I ordered up a copy of Red Rocks Climbing by Greg Barnes (nicely done!) on sale (thanks, Chris McN) to supplement my 1984 copy of The Red Rocks of Southern Nevada by Joanne Urioste. Glancing at the route descriptions and pics, I was immediately reminded of the articles I had seen over the years on various classic Red Rocks routes: Epinephrine, Dream of Wild Turkeys, Black Orpheus, ....
We set our sights much more modestly. Cindi had done almost no leading, wanted to do some, and I was reluctant to fully trust trad gear in sandstone because the sandstone I have climbed over the years in the Santa Cruz Mountains and on Mt. Diablo can be pretty soft. So we picked some very mellow routes. It had been raining some and blowing hard when I pulled into the campground on Monday the 8th of April looking for Cindi's van. Later in the day, it rained a bit more on us as we drove and hiked about checking out approaches. The wind blew hard, but no rain fell Monday night, helping (we hoped) dry and restore the rock. The guidebook(s) recommend not climbing after (heavy) rain because it makes the rock more fragile. We figured that the heavily trafficked, easier routes might be a little less weather sensitive.
Enough with the words - here are some pics.
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 Sunset from our campsite after a windy and sometimes rainy hiking Monday - 4/8/13. Credit: BMcC |
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 With the rain, one could sense that the desert was going to bloom soon like I had seen before in Death Valley and near Tucson. Credit: BMcC |
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 There are numerous tourist trails. Plenty of smiling tourists in the parking lots, too. Credit: BMcC |
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 Cool 'big walls'... Credit: BMcC |
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... with real climbs like:
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/The-Original-Route-Rainbow-Wall-Red-Rock-Photo-TR/t11933n.html
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 Approaching the Cat in the Hat on Mescalito in Pine Creek Canyon. Credit: BMcC |
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 Some trail-side rock. Credit: BMcC |
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 The Cat in the Hat is just around the left skyline of Mescalito. We hiked to the base of the route in the rain on the 8th and climbed it on the 9th. Credit: BMcC |
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 Cindi coming up to the 1st belay. Credit: BMcC |
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 Credit: BMcC |
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 Cindi leading the 2nd pitch. Credit: BMcC |
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 Credit: BMcC |
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 Cindi on the 4th pitch looking for her blue camalot. Credit: BMcC |
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 Steep, featured rock. Pretty solid, too. Credit: BMcC |
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 Almost up the last bit of the Cat in the Hat. Note our trail far below on the floor of Pine Creek Canyon. Credit: BMcC |
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 Nice rock. Having fun. Credit: BMcC |
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 Adjacent buttress. Credit: BMcC |
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 Fixed rap stations sped our descent. Credit: BMcC |
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 Home sweet motor homes away from home - Cindi's van conversion and my Honda Pilot with the back seats folded flat. It was so windy that I slept with the windows closed, happy to not be in a tent or bivy sack. Credit: BMcC |
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 Johnny Vegas below and the Solar Slab higher above. Credit: BMcC |
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 Several parties already on Johnny Vegas ahead of us - with another party waiting behind the trees. We had to wait a few minutes to start up this route. Lots of smiles talking with the other climbers. Credit: BMcC |
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 Cindi taking the sharp end on the 1st pitch of Johnny Vegas. Credit: BMcC |
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 Credit: BMcC |
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 Kind of featured. Credit: BMcC |
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 Cindi just over the roof on the 3rd pitch of Johnny Vegas. Credit: BMcC |
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 Credit: BMcC |
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 The Solar Slab Wall (6 more pitches of moderate climbing) above Johnny Vegas for climbers who started much earlier than we did. Credit: BMcC |
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 Old rap anchors - pins hanging out. We used the nearby (out of view) bolts and chains. Credit: BMcC |
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 Nice morning colors. Credit: BMcC |
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 Physical Graffiti follows the crack that splits the peak just left of the center of the pic. Not in my Supertopo guidebook and much easier that its 5.9 rating in my 1984 guidebook. Credit: BMcC |
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 My lead. Credit: BMcC |
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 Like our other routes, the rock seemed pretty solid for both climbing and protecting. Credit: BMcC |
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 Infectious enthusiasm! Credit: BMcC |
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 Fun corner. Cindi on the sharp end. Credit: BMcC |
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 Cindi cruising over the top. Credit: BMcC |
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 Our new friends Eric and Bob from Spokane. Eric (farther below) and I had been swapping stories at the spacious 1st belay, while Cindi and Bob were climbing. Credit: BMcC |
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 Bob and Cindi. Credit: BMcC |
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 Having fun, yet? Heck yeah! (pic courtesy of Cindi Squire with my camera). Credit: BMcC |
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 Eric and Bob. Credit: BMcC |
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 Desert flora. Credit: BMcC |
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 The blooming from the rain had begun. Credit: BMcC |
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 Credit: BMcC |
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 Credit: BMcC |
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 Credit: BMcC |
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 Fauna: wild burros - $500 fine if you're caught feeding them. Credit: BMcC |
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 Other fauna. Credit: BMcC |
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 Homeward bound - west of Brawley, driving towards the sunset before swinging north - 4/11/13. Credit: BMcC |
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It was great fun hanging and climbing with Cindi for a few days, and getting acquainted with Red Rocks. I'll be back.
