Red Rocks

[mathieu]

I need route recommendations to Red Rocks for anybody that has been. Looking at 2 or 3 days of climbing. Maybe day one would be single pitch sport/trad then on day 2 some easy moderate (read <5. multipitch trad route(s).
Please don't say epinepherine.

Thanks

Mathieu

[Fred]

your one day fix for sport is definitely the "Black Corridor" area. And don't forget, the grades are soft so don't hesitate to try harder routes.

[martha]

I was leading 5.10's there with ease Mat, so for sure jump on the harder stuff. The grades are soft.

try 'Frogland 5.8' for a nice multi pitch. or perhaps 'Solar Slab 5.6'

[granite_grrl]

what grade of single pitch stuff? I remember doing the Great Red Book, 2 pitch 5.8 (soft), which is close to the sport climbing (walked through the Black Corridor on the way back, hoped on a few sport routes). Another good one is Dark Shadows (3 pitch - but can bail off at any pitch, 5.8, but first two pitches easier). While its a shorter route the approch is longer.

For longer, multipitch there's Cat in the Hat (5.6, 5 or 6 pitches, can be very busy). I've always wanted to do Solar Slab, but it's always been too warm while I'm there. I've also done Group Therapy (kinda R rated, but typically on easier ground) and Tunnel Vison (cool route, actually goes through a tunnel) on Angel Food wall. Both are ~700', and have the same decent (walk off, not too bad to get to the base, but I'd rather bring every thing up with us).

I've also heard Olive Oil and Frogland are excellent, though I've never been on either.

When you heading down? My boyfriend and I are making wedding plans right now and I we think we're heading down at the end of March.

[Shawn B]

Au contraire...I find grades to be pretty consistent. The climbing is not as technical as the climbing here but the routes are pretty steep. That isn't saying that there isn't the odd shorter sport route that is graded soft (Magic Bus comes to mind). I find most of the longer trad routes graded accurately. I'm sure they are soft by Yosemite comparison but where isn't? If you are there only a few days, don't waste your time spirt climbing. The long moderates are the attraction in RR. Dark Shadows is superb although most only do the first 4 pitches and you don't top out. Also it doesn't get sun so might be chilly this time of year. Can be done in 2 pitches. Climb Brass Wall on the way out for some nice 1 pitch trad moderates. Cat in the Hat is ok and will be sunny. 2 of the 5 or 6 pitches are nice. Busy. Olive Oil is nice. Geronimo is pretty good too and raps aren't as fierce as they say in the guidebook. Crimson Cryssalis is obviously superb. Be solid on 5.10 if you are going to attempt this though. It is intimidating and sustained and you have to climb fast. Last time we went in March and I wasn't in shape and I bailed off it. Swaping pitches would be a good idea. Frogland is excellent too and goes to the top of Whiskey Peak. I proposed to Denise after toping out on this route. Don't rely on bolted anchors being there if they are listed in guidebook but there are lots of nice ledges and options. Low and up left arete without gear is easier at crux than high and moderately run out. High is a finger traverse with no feet. Take a topo of the route with you for route finding. Johnny Vegas is great too. Get there real early and join JV with Solar Slab above for a super long 5.6 in the sun. If you want more in depth beta about routes, potential problems, etc. just PM me. Have fun.

[mathieu]

Is frogland a good option at this time of year? How are the temps now, is a shaddy climb a bad idea?

UP to now i'm thinking one of the following

Frogland
What is the pitch break down, Stacey doesn't lead over 5.6 so if its possible we would swap leads.

Cat in the hat
HOpefully its not busy

JV with Solar slab
How lont is the JV solar slab link up?


For those what is the rope/descent situation. My options are 70 m single or 2X60 doubles.

Thanks
Mathieu

[john]

Hey Matt,

I have done those climbs, I recommed all of them but JV to solar slabs is the nicest and most relaxed of the 3 bring 2 ropes since it will cut down on the number of rappels if you do it to the very top I by the guidebook way you will get 14 pitches and 700ft of easy scramble or so. You could easily link a bunch of that up. Solar slab will be warm and in the sun (although I have never been cold in vegas even in december or january). You can rap the route or walk off (never walked off).

If you do frog land don't plan on rapping the route, walk off. The descent while not bad is a pain of prickly bushes and some minor scramble/ downclimbing I actuall did one short rap when we got off track I believe.

As for crowds, it is never an issue if you get up early, pack your bag the nite before and be at the gate a couple minutes before it opens and you will have any route you want to yourself, no question.

[granite_grrl]

For those what is the rope/descent situation. My options are 70 m single or 2X60 doubles.

aye, do the doubles for sure. Will make things way easier to get off of stuff.

Cat in the Hat - try to get there early, this was my first climb ever done in RR, we got there late (we were the 2nd last people to get off it that day), but I didn't like the number of people climbing over us. Was the first (and thankfully only) time I've had a rope chucked down on my head....fortunally I was only seconding that pitch.

