Viva Las Vegas!
On Friday, 3/25/2016, we left Phoenix and made our way to the city of sin. We were meeting friends and family for some weekend fun.
On Sunday we said our farewells and headed out into the desert with our friend Danny who had flown down from Juneau, AK. Our plans were to climb in Red Rock Canyon, a well establish climbing area outside of Vegas. It turns out getting out of Vegas is just as difficult as trying to get out of a Vegas casino! The road to Red Rock Canyon was closed temporarily due to a car accident. There are many desert mountains surrounding the city and we thought it would be easy to navigate to some blm land. There are lots of dirt roads leading out into the surrounding desert hills in the suburbs in the outskirts of the city, however the road are barricaded by cement blocks! So we were stuck waiting for the Red Rock Canyon highway to reopen. Luckily, we didn’t have too much longer after our search for an alternative route into the mountains. We were able to pitch our tents in a dirt pull out a few miles past the Red Rock Canyon scenic loop.
On Tuesday, 3/29/2016, we decided to pay for camping and stay at the Red Rock Campground for a couple nights since it would be more convenient for climbing. The following day we took Danny on his first ever rock climb! Since this would be Danny’s first experience on rock, and he was climbing in his tennis shoes, we decided on a fun and easy classic, the 6 pitch Cat in the Hat (5.6). This would also be the Melissa’s first time leading an entire multi-pitch route.
Mescalito, our favorite ally
Melissa leading on Cat in the Hat
We finished the route early in the afternoon. But, since we were all battling colds, we headed back to camp to relax. Gabe and Danny battled it out over rounds of Magic The Gathering, while Melissa sedated herself with cold medicine.
The following day, we drove Danny to the airport. Melissa was still feeling pretty terrible, so we decided to get a cheap room at a hostel in Vegas and get some rest. The next day, we decided to drive towards Zion National Park, located in the southwest corner of Utah. Along the way, we decided to stop in St. George, UT, another well-known climbing town. We decided on an area known as the Prophesy Wall, a great little wall with a lot of moderate multi-pitch, and free camping!
Prophesy Wall, St.George UT
We arrived on Friday, 4/1/2016, and set up camp. Melissa was still feeling pretty sick, so we didn’t climb any routes that day. The following day, we climbed a few variations of the multi-pitch route, Sticky Revelations (5.10a) and Gordian Knot (5.10d). We ended the day early so Melissa could get some more rest.
Pitch 2 of Sticky Revalations
On Sunday, 4/3/2016, we drove to Zion National Park and hiked Hidden Canyon. The beauty of Zion’s giant sandstone walls and lush vegetation blew us away. That evening we camped off of Kolob Terrace Rd. There is lots of free camping along this road and much of it is along the river.
The following day we did the famous Angel’s Landing hike, known for its exposure along a knife-edge ridge. There were many people on the trail, and most of them were clinging to the cable as they hiked along the ridge. We were quite comfortable with the exposure, and found the people to be another fun obstacle along the ridge.
Melissa was still battling a cold the next day, so instead of climbing we took a scenic drive through the park that included driving through a very long tunnel. Afterwards, we made our way to Limekiln Canyon. This is a climbing area located outside of Mesquite, NV, in Arizona. Another climber in Saint George suggested we check it out. This place is definitely a hidden gem! Beautiful lime stone in a desert setting. All of the plants were in full bloom. There was free camping minutes from the base of the climbs, and it was relatively uncrowded. Limekiln Canyon is made up of 3 walls which offer very long single pitch and many multi-pitch routes. We stuck to the Sacred Trust Wall. We climbed Office Party, a 6 pitch sport climb (5.10a), and are finally at a point where we can switch leads! This was Melissa’s first 5.10a lead. We then climbed Simple Truths, a 5 pitch sport route (5.10c).
Limekiln Canyon
Melissa leading her first 5.10a sport climb
View from top of Sacred Trust Wall, Limekiln Canyon
Cactus and anchor
Afterwards, we packed up camped and made our way back to Red Rock Canyon. That evening we camped in the same pull out we had camped at with Danny. Before settling in, we decided to make sure we would be able to get to the trailhead of Epinephrine, the 13 pitch classic (5.9) we wanted to climb. But, it turned out that the road was not Prius friendly. That evening we changed our plan, and decided to climb Crimson Chrysalis, a 9 pitch 5.8+ classic. This is a very popular route, so we picked out a plan B, Ginger Cracks, a nearby 7 pitch 5.9 that at 900 feet was only 100 feet shorter than CC.
The next morning we entered the park at 6:10am, just 10 minutes after opening. We hiked out to CC, certain that we would be the first party there. Alas, two older gentlemen had beaten us! We could of waited, but it didn’t appear they would be very quick to climb, as one guy was explaining some basics of climbing to his partner. So we hurried over to Ginger Cracks. Luckily, we were the first party at the base of the climb. But another climbing party showed up shortly after; we were happy to have the head start!
Melissa at the top of first pitch of Gingercracks
Melissa leading second half of second pitch on Gingercracks
Ginger Cracks ended up being a really fun and unique climb, as it was a nice mix of crack and face climbing with bomber protection the entire way. We accidentally split the second pitch into two pitches when Gabe traversed off route towards a bolted rappel anchor, but other than that the route finding was strait forward and every pitch was fun. The climb doesn’t go all the way to the top of the rock formation, but does end on the top of a cool little separated pinnacle. The descent was strait forward, but we did get the rope stuck on the first rappel, we recommend splitting it into two (intermediate anchor is obvious) to avoid climbing an extra 70′ dirty 5.8 chimney pitch to retrieve your stuck rope… We didn’t bring tennis shoes with us, and really wished we had because the rappel spits you off on the backside of the Ginger Buttress, a couple hundred yards from the start. Foot pain aside, it was a very enjoyable climb, and we will definitely be back to check out some more of Red Rock Canyon’s long and unique routes.
We celebrated the successful climb with another night in Vegas. We were able to score a cheap room at Circus Circus and spent the evening exploring and people watching.
After about a week in southern California with friends and family we got back on the road.
Point Vincent, Southern California
On Thursday, 4/14/2016, we had plans to spend the weekend climbing in Joshua Tree. However, high wind warnings made us reconsider. Instead of putting up with dust storms, we took relief in the mountains of Sequoai National Park. That evening we camped for free along Southfork road, just outside the park in Three Rivers. The next day we camped at Buckeye Flat campground inside the park and enjoyed playing in the woods and hiking out to General Sherman, the largest tree (by volume) in the world!
Melissa and General Sherman
That evening we ended up sharing our campsite with a bicyclist from France. He too had been on the road for awhile, his travels included biking in New Zealand, Tahiti, Fiji, and he was just beginning his tour in the U.S.. On 4/16/2016, we wished him well and continued through the park. We thought about doing some climbing in Sequoia, but decided to continue on to Yosemite. But, we did venture up Moro Rock and were treated to some incredible views!
Top of Moro Rock
After a few days in Sequoia, we made our way to Yosemite! We came in on highway 41 from Fresno on Saturday 4/16/2016 and camped for free just outside the park on Miami Rd, an ATV recreation road.
Yosemite adventures to follow!
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