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Location: CA : High Desert : Mojave National Preserve : Photo
By: Andrew Carson When: Nov 10, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: It's always about the light, isn't it? This is just right.
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Location: AZ : Grand Canyon National Park : Mt. Hayden - South Face (5.8) : Photo
By: Andrew Carson When: Nov 7, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: That is one flat summit. Nice shot.
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Location: WY : Grand Teton National Park : Cascade Canyon : Symmetry Crag 4 - Trinity B... (5.9)
By: Andrew Carson When: Oct 17, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: The top buttress has some excellent rock and makes the day totally worthy. If it weren't such a slog up to it, I think it'd be a recommendation to skip the first two steps and get to the good stuff.
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Location: NV : Red Rock : Calico Basin : Red Springs Rock : Welcome to N.I.M.B.Y. (Not ... (5.8 PG13)
By: Andrew Carson When: Oct 6, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: The first time I did this route I took along a few small pieces (tcu's, a few stoppers) and did place one piece to supplement the bolts. Probably overkill, but it made me feel better. There are a few slightly suspect holds so that extra piece was reassuring. This is a fun, worthwhile climb.
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Location: CA : Central Coast : Big Sur : Slate's Spire
By: Andrew Carson When: Aug 26, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: That is so funny -- crabs as 'objective hazard'! Are these Sally Lightfoots?
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Location: CA : High Sierra : Norman Clyde Peak : Photo
By: Andrew Carson When: Aug 7, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: Nice shot and for me an unusual angle. Is this winter?
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Location: WY : Grand Teton National Park : Grand Teton : Photo
By: Andrew Carson When: Jun 13, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: Photo taken Dec., '74.
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Location: NV : Red Rock : Pine Creek Canyon : Magic Mountain : Honeycomb Chimney (5.9)
By: Andrew Carson When: May 3, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: The finish via the 5.9 corner is sort of contrived, as it really doesn't have anything to do with the route up the chimney. But what the hey, other than the brush fight to get to it, it adds some good climbing. If I were to do it again I think I'd finish straight up one of the many possibilities above the squeeze.
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Location: NV : Red Rock : Black Velvet Canyon : The Rad Cliff : The Chamber of Secrets (5.7)
By: Andrew Carson When: Apr 19, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: This route was a real disappointment. Grungy cracks filled with scrub oak leaves, an uninspiring setting, and an underwhelming visual line add up to the question: why bother? But go ahead, see for yourself. Maybe you'll like it. Others certainly have.
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Location: NV : Red Rock : Willow Spring : Sumo Greatness Slab
By: Andrew Carson When: Apr 16, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: There are now a pair of bolts with chains just east of the top of Sumo Greatness. Not the best place for toproping and sort of unnecessary, as there's plenty of anchor possibilities all over the place. Oh well. Hard to say how long they've been there.
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Location: NV : Red Rock : Black Velvet Canyon : Whiskey Peak : Bourbon Street (5.8)
By: Andrew Carson When: Apr 10, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: Someone might take a pruning saw and clear a hole through the brush at the start of the third pitch. Or chew through it if the tool use is offensive. None of us had our dentures in, or we would have done the job.
Since the fourth pitch is quite short, you'll find a better belay ledge to end pitch #3 below the short dark varnished wall leading to the base of the aforementioned buttress.
We also did the right-hand crack of pitch #2, which had one stopper at the start of ... more >>
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Location: NV : Red Rock : Calico Basin : Red Springs Rock Lower Tier : Shallow Fried Cracken (5.9 PG13)
By: Andrew Carson When: Apr 8, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: The pro is very acceptable on this excellent pitch, but you can't expect to just plug and go. Stopper placements are plentiful, small cams also, but it's thoughtful climbing. When the black rails run out, in the middle, there's some fragile rock to deal with as well. Still, a very enjoyable climb. It would be simple to toprope.
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Location: NV : Red Rock : Pine Creek Canyon : Mescalito : When A Stranger Calls (5.8)
By: Andrew Carson When: Mar 31, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: The last pitch (as we did it, at least), above the white triangular roof, has tricky pro, and some small stuff like HB offsets or similar small wires would help alot. It's significantly harder than anything getting to that point. It's easy to climb left, below the white roof, and get onto CITH without dealing with the steep headwall.
Handren's book mentions that the crux of the route is the unprotected huecoed face at the very start. Not if you do the headwall....
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Location: NV : Red Rock : Oak Creek Canyon : Upper Oak Creek Canyon : Coltrane (5.9 R)
By: Andrew Carson When: Mar 29, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: We found this route to be almost totally dependent on bolts, both for the leader and at belays. One fatter bolt at the belays was marginally comforting, along with the usual quarter incher. They are not easy to spot and in fact on the third pitch our leader missed one -- easy to do. Given the age of the bolts and the fact that they are quarter inchers, I considered an X rating for pro.... A few are loose; all are 30 years old. The rock is also often hollow and flakey.
