Mountain Project Logo

I saw jerks climbing Red Rocks after the rain!

Original Post
Tradiban · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2004 · Points: 11,610

It was Sunday, it rained pretty good Saturday. C'mon folks! WAIT to climb RR after rain. Death to the infidels!

frankstoneline · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 30

Justice is best served with a 3 foot length of garden hose.

Michael Kim · · Van Life, USA · Joined Dec 2012 · Points: 351

hey guys, im heading there next week.
If it does rain, how long should I wait to climb.
Thanks

Hillis Coward · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2015 · Points: 20

They're gonna ruin some classic climbs!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE should start a thread about this, to raise awareness!

R. Moran · · Moab , UT · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 140

Not gonna work. People can't read anymore. Too dumb. Time to start reinforcing every hold. google.com/url?sa=t&source=…

Goran Lynch · · Alpine Meadows, CA · Joined Jul 2008 · Points: 6

This was a tricky one, I think: if you weren't out on Saturday night, it would have been really hard to tell that any rain occurred. My partner and I were caching gear on Saturday evening when the rain came (that's another story) but pretty much everyone we met had no idea that it had rained. Aside from hiking around at night, is there a bulletin board or some other source of info for when it's rained up high but stayed dry in town?

Matthew Gaines · · Las Vegas, NV · Joined Dec 2014 · Points: 0
Tradoholic wrote:It was Sunday, it rained pretty good Saturday. C'mon folks! WAIT to climb RR after rain. Death to the infidels!
I was out there on Sunday, yet didn't break a single hold... This whole rain thing is gimmick. If anything, climbing after the rain is useful since it's taking off holds that were naturally going to exfoliate anyways, but that's just my opinion.

Is it common to reinforce holds w/ glue at RR? That seems like it would be a better strategy to keeping key holds on a route that look like they're going to come off in the future. I've seen this in quite a few areas that I've climbed in.
R. Moran · · Moab , UT · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 140

Rifle rocks. I love it. Secret 13 ' s anyone?

R. Moran · · Moab , UT · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 140

I'm gonna air drop scotch guard like fire retardant over the whole park.

Matthew Gaines · · Las Vegas, NV · Joined Dec 2014 · Points: 0

Haha! Well, I was kidding about climbing on Sunday.

It seems nonsensical to promote not climbing after the rain in Red Rocks. That problem is arbitrary, when looking at the much bigger issue. Red Rocks has sandstone which is friable rock, whether classics are climbed wet or dry, holds will eventually break.

What really doesn't help is the thousand of climbers that climb year around in the area. The ideal of conserving the rock is about as good as the energy efficiency programs that are used in California...

R. Moran · · Moab , UT · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 140

Your right why delay the inevitable. We are all gonna die someday. You should go kill yourself. Why try to preserve what will ultimately end.

DesStone · · Washington UT · Joined Sep 2014 · Points: 0

Sandstone becomes at least 50% weaker after becoming wet. It amazes me to hear that one will justify climbing after rain because the holds will break eventually anyway. I've climbed in the desert my whole life, waiting a day or two after rain is common sense. A good way to tell if the stone is good to climb is find smaller rocks on the ground, flip them over and if there dry underneath then your good to go.

R. Moran · · Moab , UT · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 140

Remember everyone when it comes to...

Redrox
That...
BIG

Thomas Beck · · Las Vegas, Nevada · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 1,025

Deliberately staying off sharp edges and climbing weight distributed, I broke off a rather large and rounded sloping foothold on Friday (2/6) which I thought was quite solid. Small cam below my feet and I almost pitched; Sun exposed East facing route.

I was gun shy after that. Finished the day at the upper Hamlet which was drier. I crumbled some tiny bits but nothing crucial broke off.

Had sprinkles coming out the trail (2nd Pullout) at 4:30PM on Saturday and looked like rain in the canyons and up towards La Madre. There was enough moisture on the loop road to turn on the wipers of the Toyota but dry once I reached the 215.

I've given up warning people. They are gonna do what they do.

Merlin · · Grand Junction · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 10

We aren't actually climbers. We are engineers testing when wet sandstone passes it's plastic deformation limit. We plan on visiting several dessert climbing areas such as the creek, red rocks, garden of the gods, etc to test for failure rates as a function of water saturation. Please kindly refrain from inciting bias towards our valuable scientific research.

tim · · Boulder, CO · Joined Aug 2006 · Points: 507
Merlin wrote:We aren't actually climbers. We are engineers testing when wet sandstone passes it's plastic deformation limit. We plan on visiting several dessert climbing areas such as the creek, red rocks, garden of the gods, etc to test for failure rates as a function of water saturation. Please kindly refrain from inciting bias towards our valuable scientific research.
Yeah, you guys were sending down some big shit, but can't you do your research off an existing route?
Merlin · · Grand Junction · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 10
tim wrote: Yeah, you guys were sending down some big shit, but can't you do your research off an existing route?
It really depends on whether we are looking for shear or compressive stress failure rates. We like to asses the connection between certain rock features and the underlying strata they are attached to and determine suitability for testing. Whether it is a route or not doesn't really come into consideration. Spring is really our busy season for gathering data, the recent warm/wet climate has been a great benefit to us.
Tradiban · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2004 · Points: 11,610
Thomas Beck wrote:Deliberately staying off sharp edges and climbing weight distributed, I broke off a rather large and rounded foothold on Friday (2/6) which I thought was quite solid. Small cam below my feet and I almost pitched; Sun exposed East facing route. I was gun shy after that. Finished the day at the upper Hamlet which was drier. I crumbled some tiny bits but nothing crucial broke off. Had sprinkles coming out the trail (2nd Pullout) at 4:30PM on Saturday and looked like rain in the canyons and up towards La Madre. There was enough moisture on the loop road to turn on the wipers of the Toyota but dry once I reached the 215. I've given up warning people. They are gonna do what they do.
Was that on Unimpeachable? Got on it right after you I think.
Thomas Beck · · Las Vegas, Nevada · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 1,025

no

Pnelson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2015 · Points: 635
Merlin wrote: We plan on visiting several dessert climbing areas ...
Dessert climbing?
Richard Dower · · Overland Park, KS · Joined Dec 2006 · Points: 150

After two major rain events I very tactfully asked several groups to not climb. Not one person has ever stopped because of my input. One asked if we were rangers. This year alone I know of major damage to "The Pearl", "Meadowlark Lemon", "Caustic Cock", "Big Bad Wolf" all done on days immediately after rain events. The humidity has been very high after the recent rains so the normal 24 hour wait should absolutely be extended at least one more day. But, I'm done trying to be the police on this since no one thinks they will be "that person" that changes a classic.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Nevada
Post a Reply to "I saw jerks climbing Red Rocks after the rain!"

Log In to Reply

Join the Community

Create your FREE account today!
Already have an account? Login to close this notice.

Get Started.