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Road Trip


scott_harpell

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Easy drive between the two. - about 3 hours, I think?. Climb at J-tree until yer hands get thrashed, then give 'em a break with some friendly sandstone at Red Rocks.Then when you get sick of the city, head back to the solitary Tree. Back and forth... thumbs_up.gifthumbs_up.gif

 

Plus you get the ego boost of easier grades at RR after getting spanked at JT. tongue.gif

Edited by MisterE
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You can spend a full month in either one of the places and still have so much left to climb.

 

It is just my thinking that if I were to go down, I would probably want to go to both places as they are relatively close to each other (especially if I didn't have the opportunity for taking the time off every year or so).

 

Only went to J-tree twice and Red Rocks once so far, and liked both places. Actually liked RR a little better as I prefer easy multi pitch climbing over single pitch (which is the majority in J-tree).

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BBBIIIISSSHHHOOOPPPPP for the first 3 days or last three. Make sure and stop there and just go to the milks for three days. Good intro to sharp rock before going to Jtree and also it is hard to find a more aesthetic location a hang out with people, smoke some pot, and climb.

Check out some pics in the "I'm back beyotches" thread

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Red Rocks has it all: steep sport, incredible multi-pitch trad, rad bouldering, a few classic aid routes, and warm weather. And if you never venture into downtown Vegas, it's even a reasonable town with a nice library, quality gear shop, and lots of cheap restaurants.

 

J-tree is a good destination also, but tends toward rough rock with serious run-outs, and has little to offer beyond single pitch trad and highball bouldering. I like josh, but red rocks is the BOMB.

 

From Vegas it's only 3.5 hours to Bishop, which offers even better weather. This area has a lot of bouldering, of course, but also killer sport at the Owens River Gorge. And Zion is only 3 hours away if you're into aid and want to be somewhere different for a few days.

 

In the past I have occasionally hit several areas on the same trip. However I find that I have the most fun, climb more, and improve the most by sticking to one venue. At Red Rocks you could start out at a sub-maximal level to get used to the area, and work towards some of the famous classic routes that might push your limits near the end of the trip.

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My suggestion is Arizona. Why? Great climbing and better odds of great weather. As far as trying to hit several places on one trip I usually prefer to hang in one spot. If you choose Arizona think about hitting Red Rocks for a day or two on the way. A day or two in J-Tree wouldnt be my recomendation if you haven't been there before. Colt is a bit off the mark when he says that Jtree is all about trad or bouldering. There are many good well protected sport routes there as well

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There are certainly a lot of routes at J-tree which feature only bolts for protection. However few of these qualify as sport climbs by any stretch of the imagination (eg 2-4 bolts in 100 feet isn't really "sport", it's more like "bolted trad"). Typically these routes are well protected at the crux, but with mandatory runouts on slightly easier terrain.

 

I have heard that josh has quite a few "true" sport climbs in the 5.12 and up range; and I have personally done just a handful of such climbs in the 5.10 to 5.11 range. Below 5.10, I can't think of any routes I have done that would qualify. This is in contrast to the "outdoor climbing gym" areas at Red Rocks, with many crags featuring 20 or 30 tightly bolted routes all right next to each other. Here it is typically OK to fall on any route at almost any time. Some people may not be into this type of setting, but this is why I consider Red Rocks a sport climbing destination, but not J-tree.

Edited by colt45
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J-tree is a good destination also, but tends toward rough rock with serious run-outs, and has little to offer beyond single pitch trad and highball bouldering.

 

You are correct in stating that most sport climbs at JT are difficult; however, without reference to a guide I can think of two areas easily accessed with 5.11 sport climbs - Oyster Bar and Love Nest. JT has a wide variety of types of climbs (ie face, crack, trad, sport, well protected and runout.) Alas, it doesn't have long routes and I can not think of any sport 5.7 routes there either. The bouldering can be highball but there are hundreds if not thousands of shorter problems - -eg: Stem Gem, Gunsmoke Traverse, Streetcar. It is a great area to explore especially if you have several weeks to do so. Again I would go to Arizona in February.

 

PP bigdrink.gif

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Where would you all pick to go in Feb. for a rock climbing road trip? Essentially: What is the best 'bang for buck' (climbing quality to driving time)? planning on about 2-3 weeks. gracias

rock climbing in february is kina dumb. whyntcha go skiing or iceclimbing or sumpin? or if you have to rock climb go to thailand or mexico. spain aint bad in february either.

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You are correct in stating that most sport climbs at JT are difficult; however, without reference to a guide I can think of two areas easily accessed with 5.11 sport climbs - Oyster Bar and Love Nest. JT has a wide variety of types of climbs (ie face, crack, trad, sport, well protected and runout.) Alas, it doesn't have long routes and I can not think of any sport 5.7 routes there either. The bouldering can be highball but there are hundreds if not thousands of shorter problems - -eg: Stem Gem, Gunsmoke Traverse, Streetcar. It is a great area to explore especially if you have several weeks to do so. Again I would go to Arizona in February.

 

Good points; Jtree is probably a better destination than I realize. I have only spent <2 weeks there total over 3 trips, and my biggest gripe is that I never get in as much climbing as I would like. This is in contrast to Red Rocks where it is easy to rack up a lot of mileage. eg do a classic 10-pitch route, and you automatically do 10 good, 100+ ft pitches in a day!

 

Often I go on shorter trips and want to spend as much time climbing as I possibly can, which makes it difficult to get in the right mindset at a large and complex area like jtree.

What I should do is hang out there for a while when I have a big chunk of time to relax & explore!

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