The best... more >>
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Location: NV : Red Rock : Pine Creek Canyon : Mescalito : Black Widow Hollow (5.9)
By: Andrew Carson When: Mar 13, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: Clearly, I stand corrected on that ' 70 m rope' comment. Go for it, I guess. For whatever it's worth, I reached my belay on the second pitch with the #4 cam still on the rack. Saving it for the hard part, perhaps.
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Location: NV : Red Rock : Willow Spring : Willow Springs South : Nadia's Nine (5.9)
By: Andrew Carson When: Mar 11, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: I thought it was distinctly more difficult than any of the cruxes on Black Widow Hollow, so I'd call it some kind of 5.10, but that's just me. A worthy effort. Nice prayer flags in the next alcove to the right.
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Location: NV : Red Rock : Second Pullout : The Observatory : Bewitched (5.5 PG13)
By: Andrew Carson When: Mar 8, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: This is a fun climb and a party has options on how to do it, given the big ledges in the lower portion. We walked out the ledge leading left from the Stone Wall, scrambled a short (8') wall to a big ledge, and roped up at the north end of that ledge. From there, a pitch leading up and right, back to the crest, includes a short steep section with two bolts, (quite hard to see, as they have dark, old-style Leeper hangers) then a giant hueco with a bolt at the right corner. Climb right and onto the... more >>
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Location: NV : Red Rock : Windy Canyon : Windy Pk, East Face : Action by Knight (5.10)
By: Andrew Carson When: Mar 5, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: The second pitch, exremely enjoyable climbing, is easier than 5.8.
There is a fun variation which goes right of the big roof. Start towards the roof and surmount the left edge of the bulge/roof which blocks access to the wide crack leading to the base of the big ceiling. At the base of the wide crack angle right and up across a fun face, with edges and flakes, that will lead to the gully/chimney right of the roof. Climb a short hand crack and a chimney to the top. A little brushy, but g... more >>
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Location: NV : Red Rock : Pine Creek Canyon : Mescalito : Black Widow Hollow (5.9)
By: Andrew Carson When: Mar 4, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: We belayed on a nice but smallish ledge at about 140' on the second pitch. You'd never reach the huge ledge on the crest anyway, even with a 70 m rope, (I think), and the rope drag would take alot of the fun out of it. We liked our standard rack to a #4, and had added stoppers at the suggestion Handren's guide. Maybe a few extra medium and large, not a whole additional set.
Don't forget your kneepads.
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Location: NV : Red Rock : Windy Canyon : Windy Peak : Windy Corner (5.7)
By: Andrew Carson When: Mar 2, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: I think Matt meant "exit left" out of the chimney. One can also stay out of the chimney entirely by climbing its left edge. Our leader had to hang his gear from his waist to fit through the chimney's top!
Protection on Pitch 4 was a little tricky to place once up the corner a ways. Adequate, but not easy.
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Location: NV : Red Rock : Oak Creek Canyon : Solar Slab - Lower Tier : Beulah's Book (5.9)
By: Andrew Carson When: Jan 31, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: There's a bolt just as you start the third pitch, and, although pro is not easy and obvious, we got in a few good pieces on this section and thought it pretty decent for the level of difficulty.
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Location: NV : Red Rock : Oak Creek Canyon : Black Orpheus Amphitheater : There and Back Again (5.8)
By: Andrew Carson When: Jan 29, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: It was not the quality day we'd expected, with alot of loose rock on ledges. You can avoid the run-out start to pitch 3 by swinging way to the right, then back left, it would appear. There was quite a bit of visible chalk in that direction. An R seems pretty fair for the start of pitch 3.
The Plate of Fate rap descent has seen some recent rockfall of a major nature, and because the first rap station, below the pine, was full of teetering blocks and very unstable, we chose to hike off. It ... more >>
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Location: NV : Red Rock
By: Andrew Carson When: Jan 26, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: Red Rock Loop road closing at 4?
I guess I'll find out in a few hours, but is it true that the blm is now closing the loop an hour early? Hell, why not just close it completely? Anything is possible with these people. Hope it's a rumor but knowing the blm, likely it's true.
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Location: NV : Red Rock : Windy Canyon : Windy Peak : Joanne of Arch (5.9)
By: Andrew Carson When: Jan 5, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: We got full value on this route on a cold January day. Pro for the start of the third pitch is tricky to 'not there', and not that good till you are ready to turn the roof. The rap anchor at the top of the third pitch was one stopper, decent, and a knotted/jammed sling, pretty weathered. I'd want to beef it up substantially if I were to rap from that point. We continued for another pitch, then two more of 4th/easy 5th, trending east, then a bunch of scrambling after unroping, before we were on n... more >>
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Location: NV : Red Rock : Oak Creek Canyon : Solar Slab - Upper Tier : Sunspot Ridge (5.8)
By: Andrew Carson When: Dec 13, 2008 | view comment >> |
Comments: This is a fun route that will improve as more parties climb it and the loose stuff gets cleaned off. There's a fair bit of it right now so be careful and enjoy a great day in an airy location. Four of us did it in 11 pitches, on December 11, so it goes fairly quickly, especially the upper part. There are many belay options so pitch length and numbers will vary, especially higher on the ridge.
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