... then I tried to kill him... wait, he tried to kill me... no, we tried to kill each other... (part one: Y2K)

Rock Trip Report: Red Rocks, NV!!

Good trip to Red Rocks, a place about 20 min west of Las Vegas in the Nevada desert. As expected, the rocks were... red. My friend Chris and his gf Elaine held a campsite that Robb and I crashed (or at least we hoped it was there's when we rolled in at 1 am) whereupon we started our desert journey.

So what did we do? We pretty much tried to kill each other. No, Robb and I don't hate each other. Well, actually - yes we do. But not like that. Umm... sorta. Let me explain:


We start our climbing adventure on Sat morning, lazily getting up around 8 and confirming that the campsite we were in really did belong to Chris and Elaine (Good morning my friends!!!). Robb and I made our quick breakfast and headed out to go climb Dark Shadow and possibly Y2k - both multipitch ordeals on supposedly fantastic Red Rocks sandstone.

We manage to hoof it over to Dark Shadow, but were dismayed when we realized there was a queue for the climb 6 people deep. Robb and I scratched our scratchy heads together, looked around and decided to hoof it back over to Y2K - we'd just warm up on 5.10a! Hee hee.

I took the meat of the climb - the .10a pitch. Looked pretty straightforward - face climbing with some cracks, get to a roof, pull the lip, move up on crimpers and cruise to the bolts. No problem. Took me a minute to compose myself at the beginning of the climb - my mental state wasn't *quite* there (playback of mental state: "OH DEAR GAWD WHAT AM I DOING?! It's ok it's ok - just gotta remember how to use face holds.... FACE?! crappola!!!! I want mother. I looove mother...")

Robb comes up after I built the anchor, we switch leads and he takes on the second pitch. Go us!

Now this is where it gets interesting. I follow Robb up the second pitch, remmber that the next pitch is a 5.4 R 40' traversing route. I could swear that the description was "climb 10' upwards onto a big ledge and traverse to the right, clipping a single bolt for protection". So I climb about 5' (couldnt' find a big ledge for another 30'), walk around an arete and find... a blank slab. SLAB. I HATE slab (I love mother though). I see a single bolt, a couple of chalked hand holds AND NO FEET. 5.4?!?!?! I fidget around for a while, talk to Robb (who is only 10 ft away from me) and discuss our options. Eventually, we both agree that we're probably off route somewhere and should head back to Dark Shadow since the light is starting to fade.

I told Johnnie this and she put it well: I basically nearly killed myself. I went off route, was about to set some meager pro, climb across a blank slab to what was probably harder terrain, and if I fell, I'd swing back and under my protection as my rope would knock off the loose scree from the ledge I had been standing on, onto my head. And then Johnnie would have my gear. But Obi would be sad. :'(. Fortuantely, this didn't happen so Obi was happy :D

In the end, after climbing 300', Robb and I rappeled back to the ground and headed over to Dark Shadow. All in all, I thought it was an enjoyable climb, although the 10a crux section felt easier - more like a hard 5.9 move. But whatever - it felt good to jump on a 10a and feel like I cruised it. :D