[TR] Red Rocks - Resolution Arete 11/26/2006

[layton]

Trip: Red Rocks - Resolution Arete

 

Date: 11/26/2006

 

Trip Report:

Inspired by Billcoe, i thought I'd add a redrocks TR. Ignore the date, this is from early 2003 back when I lived in Vegas baby.

George Bell has a great topo for the route lurking somewhere on the internet. For the love of God don't follow Swain's map!

 

The four of us always wanted to do resolution arete. Jason Martin, because he also lived in Vegas, Jay H. because it was long and Jay likes it long, and Justin T., well...because we told him that's what he was going to do! Actually, Justin had never climbed sandstone and was on a 1 week spring break. Good way to introduce him to it!

 

The reason we did it as a group of 4 was because we were too cheap to bring two cars, so Justin and I were a team, Jay and Jason the other. We probably should have communicated better, because Justin and I packed to do it in a day, and Jay and Jason were planning on biving. Justin and I each had a pack, while Jason and Jay only had one pack. Not to poke fun of them, but look...

Yes, they had on giant pack.

 

It took a bit to find the correct start (pictured above), and the climb immediately lived up to it's reputation. Almost each pitch of the 25 or so pitches had an offwidth and a run-out. One pitch had one piece of gear the whole way, thankfully was a (crumbly) 5.8

 

After about 10 pitches, two party members got all sissy pants and wanted to rap. The other two were like, "shut the fuck up and climb bitch". Things got cluster fucked a few times. One of the J's got stuck and I had to climb past and around him and bring all 3 members up.

Then one of the J's got the rope caught behind his cams on the infamous 5.11 roof overhand free/1pt aid pitch. At this point Justin and I realized we would be bivying if we didn't scoot on ahead. Jay and Jason were getting a savage beating by their monster packs.

 

We got to a bid ledge most of the way up before we figured we might as well wait for them to catch up, considering they had the car keys and were our friends. They made it to our ledge in the dark, and busted out their sleeping bags and pringles. Justin had brought a belay parka in his small pack.

My bivy kit was my windbreaker, a small bottle of Jack Daniels, two sleeping pills, a pair of earplugs, and a pack of cigarettes.

Having downed most of my "bivy kit" I passed out for the night. I awoke to a beautiful dawn, and being kicked by three guys pissed and ready to go. "Jesus Chirst Mike! How the Fuck did you sleep so soundly with no bag?", one of the J's asked.

 

Day two were had the overhanging chalk and killer bees pitches. It's really hard not to get stung by a horde of Africanized Killer Honey Bees when they like to sit between the belay device and the brake hand. Also when a team make takes a big-ol upsidedown winger. Luckily on the overhanding stacked blocks of chalk cliff, no one pulled out the Jenga piece. At mid morning, we finally topped out..very thirsty.

 

One description of the very complex descent were heard was, "go down at the VW sized boulder." We had a huge moment of indecision when we saw a boulder that LOOKED exactly like a VW van. Wheels, window, doors, everything. Right way or not, we made it down in about 3-4 hours on a very very beautiful descent. The march across the flat desert to the highway was quite the death march, so we took it out on all you can eat buffets and cans of beer.

 

 

Resolution Arete is the ridge right of center.

[DirtyHarry]

Fun. Good times. Titties. Beer.

[Jason_Martin]

No doubt the big pack was a huge mistake...but when all was said and done the Resolution Arete was one of the most fun climbs I've done in RR. Mostly because of the company! Good times!

 

Jason

[strumpett]

Great picures!

[layton]

Yeah, climbing w/you three was a total blast!

 

[Cobra_Commander]

 

You may have bivied but you guys are so fucking money.

[Choada_Boy]

MONEY!!

 

I distinctly recall falling asleep while belaying on the morning of Day 2 while Jay dealt with the "Death Chalk" pitch. The view of a silent Vegas at night from the bivy ledge atop pitch 16 was so friggin' weird I'll never forget it.

[skyclimb]

Layton, you pink jacket wearing, funny as MOFO...nice TR.

[billcoe]

You may have bivied but you guys are so fucking money.

 

I need an interpreter!

 

Long route: it's this kind of thing that keeps me coming back to this site. Love it, it all looks good....love the pictures: you guys think it was good rock? Choada boy is talking death chalk rock. Mike mentions some shisse rock and offwidths, but Jason is talking it up. I curious how many stars would you give it out of 5?

 

Would you ever do the route again? If so, would you bivy in the same spot next time or try a day trip?

[Cobra_Commander]

Bill - I was referring to chod's bivy-inducing 18 pound gold medallion.

[layton]

bivy bling bling.

 

Bill, the route is sweet, but there are some shitty pitches.

5/5 for adventure, 2/5 for quality. basically if you don't want to do this route you should be belaying your noob girlfriend/boyfriend at the panty wall.

 

Anyone got a TR for Dogma, Woman of Mtn Dreams, Inti Wanta or any of the other long rts on MT Wilson?

[billcoe]

Bill - I was referring to chod's bivy-inducing 18 pound gold medallion.

