Wedding Day-After Session | Rock Climbing in Moab
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Climbing Ancient Art in Moab, Utah | Adventure Wedding Day-After Session
This wedding adventure session with our buddies Devyn and Adam was such a dream come true for me!! We first climbed this tower a couples of years ago and I’ve always thought it was one of the most aesthetic and iconic towers in the Moab area. It’s also not a very long route, so it’s great for this kind of fun jaunt! But I do want to mention before going any farther, this is not easy. If you don’t have experience climbing in the desert, specifically climbing choosy sandy chimneys, I do not reccomend doing this one unless you go with an experienced desert climber!! The rating is classic Moab sandbaggery :) ANYWAYS, when Devyn told me she wanted to climb a tower with a long veil on after their Moab wedding, I was IN. We’ve climbed all over Moab and Indian Creek with these two, so celebrating their marriage and photographing their first climb together as husband and wife just felt right! We went through quite a few options, but just kept coming back to Ancient Art because it’s so iconic and aesthetic. Devyn wore an adorable white jumpsuit (that somehow didn’t even get that dirty??) and I actually let her borrow my own wedding veil because it was cheap and didn’t really matter if it got ruined (only one rip…I’d say that’s pretty impressive!!). I just have to add, imagine climbing a CHIMNEY with a 10 foot veil on. She’s such a badass bride!
We started the day with a sunrise photo session in the valley nearby in their real wedding clothes, and it was pretty dang cold so we actually hung out in the van for a bit while we waited for it to get warmer outside! Adam made us world-class avocado toast, and we snuggled their new puppy Bridger (if you’re a desert climber, you probably get the name reference!) until it got warm enough to send without freezing our fingers off in the shady chimney. We had so much fun climbing this with them!! It was pretty difficult chimney climbing with my pack on considering I had thousands of dollars worth of camera gear IN the pack, but I figured it was easier than a veil and Devyn floated it before me! We got to the party ledge and Callen hung back to shoot drone photos as they summited, and I chilled at the final anchor before the “sidewalk” which is actually just a narrow strip of sandstone with 400 foot drops on both sides! Devyn lead the second pitch to the sidewalk and made it look easy, and then Adam hopped on lead for the corkscrew summit! This top out is honestly so scary, you climbed around the tiny corkscrew, clip the rats’ nest anchor thats just slung around the choss top, climb ABOVE the anchor (seriously, a summit whipper on this thing is what nightmares are made of, I’ve never heard of anyone taking that fall), and then stand up on a dinner plate size rock with 400+ foot drops in every direction! It’s pretty dang heady, no matter how skilled you are at climbing. After Adam topped out, he belayed Devyn up to him and Cal got some heroic drone footy. Her veil looked so heroic blowing in the wind! After a few celebratory photos, Callen joined us on top and we all rapped to the base! It was such a fun mission and I’m so psyched we got to document their first adventure of their marriage!
If you’re interested in trying climbing in Moab, we highly reccomend going with a local guide such as Moab Desert Adventures! They can work with all skill levels, whether you’ve never climbed before or you’re comfortable climbing locally but don’t know how to get involved in the desert scene!
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The Hearnes Adventure Photography is run by Abbi and Callen Hearne, a husband & wife wedding photography team with an emphasis on adventure. Unless stated otherwise, all blog and social media posts are written from the perspective of Abbi! Our photography style is adventurous, full of stoke, and centered around telling a true story. We are nomadic wedding photographers living on the road, which allows us to photograph your adventures anywhere in the world. We especially love the sierra mountains in California, southwestern desert in Utah, and the glacial landscape of Alaska. We have updated passports and are ready to travel anywhere your love takes you!
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