Eric T Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 (edited) Trip: Red Rocks, Epinephrine, Triassic Sands, Frogland, - Cat in the Hat, Elephants Perch, F. Becky Returns Date: 10/21/2012 Trip Report: Epinephrine a Desert Classic Grade IV, 5.9 2240’ On Sunday October 21st Brooke and I climbed Epinephrine at Red Rocks, Nevada. I found a hand scribbled note on the bulletin board at the campground looking for a partner and fired off a text. She said she'd be back after dark and we could talk then. Brooke pulled up and pulled a bottle of white wine out of her trunk for us to share over our introductions. She suggested Epinephrine and I couldn't say no, I've wanted to get on Epi for years. We started gear layout right there in the dark and then drove out to Black Velvet Trail Head to poach some sleep and get a jump on the crowds. A truck woke us up at 4:30 in the am; it was another team arriving for the climb. We woke, ate and started after them as another team pulled up. At the base we were third in line and day was breaking allowing Brook and me to see each other for the first time. 7am, we soloed the ramp to climbers right and came up to the second belay right behind the second team. I followed their second out and got to the third belay with him where they let us pass. The first team was way ahead of us and now we had room to breathe and I really got to enjoy the chimney pitches. Brooke and I were on top of Black tower with the chimneys behind us at 11:00. I was stoked and thrilled with the spectacular position of the rest of the route above us. We could see down across Black Velvet Wall with all its classics and a handful of teams enjoying them. I led out toward the Elephants Trunk and tried to take in each move as it passed. The climbing above the tower is a lot like other Red Rocks routes and we were cruising it. I came up to the last belay on the exit ramp at 2:45pm and was so stoked I texted Shaun “Verticolorful” to share my joy. We put the rope away for the exit ramp and it was easy going over a very exposed void. We changed out of our climbing shoes and the mutual smiles erupted into laughter. I kept asking Brooke “Did that just happen”? We went to the top of the mountain and started following the large and plentiful cairns on the ridge top. We made it back to the car at 5:50pm and still had an hour of light. We celebrated with shots of Black Velvet, a perfect end to a perfect day. We had just popped off Epinephrine within 24 hours of meeting each other. We laughed and wondered what our next climb would be….Thanks Brooke! My next partner was a Finnish climber named Tukee and he was mustard. We did Triassic sands and loved it. The second pitch is one of the finest pitches I’ve done at Red Rocks. I then led Froglands first five pitches in one simu block, one more pitch took us to the top in 50 minutes. Thanks Tukee! Dina Cline is a Sun Valley Climber who I met in The Wind River Range this June on Wolf's Head. In September Dina, Fred Becky (89) and I went into the Elephant's Perch to climb the Mountaineers Route. This was Fred’s first time back since he FA’ed the Perch. Hanging out with him was a hoot, everyone either knew him or thought he was my Gramps…lol Fred’s bronchitis started bothering him at elevation so he settled with watching us climb. Last week Dina her Grandfather, a known Jackson Hole local, Roland Fleck, his friend a known Vegas climber Andrew Fulton and I climbed Cat in the Hat a classic 5.6 at Red Rocks. I was thrilled to meet Roland and see him climb at 78, truly a class act. Thanks Dina, Rowland, Andrew and Fred. My friends Chris Cox and Tad and Whitney (Tadney) will be coming in soon to climb in Red Rocks and the hits will continue. Looking down the fourth pitch of Epi looking up the fifth pitch Looking down the sixth pitch Looking down the elephants trunk Looking across Black Velvet Wall Brooke playing for the camera 1500 feet off the wash Looking down the exit ramps on Epi Looking up the exit ramp on Epi Me following the second pitch of Triassic Sands Me following the third pitch of Triassic Sands So I get to this belay stance and Tukee asks me if "I got the memo"? I'm like "what memo?" He's says "On the helmet!" lol Me leading out on Frogland Fred Becky returns to The Elephant's Perch 89yo Fred behind the wheel.... Roland Fleck on Cat in the Hat... Dina Cline on Cat in the Hat Dina Cline and her Grandfather Roland Fleck on top of Cat in the Hat... Gear Notes: We ain't afraid of the Pro We just set it and go And when you see those tape gloves Sporty, you already know.... Approach Notes: Varied Edited October 24, 2012 by Eric T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verticolorful Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Nice work Eric! Hope your having a good time down there outta the rain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_warfield Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 (edited) I didn't read the whole TR yet. I just wanted to verify that you did some chimneying on Epinephrine. Edited October 25, 2012 by matt_warfield Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TronaldDump Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Great climbing, great pictures. Keep livin' it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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