 

 

Yeah, sweet description Cobra: I saw that too... so ...... 80's...Perhaps he was again simply trying to show the Hookers that he was a success .....or perhaps just trying for style points in case a Climbing Magazine editor showed up to document the climb.

 

Still, you dudes get 5 gold stars for getting on it.

 

Michael, Jamie did Inti Wantana and highly recommended it to me. Sounds like solid 5 stars and you can climb until your ass falls off or bail before the full Resolution arete topoput (where it joins it after 12 pitches) as the rock up high turns crappy. Sounds 5 stars to me an if he's recommending it to me, should be well within your abilities. We only had 6 days this trip and passed on doing it, but will do it next extended trip down.

[layton]

Other high quality climbs there are:

 

Cloud Tower, a do-able (i.e. gear pull) 11+ with the best cracks in the park

 

Black Orpheus/Chicken Lips Combo-"17" pitches of moderate fun

 

Night Crawler-short but excellent

 

Triassic Sands-fun as hell

 

Sour Mash, Prince of Darkness and Dream of Wild Turkey-awesome exposure

 

Frigid Air Buttress-sweet final pitch, complex descent

 

Eagle's Dance-next to levatation 29...but better climbing

 

 

I've heard that Dark Shadows to the Top, Commuity Pillar, Magic Triangle, Bird Hunter Buttress, Fiddler on the Roof, Y2K, Crabby Appleton and the free version of the Original Route are good.

 

I didn't think that of Frogland, Ginger Cracks, Levatation 29, Chrimson Chrysalis, Black Dagger, Unimpeachable Groping, or Refried Brains were all they were cracked up to be...but were fun nonetheless.

 

Anyone done Lady Wilson's Cleavage. The Lady Wilson's cleavage on the canadian rockies Mt. Wilson is stupid. How about the ones I mention on Mt Wilson, Time's Up, Only the Good Die Young, Lone Star, Risky Business, Cartwright Corner, Hordogger/Sundog, Sunflower, La Cierta Erdad, or Chuckwalla??? Anyone?

Edited December 27, 2006 by michael_layton

[magellan]

Mike you are the craziest mofo for several hundred miles. I mean that in a nice way.

[Drederek]

Climbed Inti a coupla springs ago. It suffers from a severe easing of difficulty through the middle followed by deteriorating rock at the top. A good GF route if she can handle the hike and the crux on p2. Very safely bolted. We thought it would be a tiger but its just a lamb. Pink Tornado left was more entertaining but I like awkward stuff more than straightforward stuff. We're headed for Dogma this year.

One of my fave pitches at rr is the 10c fist crack on Cloud Tower. Fiddler really pissed me off, passing nice scoops up for hanging belays. I'll second Eagle Dance over Lev 29. And I really liked Frogland but maybe it was the company. Oh and we did Res in 23 hrs, hotel to hotel. Took us 5 hrs to stumble out in the moonlight

[pink]

sweet climb, did it with a guy from minnesota named freddy in 9 hours base to base. the guide said bring shit to bivy and you will bivy. so we didn't bring shit. it worked.

[layton]

sweet climb, did it with a guy from minnesota named freddy in 9 hours base to base. the guide said bring shit to bivy and you will bivy. so we didn't bring shit. it worked.

 

on Res arete?

fuck that's fucking re-fuckingdickoulsly fucking fast.

[pink]

i had been climbing in black velvet for three weeks baggin routes and getting dialed . lots of simol climbing. we also scoped the route with binos for a day. we knew exactly where that fucker was. did epinephrine in 6 from bottom to top.

Edited December 27, 2006 by pink

[lancegranite]

A fun route!

Lots of varied climbing, consider carrying/hauling the leaders pack on the 11b pitch, the 10 pitch is short and stout.

Do not under estimate the upper part of the route.

I wandered out onto some deceptively sustained face climbing and enjoyed a very personal moment.

Also, do not untie from the rope until it's the top.

We figured out the approach before hand, went light made it car to car in 11:45, 6 hours on the route.

 

Edit: oh yeah, tape gloves were nice, but I'm kinda clumsy in the wide cracks.

Edited December 27, 2006 by lancegranite

[chirp]

Frigid Air Buttress-sweet final pitch, complex descent

Top out head "SE", do a short rap into a "cove", aim Eastish along rim towards the big waterfall left of the routes start. Look for the last possible tree just peeking above rim, its got rap slings on it...go down, some funkness.

[Cobra_Commander]

... Bird Hunter Buttress...

 

Know some folks that don't plan on heading back for that one again soon. Lots of "skipped the nixon-era bolts to place gear instead" talk. Not a casual 5.9 I guess.

[lancegranite]

God, there is so much rock here, so much rock.

 

[layton]

i'm still impressed w/pink's time on the res concidering my roundtrip on epi was the same.

[layton]

I know a guy who did Epinepherine, Lev 29, AND Cloud Tower in a single day...which was also his 1st day at Red Rocks. Now that's fast.

[pink]

this was more than 10 years ago, but i think we unroped for the top portion conserdering the lack of pro and rotten rock. i got lucky with a good partner who was not a ball hog.