's Valley Legends & Lore and a Petzl Night Bouldering session! Photos are by Spenser Tang-Smith, Josh Ruchty, Charlie Kessner, Jon Davidson, & Victoria Chiu.
2019 Festival Highlights: Thursday, September 26, 2019
What a year! Another grim forecast that turned into nearly-perfect weather. We were able to have such an incredible Festival this year, we are breaking up the photos by day. The Fest kicked off a day earlier to fit in a Meet & Greet with American Ninja Warrior Champion Isaac Caldiero. HUGE thanks to b4Adventure for donating the ninja lines, slack lines and zip line; Magnuson Lumber for donating the supplies, and the City of Castle Dale employees who made it happen!! Photos are by Spenser Tang-Smith, Charlie Kessner & Jon Davidson. Enjoy!!
2018 Festival Highlights
The 4th Annual Joe's Valley Festival was a wild ride of ups-and-downs! With a grim weather forecast, we remained hopeful but made indoor contingency plans. The Fest was lucky enough to get a window of great weather for few incredible days of fun in the ever-gorgeous Joe's Valley.
2017 Festival Highlights
It just keeps getting better! To our surprise, we sold out the amount of tickets we allotted for this year! We doubled attendance and sponsorship, it was the most fun we've had yet. Plans for 2018 are in full swing and dates are set for October 5-7, 2017 to ensure the best fest weather possible. For updates on the next Fest, follow us on Instagram & Facebook or click here to sign up for our mailing list. [All photos by The RV Project]
2016 Festival Highlights
Year 2 for the Joe's Valley Bouldering Festival was a great sequel. Attendance reached 100, and the weather was fantastic. The clinic offerings were expanded, and the community center installed a salmon ladder to play on. Poor Vikki nearly collapsed from exhaustion due to the seemingly endless supply of raffle prizes to give away, but nearly everyone ended up with a new pad (thanks again, sponsors!), so it was for the best.
With the festival gaining momentum, we started planning for 2017 before the last EZ-Up was down. Year 3 is poised to be better than ever, so get yer tickets now if ya ain't yeller!
With the festival gaining momentum, we started planning for 2017 before the last EZ-Up was down. Year 3 is poised to be better than ever, so get yer tickets now if ya ain't yeller!
2015 Festival Highlights
We won't lie, the first fest was nearly a disaster! The forecast for the week didn't get above 40°F. A small band of hardened, gritty climbers braved the freezing desert, and were greeted by a warm welcome from our gracious hosts in Emery County. The Cowboy Games and a massive Thanksgiving potluck were the highlights, and the smiles on everyone's faces told us we'd have to plan it bigger and better (and earlier!) for 2016.