My friend and I are driving home from Boulder, Colorado to Delaware next week and we are thinking of stopping at Red River for a day or two to break up the drive. Looking at the climbing areas, I am quite overwhelmed with the possibilities. We would be looking to sport climb anything from 5.8-5.11s and/or trad 5.5 to 5.10s. I was wondering, since we will be there for so short of a period, if anyone has any suggestions of where we should start so that we can get in optimal climbing. Thanks.

P.S. Does anyone have any suggestions of soft 5.12 sport climbs that would be good to break the grade.

Ro Sham Po is way soft for .12a

i knew i had seen this list somewhere:

Ellington's 2nd edition guide has a list of best 12a sport routes in the gorge to transition from 11 to 12-they are kind of scattered though. here they are. I have yet to make it to the Red, so i cannot help you out with any recommendations. hope this list helps you though. mike

Ro Shampo
kick me in the jimmie
buddha hole
bare metal teen
hippocrite
check your grip
too many puppies
chainsaw massacre
hard core jollies
wild, yet tasty

well if you want your first 12 to be a soft 12 try wild yet tasty at left flank... fun moves just, like all RRG climbs, pumpy... really cool crux with a "crimp"

while you are at left flank, warm up on To defy the laws of tradition, and aquaduck pocket.

oh and don't melt down there!

Twinkie is a super line. No move is too hard.

i think you'll have a lot of options spending a couple days in the gorge.

Emerald City and Global Village are two areas that don't get a ton of traffic. here are links to some info (the online guidebook is a great resource) -

http://www.redriverclimbing.com/RRCGuide/show_wall.php?id=57

http://www.redriverclimbing.com/RRCGuide/show_wall.php?id=56

lots of really high quality sport routes in the 10 to 12 range. many are crimpy and not typical RRG "mindless jug hauls," but they really are super enjoyable. not sure if any of the 12s are soft, but i remember seeing a really cool looking 12a called Flying Monkeys at Emerald City. Bouldery start out of a hueco and then crimps to the top. also there's No Place Like Home, a really sick 11c that follows an fun, exposed arete.

i highly recommend these areas. they're only about 2 miles south of miguel's and have really short approaches, and are right near one another. some decent trad lines, too. these routes have seen a bit less traffic than a lot of the rest of the stuff at the red, like Ro Shampo, which is white with chalk. skip roadside. stop 2 miles earlier and go to emerald city.

try to climb in the shade, it'll feel like 150 in the sun.

If this is your first time to the Red, do yourself a favor and check out the popular areas to see what all the hype is about: steep climbing on good holds is always a good time, and it doesn't get any better than the Red.

As mentioned, there is a fantastic online guidebook: http://www.redriverclimbing.com/RRCGuide/

My recommendation would be Roadside Crag. 5-min approach, good rock, great mix of difficulty, and yeah, Ro Shampo, the notoriously soft 12a, is there. There are several good 10s to warm up on. I would def hit up The Return of Chris Snyder (11d), a crazy pumpy line that seems to go on forever up steep rock on great holds.

Alternately, you could check out Military Wall and Left Flank (you park at the same spot for both, maybe a 20 minute walk between the two). At Military wall, Fuzzy Undercling (11b) is probably the most popular 11 at the Red. To the left of that route are three 12s that are all amazing.

I've never been to the Red this time of year, but I'll bet you're in for some seriously sweltering summer heat & humidity...esp. coming from Boulder :)

Roadside will be HOT! Except for a couple routes. Same with global village. Check out Sore Heel hollow (the road is a little bit rough getting there, but doable in a normal car) Shady Grove, Playground, the gallery - all stacked with good sport routes in the 5.10 - 5.12 range. Military wall has some good stuff that will stay shady as well. Get a cabin at Torrent falls (or register for one of the passes online) and you will have an amazing variety of routes to chose from, right outside your door. If you want a bit of a mix of sport and trad, and are not afraid of the heat, it is hard to go wrong with Sky Bridge Ridge or Funk Rock City.

Some route that a lot of people do for their first 5.12:

Stay the hand
Wild, Yet Tasty
Manifest destiny
crack the whip
Ro

Check out the online guidebook for more, but if I just had a couple days these crags would be at the top of the list:
Torrent
Military
Gallery
Roadside (if you can avoid the sun, or it is raining)
SKy Bridge Ridge

Yeah, Roadside does get a lot of sun, my bad...listen to Wes!

Torrent WOULD be perfect, but I've only been able to climb there when renting a cabin (are the online passes a new way to climb at torrent?)

http://www.torrentfallsclimbing.com/ not sure if it is in full operation yet, but should be in the next week or so. Basically, there will be three parking passes per day, Thurs - Sun. with a recommended group size of three. Have to get up early to get a pass, but worth it. It looks really good after getting a nice rest from the crowds. And it is an amazing place to have a wedding! (check out my blog for some torrent wedding photos from me, and from a couple weddings we shoot there)

torrent is pretty spectacular. tons of 10s and 11s, classic red-style climbing, and some 12s to cut your teeth on.

Muir Valley is worth checking out, too. The Boneyard has a couple of the best Red River 11s I've been on, and there are a lot of crags in close proximity. It's pretty well vegetated as compared with places like Roadside, so you might catch some relief from the sun, but certainly not humidity.

Trad or sport?
Sport:
Ro Shampo is an easy 12 as others have said.
Emerald City has some of the best no-jug climbing in the red, with No Place Like Home being the best of them, a spectacular 11c.

Trad:
Long wall: Enjoy Autum, Rock Wars, Vector Trouble, Yuk, and others.
Fortress Wall: Easier Trad lines, but also the sandbagged "Where Lizards Dare (5.9)" and "The Battlement (5.10)"
One of my all-time Fav trad lines in the Red is "Jungle Beat (5.9++)"