Red Rock Canyon, Nevada
May 4 -6, 2019
Crimson Chrysalis 5.8+, 1,000'
Jubilant Song 5.8, 800"
Frogland 5.8, 700'
Las Vegas is convenient for us since Laura’s
sister lives there. We have something big planned for most every month of the
year but May was open! Having only climbed in the world class destination one
time – see Epinephrine - I suggested we get out to Red Rock for some long multi
pitch climbing. After asking around I put together a list of climbs that suited
us as well as some alternates if we happened to run in to crowds at the
beginning of any of our intended climbs. All were classics, and all were fairly
easy. This would be a trip full of climbing and we weren’t overly pressed to
push our limits, but rather decided to hit the best climbs. We arrived in Las
Vegas Friday night and had dinner with Annie and Marvin before heading home and
crashing for a few hours of sleep.
Out the door at 7 am, we made the short drive to Red Rock
and drove around the loop to our parking space for the Juniper Canyon approach
to one of the most popular climbs in the area, Crimson Chrysalis. The hike was
steep and we moved quickly fearing the group of three behind us was headed for
the same route. Crimson Chrysalis is 9 pitches long and Laura and I would swap
leads for parts of the route hoping to move a little faster. We certainly did
not want to get in queue behind a group of three. When we arrived at the base
of the route, just an hour after leaving the car, we were surprised to see the
entire climb open!
Whoa, are we at the right spot? Anyways, we geared up and
got on the wall at about 9:30 am. The first pitch of the climb went smoothly
and as I warmed up the climbing became enjoyable. Up a crack for the first
pitches and then thru a great chimney section, we reached a good ledge and what
marked the upper portions of the climb. There were two people below us, an Austrian
and a Swiss guy, here only to climb the world famous Red Rock and then on to El
Capitan in Yosemite. They asked how many more pitches and Laura informed them
five more! They were surprised but continued to follow us. The final five
pitches of the climb were mostly bolted and not particularly excellent
climbing. It felt like leading a bunch of sport routes at the crag and Laura
and I were a bit disappointed with the upper part of the wall. Anyways, we
reached the top of the climb at 2:30 pm and proceeded to rappel the route,
barely making it to the rap stations with our 70 meter rope. 9 rappels and two
hours later we were on the ground. We chatted with the Europeans and then
headed out to the car finishing the day at 5 pm. We had big plans for tomorrow and
hoped the climbing would be better than the supposed best moderate route at red
rock. |
| Jubilant Song starts in the leftmost vertical crack and follows it to the summit traversing the huge roofs seen 1/3 and 1/2 way up. |
Windy peak is a bit more remote and more our
style. We chose a route called Jubilant Song, 8 pitches and roughly 800’ of
climbing, every pitch at 5.8 or so. Driving out, we knew we were in for a big
day. We started hiking at 7:45 am and reached the base of the route an hour and
a half later, guessing we had already gained 2000‘ of elevation or so just to
get to the climb! Tired, we rested in the shade for a few minutes and geared
up. We planned to swap leads again today but I would take the roof traverses on
thin protection. Pitch 1 climbed to a small ledge where I found a comfy spot to
sit and some shade under a tree. 
Laura followed quickly and took the lead on the
next section of the climb. She linked pitches 2 and 3 together running the rope
out the entire 70 meters. I was comfy in the shade and happy to have her take
that section of the climb knowing we would probably be in the sun the rest of
the day. Reaching Laura at the top of pitch 3, I lead off into the crux pitch
under a huge roof. Traversing right and placing cams and stoppers where I
could, I traversed right on insecure footholds knowing that if I fell I’d be
going for a wild ride! Slowly moving across under the roof, I linked up the
next pitch as well, creating massive rope drag but avoiding a scary belay off
of loose blocks. I found a tree and some good cam placements and built a solid
anchor. Laura followed and joined me at the base of the final gulley leading to
the summit. We snacked on some salami and goldfish and Laura took off up the
wall once again. 
Today’s hike was short and only took us about a
half hour to the base of Frogland Buttress. We were once again very surprised
to be the only ones on the wall for the first couple of pitches. I asked Laura
if she wanted the first lead but she insisted I take it since it looked hard to
her and she warms up slowly. So on I went up about 100’ on an excellent flake
and crack system to a ledge with a tree and a bit of shade. I belayed Laura as
she cruised through the fun climbing up to the first belay. I once again asked if she wanted to lead on
the second pitch but she insisted I take it for one more and she would go first
on the third. It heads up a right angling crack system with easy climbing to a
wider chimney and finally a detached flake that you can climb between. Since
the climbing was relatively easy, I chose to place less gear and run out the
rope to prevent drag. Stopping once again at a nice ledge, I belayed
Laura up to me. We stopped here for a quick snack and switched the backpack to
me. Laura lead the third pitch up a secure corner. She did a great job and is
getting faster and has far more confidence than just last year. Her cam placements
were all excellent and she quickly built a solid anchor to belay me from. It
was up to me to finish the harder climbing. First was an exciting thin crack
with very little protection possibilities. It angled up and right and then
traversed back to the left across under a roof. The climbing here was very
insecure and was on tiny edges and smooth slab rock. Working left, I reached
out and was relieved to grab onto the arête and climb above the balancy
traverse, once again knowing that if I fell here I would be going for a wild
ride! 
The second of the upper crux pitches was the
chockstone pitch with twin cracks. This was my favorite of the climb! It lead
up twin parallel cracks and under a huge chockstone. I chose to belay past the
standard spot and moved around a small overhang to the base of the upper
gulley. Laura quickly followed but said she was happy that I lead those pitches
as she would not have been able to – something I highly doubt! The last rope
length to the top was Laura’s and she cruised to the top quickly.
I followed and at 1 pm we finishing off what I consider
the best 5.8 I have ever climbed. Every pitch was amazing! We hiked off the
summit and down the loose gullies, reaching the car at 2:15pm. Making the short
drive back to Laura’s sisters house, we were back in the pool at 4 pm.
Afterward we went to an good Italian dinner and watched some playoff hockey!
Three great routes in three days! These are the weekends you
remember!
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