Cat in the Hat

This route is probably the most popular multi-pitch route in Red Rocks, and always seems to be swarming with parties. For many years I avoided the route because it always seemed mobbed. Then, on a day when the wind was screaming down the canyon we figured nobody would be on it. Wrong! Another party at the base. We still had a fun time and everyone was very friendly and nobody was in a rush. Good to adopt this attitude on this route - if it's high season it's going to be crowded.

This route faces south and can get quite hot. It can be done on a sunny winter day and you could die of heat stroke in the summer.

Hike the trail to where the two forks of Pine Creek join at the base of Mescalito. Here you want to take the left (south) fork. Follow a trail on the north bank past a prominent buttress, then curve right up a broad, bushy gully to the base of the route. The first pitch faces southwest and is in the shade in early morning, it cannot be seen from the parking lot.

P1&2: Follow a 5.6 crack up and left (4" piece can be useful at one point if you want really good pro). At 110' you hit a 2 bolt anchor, but you can continue to the next anchor (60m rope better for this). The next bolted anchor is off to the right on a ledge, we missed it on the way up. It is easy to get sucked left into a gully, where you can just belay from gear. [Many parties still split this long pitch into two]

This next part is not well described in Swain: wander up and right on a huge terrace to the highest point on the ledge. This is 3rd class except for maybe the first move, and we downclimbed it unroped on the way down, but many people choose to stay roped up for it.

P3: You are aiming for a tree at the top of a gully, make a weird boulder problem off the deck and then continue more easily up the gully to the tree, 5.5, 70'.

P4: The wall steepens. Climb a thin crack in a black face and step left below a roof. Follow another crack all the way up to a block slung with slings, 5.6, 150'.

P5: Above here you see some bolts, this is the 10d direct variation, go for it if you want! The normal finish is to go down from the belay and traverse right around the corner. Keep traversing until you are to the base of a beautiful crack in the center of a black wall, 5.3 50'.

P6: Climb the crack, angle right to a bolt, and then up a face (somewhat runout) to a 2 bolt belay, 5.6 100'. We combined P5 and P6 with a 50m rope but this makes the final runout moves of P6 harder with all the rope drag.

You can continue to the summit of Mescalito from here (many pitches mostly 3rd and 4th with some 5th class), but virtually all rap. See the "Descent" section below.

There is an entire chapter about this route in Red Rock Odyssey

Note: if you just climbed Cookie Monster and descending, you are at the Lunch Ledge area of step 2, below. 

1. Rap 130' from top of pitch 6 anchors to the top of pitch 4's slung round block. This has lots of rope drag to pull and knobs to catch the rope. Some recommend doing this as a 50' rap to an intermediate bolted anchor on the 10d direct variation and then an 80' rap to the top of pitch 4. When rapping from the top CITH anchors, avoid rapping to the anchor bolts that are about 120 feet down to skier's right.  At least two independent parties have done this and experienced tremendous rope drag.
2. Rap 140' from the slung round block to the tree at the top of pitch 3. Alternatively, do a shorter rap slightly skier's left to large ledge-y area called Lunch Ledge at top of Cookie Monster and then scramble exposed rock clockwise and then down to the next rap tree.
3. Rap 70' from the tree to a big complex ledge system. Scramble easiest way down to an enormous flat ledge, the last step to it using a 'cheater' block.  Walk right to multiple rap bolts on the up-canyon side of a huge free-standing block (this is the top of the second pitch of CITH; the step down to the 'cheater' block is a little tricky, watch out, maybe belay beginners).  Alternatively, after stepping off the 'cheater' block, walk skier's left on the enormous flat ledge to a bolted rap station.
4. From the huge free-standing block skiers right of the 'cheater' block, rap 150 feet to the ground, perhaps angling a little skiers right (north) to make the ground.  We experienced bad rope drag pulling this one too and perhaps it is better to break into two rappels using the intermediate bolts which are about 50 feet down and a little skier's left tucked into an alcove. Unknown if one 60m rope will reach the ground from the intermediate anchor. Alternatively, from the bolts skier's left of the 'cheater' block, rap skier's right about 50 feet until at a good ledge and walk the ledge skier's right into the alcove to find the intermediate anchors. Unknown if a double rope rap will reach the ground from the anchor that is skier's left of the 'cheater' block.