Winter in Utah means the demise of rock climbing season. But dedicated climbers don’t have to wallow the cold months away at indoor gyms. An easy drive south to Las Vegas will take you to Red Rock Canyon, where winter climbing abounds in one of the nation’s best places for multi-pitch trad climbing.
There are thousands of routes at Red Rock Canyon, and many of them are considered classics. But if you only have a three-day weekend to kill, you can get a good sense of all that Red Rock has to offer, both multi-pitch trad climbing and single pitch sport routes, with the three climbs described below.
Panty Wall at the First Pullout Area:
Let’s say you arrive in Vegas in the early afternoon after making the drive from Salt Lake and there’s no time for a six-pitch climb. Might as well warm up for the bigger routes by getting in some sport climbs on the Panty Wall at the First Pullout Area.
As the name implies, you reach the Panty Wall after parking in the first pullout on the Red Rock Canyon Loop. From here, the Panty Wall is the obvious red sandstone with a stroke of black varnish in the middle. The varnish looks like the shape of women’s panties… hence the name.
A large trail leads down into the canyon and a left turn at the bottom leads to the path that winds to the base of the Panty Wall. Cairns mark sections of the trail, but if you keep the wall in your sights, you can pick your way to it very easily. Once you reach the wall, you have a choice of several great, moderate sport climbs to choose from. Here are three of them:
Sacred Undergarment Squeeze Job:
This climb is a 70-foot, 5.8 sport climb. It’s a fun climb, but one thing can’t be debated; the route has lots of bolts and may feel over-protected. Because of this, it’s a good climb to do first and get into the climbing mode. If you’re feeling saucy, you can probably skip a few bolts on the way to to the 2-bolt anchor at the top.
Brief Encounter:
Seeing a theme here? Pretty much every climb on the Panty Wall has an underwear theme. Brief Encounter may allude to the opposite of boxers, or it may also describe the fact that it’s a short climb. It only rises 60 feet from the deck, but even tough it’s short, it’s probably the most fun climb of the 5.8 routes on the wall. To climb it, bring six quickdraws for the bolts plus two more for the chain anchors at the top.
Boxer Rebellion:
Boxer Rebellion is another 60 footer that holds fun, steep, and consistent 5.8 climbing. Seven bolts lead to chain anchors. This route is the third bolted climb, loacted to the right of the previous two.
The second and third days in Red Rock Canyon should be spent on one of the many multi-pitch trad routes. Below are two very different climbs in different areas that will only scratch the surface of what’s possible in this rock climbing mecca.
Tunnel Vision:
Tunnel Vision is a great six-pitch, 5.7 trad climb on good rock that is 770 feet long. But the main reason to ascend this route is for the unique, bizzare, and very cool pitch that literally goes through a vertical tunnel that is so dark, you’ll need to wear a headlamp. The climb is located on the Angel Food Wall in the White Rock Spring area.
To get there, follow the trail from the parking area and take the first right after the fork that leads to the spring. Go into the canyon and follow cairns to the base of the wall. Tunnel Vision begins where you find a crack that meets a roof just above the ground.
Once you begin climbing, you’ll be treated to four pitches of corners, chimneys, hand cracks and huge ledges for anchoring and belaying. But the fifth pitch holds the climb’s incredible namesake… the tunnel.
Darkness falls when you slide into under the flake that creates the opening of the tunnel, where you’ll probably need a headlamp to be able to see. Once you start up the pitch, it can be intimidating due to slick rock, tight spaces, and very few places to find good protection. But once you come out the other side, you’ll agree that it’s easily of the most interesting climbs you’ve ever had.
The final pitch follows an easy crack to the top, where the descent begins at the top of a gully to the left, on the backside of the rock.
To successfully complete the climb, a standard trad rack is required.
Frogland:
Tunnel Vision may be popular for its signature pitch, but Frogland is classic because the entire climb has a classic pitch that throws almost everything at you that a moderate climb can. Frogland is a 5.8 trad route that climbs 700 feet in six pitches, and oh what pitches they are!
First, to get to Frogland, you have to drive to Black Velvet Canyon, located to the south of Red Rock Canyon. After parking, hike up the trail that leads toward Whiskey Peak. The start of the climb begins at a large slab beneath a giant roof system where a bolted corner marks the start.
Again, cracks, ledges and corners are highlights of the first few pitches where good anchor points can be found between pitches for belay stations. Some pitches are easier than others, including a few sections of 5.7 and 5.6 moves. But the real 5.8 climbing begins at the fourth pitch where cracks give way to thin corners, slabby footing, and tiny edges. There’s even a chockstone you have to slither around, giving reminder to Tunnel Vision. The exposure also opens up, increasing the psychological factor but also providing spectacular views where you can even see the tops of highrise casinos on the Las Vegas strip miles away.
After topping out on Frogland, descend off the backside over the peak where you go left into a gully where some down climbing keeps things interesting. Again, a standard trad rack should be enough protection to complete the climb.
Red Rock Canyon has so many awesome routes to explore that it would take decades to climb them all. These are only a few options for a weekend away from the Utah cold. For more climbs in and around Las Vegas, visit the Red Rock Canyon pages at www.mountainproject.com.
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