texplorer

Bill O'Reilly stated on his Fox show that he thinks climbers should be banned from climbing or going up on mountains when weather is or could be bad. WTF? He likened it when there are rip tides at the beach. Furthermore he recommended that signs be put up on roads or on the mountain prohibiting climbers from climbing when "bad condtions" exist. It's one thing to promote the slaughter in iraq but this is personal. O'Reilly should stick to being "fair and balanced" about politics and democrat bashing.

OK Jens, I have been living in Vegas for about a year and a half. At first I was disappointed. The sport climbing at the 1st and 2nd pullouts on the loop road are the most visited areas. These areas have nice sport stuff but would not be a reason to visit (unless your seeking a warm climbing destination in winter) After the pullouts the next most visited place is black velvet canyon. It does have several long sport lines and of course epinepherine. The prince of darkness and yellow brick road are sport lines that get critized for being the repititious - crimp, crimp, good hold, crimp, crimp, good hold, ad nauseum. I thought they were fun but the true jewels are several mixed climbs -Dream of Wild Turkeys, epinepherine, and Fiddler on the roof. They are definately fun and you need crack skills to get up them. Where I think RR shines for the visitor is its collection of long moderate trad lines. There are lots of fun, good routes in the 5.6-5.8 range. For me though, Red Rocks has a much different appeal. Much like the cascades, you have to hike a little and deal with desert flora to taste its beauties. Many routes have a hike to get to them and contain elements of alpinism and adventure. As of right now most of RR has a no new bolt rule. This has kept the canyons from becoming polluted with mediocre sport lines that no sport climber will hike to. As a result, in most canyons you'll be the only climbing party out even during the best seasons of the year. I have probably put one new line for every 2 established routes I have done. There are 4 star FA routes still waiting here. Just a few months ago a partner and I climbed a 13 pitch route with most pitches being around 60m. FA pic Anyway, there's lots of stuff to do. Lastly, I have found that it is hard to find belayers here unless you head to the popular sport areas. Its best to come with a partner or arrange to meet one. On the flip side there are nice and cheap hotels, lots of entertainment, and you can buy liquor or beer 24 hours a day You might want to check out this site. It has some good info on routes an has a "route finder" to help you find routes of your liking and grade. Mountain Project - Red Rocks

Nice pics of Cold September corner lance.

A fine outing. Now you know why people leave others to rate their FA's. Whatever the grade, it looks like a fine line and a fun day on the rock. Great job and stay in the NW, I don't need people poaching my lines down here in warm, sunny Vegas. Cheers and congrats on a nice climb.

Damn, I leave the NW, and look what you guys allow.

But putting in bolts here is against the law. Unless of course you don't care about the law. Vive trad!

Just heard about this on the radio today. Lots of information doesn't seem to be adding up. Are the experienced or not, if so, why do they have to buy gear and why did they split up. Anyhow, I hope they get off okay but if their chances are going to be much worse if they are up there for too many more days.

I wish I had been getting enough activity to need an adjustment.

What is this peak?

I guess by those standards you could consider many alpine routes boulder problems

On the Road

Testosterone in Action

I did a FA in first creek yesterday. On the hike in I had to wear a hat to keep warm. I wore pants and a long sleeve shirt and was perfect. Black Velvet canyon and shaded routes will be very cool in the morning warming up to perfect condtions. You can pretty much take the temp in vegas and minus 5-8 degrees depending what part of red rocks you are in.

There is a good deal of variation in the Valley. Many old skool routes require true jamming and were done without sticky rubber. 5.9 stuff on the regular NW of halfdome is pretty easy 5.9 whereas the 5.9 on the Stecke-salathe is a good deal tougher.

keep it rockin, live life to its fullest!

a pic from the lower pitches

A good website to check out for Red Rocks Mountain Project This is a great site for checking out pics and extra info on the area as even the most recent guidebooks have quite a few mistakes. I even have a few pics of RR posted there. If your coming to Vegas and are interested in FA's let me know. Just be warned that the weather will be in the triple digits for the next few months.

I just heard about this today. Elvis and I wish you well from scorching Vegas.

Finally a forum for swashbuckling fun

Nice mike, I'll probably be in yos in late July/ early aug This kind of shizzle gets me dreamin

Space hauling is a similar set up to normal hauling. The difference is that when your ready to haul you clip into the haul and jump from the belay. If the weight is light enough you go flying into space below while moving hte bag up. You can still use 2 to 1 or other mechanical advantages but you should back up the haul. Caldwell probably uses a 20-30' line tied into the anchor to keep your from taking the ride for a whole pitch. In effect you are using your body weight to move the bag up. After each time you move the bag up you have to jug back up to the belay.

Nice job, I remember my first time up the monkey. A great bit of fun! With your ambitious attitude you'll be on big walls in no time.

Here we go again. . .

Times are a changin no doubt. When you are relagated to climb at haunts like the Butte. I hope to be crankin basalt with you guys in early July.