Climbing in Red Rocks - day 1 of 3
"Ding ding ding!" That was the sound that greeted me when I got off the airplane. I scanned the terminal, and there it was, rolls and rolls of slot machine lined up right in the middle of the hall. This was how I know I was indeed in Vegas.
One and half hour later, I was standing right next to my rental car at Red Rocks, with a trunk full of shiny metal things, looking at the massive amount of rock in front of me and remembering that Megan had both of my Red Rocks guidebooks. Hmmm... finding the Panty Wall, where I was suppose to meet up with the rest of the gang, would be a challenge. I grabbed my shoes, my harness, and my camera. My plan was to wander around aimlessly, ask random strangers for directions, and if I failed to find anyone, I'd boulder around for a bit and have a good time. But luck was on my side, just as I was walking down the trail, I met the early departers Jason, Gil, and Oscar. They pointed me to the right direction, and soon after I was united with the rest of the Vegas posse.
Unfortunately, the Vegas posse was leaving to go slacklining. Nooooooooo!!! James, Reed, and Doug took pity on me and decided to stay and climb some more. We moved to the Magic Bus, where we found three other parties already there, some leading, some toproping, all have ropes up here and there and everywhere. After a bit of diplomacy, James roped up to lead what he thought was Blonde Dwarf, 5.10 (but after checking my guidebook when I got home, I believe the route we did was actually the 5.9 Electric Koolaid to the left of Blonde Dwarf). James made short work of Electric Koolaid, and Doug and Reed decided to climb it on toprope.
I wanted to stay on lead as much as I could, so I roped up for Ken Queasy (5.8). The first bolt is a bit high off the deck, so James placed a green Camalot as my first piece. After clipping the first bolt, the moves became fairly easy, I was able to claim an onsight.
Now Doug was leading Neon Sunset (5.8), so I decided to lead Electric Koolaid. The first bolt was a bit high also, but the moves getting there were easy enough so it wasn't too bad. Since Doug and Reed left the draws up there, I had an easier time climbing it. The last bolt on this route was a bit tricky to clip, the handholds were not huge like all the previous bolts... until one climbs just a bit higher and found this huge jug for the left hand. I made it to the anchor without too much trouble.
Doug finished leading Neon Sunset now and getting ready to take off, the sun was low on the horizon, but I decided to do a quick lead on Neon Sunset. It was a nice route, pretty closely bolted, fairly easy for its grade. I rap off Neon Sunset just as the last ray of the sun left the Magic Bus, a fitting route to end the day.
One and half hour later, I was standing right next to my rental car at Red Rocks, with a trunk full of shiny metal things, looking at the massive amount of rock in front of me and remembering that Megan had both of my Red Rocks guidebooks. Hmmm... finding the Panty Wall, where I was suppose to meet up with the rest of the gang, would be a challenge. I grabbed my shoes, my harness, and my camera. My plan was to wander around aimlessly, ask random strangers for directions, and if I failed to find anyone, I'd boulder around for a bit and have a good time. But luck was on my side, just as I was walking down the trail, I met the early departers Jason, Gil, and Oscar. They pointed me to the right direction, and soon after I was united with the rest of the Vegas posse.
Unfortunately, the Vegas posse was leaving to go slacklining. Nooooooooo!!! James, Reed, and Doug took pity on me and decided to stay and climb some more. We moved to the Magic Bus, where we found three other parties already there, some leading, some toproping, all have ropes up here and there and everywhere. After a bit of diplomacy, James roped up to lead what he thought was Blonde Dwarf, 5.10 (but after checking my guidebook when I got home, I believe the route we did was actually the 5.9 Electric Koolaid to the left of Blonde Dwarf). James made short work of Electric Koolaid, and Doug and Reed decided to climb it on toprope.
I wanted to stay on lead as much as I could, so I roped up for Ken Queasy (5.8). The first bolt is a bit high off the deck, so James placed a green Camalot as my first piece. After clipping the first bolt, the moves became fairly easy, I was able to claim an onsight.
Now Doug was leading Neon Sunset (5.8), so I decided to lead Electric Koolaid. The first bolt was a bit high also, but the moves getting there were easy enough so it wasn't too bad. Since Doug and Reed left the draws up there, I had an easier time climbing it. The last bolt on this route was a bit tricky to clip, the handholds were not huge like all the previous bolts... until one climbs just a bit higher and found this huge jug for the left hand. I made it to the anchor without too much trouble.
Doug finished leading Neon Sunset now and getting ready to take off, the sun was low on the horizon, but I decided to do a quick lead on Neon Sunset. It was a nice route, pretty closely bolted, fairly easy for its grade. I rap off Neon Sunset just as the last ray of the sun left the Magic Bus, a fitting route to end the day.
posted by Boer @ 4/16/2005
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