[Shawn B]

Ditto the doubles. JS to SS will be 11 pitches I think. Don't walk off SS. I guess it is a nightmare. Rap from top of P7. Once back to large terrace, rap SS Gully with one rope. Frogland is at the front of the canyon. I think you might get some morning sun. Wouldn't advise swaping pitches with a 5.6 leader. Gear belays are req'd and I don't think any pitch except last is <5.7...and it is 5.4 with no/little gear. Didn't find walkoff bad except we walked to low to get our packs and had to hike back up. Cat in the Hat would swap pitches well. Geronimo might be a good option to swap pitches too. It is a long drive to get to Frogland btw. And the approaches are longer than they look and sometimes tricky to find your intended route. Wandering around in the wash isn't uncommon and there are paths everywhere for a reason. Scope the approach to Cat in the Hat the day before if you can so you can pass all the others who are wandering around.

[martha]

The approach to Frogland sucks if it has been a wet year as the gully will have water in it. Last year when I was there it poured rain on us in a surprise storm that hit us on the top of the 6th pitch of Epinephrine and we had to wade through a flash flood in that gully on the way out. It was interesting to say the least. Waist high and was rising fast in places for short little me.

The approach if I remember is about 45ish minutes, and quite a nice walk. Wear socks over your ankles though as the little cacti bite back!

[mathieu]

Well we had a fantastic trip. Vegas is out of this world. The funny thing is that it rained on the first day we were wanting to climb. First rain in 3 months, go figure. We spent the next day at Panty wall and Fish and Chips (something like that). Panty Arete is the nicest line at that wall, don't miss it! The next day we were all geared up to do Tunnel Vision. A few route finding problems combined with no topo or guidebook found us rapping after 2.5 pitches. Lesson learned during this trip:

1) BRING THE GUIDEBOOK AND TOPO.
2) AVOID ROUTES THAT SAY "Pitch 1 climb chimney, Pitch 2 climb chimney, Pitch 3 climb more of the same narrowing chimney" Chimney suck!!
3) If a route is in the sun during the morning it doesn't mean its going to be in the sun in the aft
4) DON"T DO A MULTI PITCH ROUTE WHEN YOU HAVE TO BE BACK IN VEGAS BY 5PM

great time

Later

Mathieu

[DanR]

Sounds like a fun trip Matt!
Must be nice to climb in warm sun this time of year. Hope you didn't do the vegas marriage thing?
your mamma warned me about this

[granite_grrl]

Hope you didn't do the vegas marriage thing?

Guess what I'm doing when I head there next week!

[The Teth]

Getting maried in Vegas is too cheasy. Get maried in Reno like I did.

The Teth

[granite_grrl]

Getting maried in Vegas is too cheasy. Get maried in Reno like I did.

The Teth

Its only as cheesy as you make it, nobody forces you to get married by Elvis .

We tried to get a Red Rocks wedding, but that fell through. We're doing it at a lovely garden setting instead. And with the climbing just outside the city it makes it a convienent location

[martha]

Man, if Fred and I had gotten married in Vegas instead of on Dover I think Elvis would have done it for sure...

haha, that would have been great!

Best of luck to you Granite_grrl! married life is awesome!

[The Teth]

I was just kidding about Vagas being too cheesy, like Reno is any better. For a trad climber Vagas is a perfectly legitimate place to get married. As boulderers, my wife and I chose Reno as it is only half an hour from Tahoe, and Tahoe is a good stopping place when travelling from Yosemite to Bishop before the passes open.

We just got married by a government official at the Department of Marriage. (Yes, they have a government department for it in Nevada.) We were in and out in under 20 minutes. I did enjoy the ceremony though. It was vary tasteful.

Getting married in Nevada is definitely the way to go. Spend all your money on the climbing trip rather than the wedding. I think our wedding cost us about $115 US. We then discovered that friends and relatives give you money when you get married, so our climbing trip was heavily subsidized by the Wedding.

Enjoy your wedding, your honeymoon, and most of all enjoy the climbing.

Teth

[granite_grrl]

Getting married in Nevada is definitely the way to go. Spend all your money on the climbing trip rather than the wedding. I think our wedding cost us about $115 US. We then discovered that friends and relatives give you money when you get married, so our climbing trip was heavily subsidized by the Wedding.

Enjoy your wedding, your honeymoon, and most of all enjoy the climbing.

Teth

Gah, too late! Somehow this thing exploded from inviting parents to entire immediate families, so now we've got 13 guests (lucky!). The kicker though is that our families actually want to do stuff with us....while we want to enjoy the rock there!

This whole thing is kinda stressful, finding a place for the wedding, finding a hotel room, finding a place to eat dinner after (still not done, we're about ready to give up and just go to a buffet in one of the fancier casinos instead). The flip side is that we're only having a few weeks of stress with this whole thing rather than months and months .

The sad thing is that my boyfriend isn't letting me get overly excited about the rock. He's just moping around the house with his ice tools and wondering if there would be any ice left up on Mt. Charelston! Is this the end of winter trips to the desert? I have a feeling we'll be trading Hueco for Oaury next year

ughhhhhhhhhhhh.......you better be right about married life cara!!!!!

[The Teth]

You invited family to your wedding? That was your first mistake. There is probably still ice around Tahoe. Elope to Reno. Do it now! There is a good stake house in North Tahoe. See if you can rent a cabin at Rustic Cabins. Its cheep. You just need to find someone to witness and take pictures. Make sure they pay their own way, and they buy you diner after. Weddings can be great! You just need to know how to work it.

Teth