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Weekend rock strength forecast?

Original Post
Phil Esra · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2010 · Points: 100

Forecast looks sunny this weekend but rainy before then. Would anyone be willing to take a guess about whether sunny routes will be in shape by the weekend (Sat->)? Not sure what the rules of thumb are for trad vs. sport and other variables.

That Red Rock faq sticky, by the way, is fantastic.

jordand · · Seattle, WA · Joined May 2012 · Points: 100

Curious about this myself. I'm interested in climbing some overhanging sport routes over the next few days. If the holds don't get any direct exposure to the rain, and the rock doesn't seep at the top, the route is safe to climb, right?

W L · · NEVADASTAN · Joined Mar 2010 · Points: 851

The rock at Red Rock is very porous and I would not suggest climbing even the overhanging stuff in the rain. As is often the case, even on the steeper routes here the topouts are exposed to the rain (as is the hardware atop the routes). I am not a geologist, but I would think that with the heavy rains we have had here over the past 24 hours that even attempting to climb the steep routes is a bad idea.

As far as the weekend, my best guess would be to hold off climbing util Sunday. With over .66 of an inch of measurable precip so far at the visitor's center (the annual average is 4.13 inches total, so this is a very significant precip event) and measurable precip in the forecast until tomorrow mid-morning ( forecast.weather.gov/MapCli…), I would probably hold off climbing at Red Rock until Sunday.

Also, here are a few useful links for Red Rock...

raws.dri.edu/cgi-bin/rawMAI… - Desert Research Institute weather gauge @ Visitor's Center with historical data readily accessible. This is not fool-proof and it can be nuking in one canyon and be dry at the visitor's center, so to be taken with a grain of salt.

forecast.weather.gov/MapCli… - NOAA spot forecast for the area. More accurate than your iPhone weather for Las Vegas.

gustfront.ccrfcd.org/sensor… - Clark County Regional Flood Control District data...another good data point to have in the back pocket. As with any remote censor data, take it with a grain of salt. For example, the detention basin off 159 near the park is only reading .01 inch and the data has remained unchanged over the past day...when all other data points nearby indicate significant rainfall. Anyway, I'm not a hydrologist, but just more data points to add to things.

Hope these help

SNevadaClimbersCoalition · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2013 · Points: 16

Some information.

lvclimberscouncil.org/#!cli…

Phil Esra · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2010 · Points: 100

Thanks, Weston, that's helpful! LV, I couldn't get that link to work?

Mike Schasch · · Bellingham, WA · Joined Jan 2008 · Points: 0

So did y'all get much rain?

Michael Kimm · · Free Soil, MI · Joined Jun 2007 · Points: 2,585

There have been four straight days of rain in Red Rock (including today). Total precip is approaching 1".. which is a ton for us, and that's just at the visitor's center. The canyons, no doubt, have gotten more.
Sunday may be the earliest possible climbing, and then only at the crags that get direct sun all day long. It's gonna take a bit for this to dry out.

Phil Esra · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2010 · Points: 100

Thanks, Michael. Does that include the Sunny and Steep crag? (That sounds like one of the sunnier spots in the whole area?)

W L · · NEVADASTAN · Joined Mar 2010 · Points: 851

Agreed. For reference, this was what the park looked like yesterday driving along 159...and judging by the absence of visibility and continued presence of moisture, still looks like:



Please stay off the rock this weekend.
Phil Esra · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2010 · Points: 100

Word. Thanks. Does everything in the area dry up within the same day? Or by Monday, will it be safe to climb at [crags with x characteristics] but not at other areas?

Joshua Tree for the win!

kenr · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2010 · Points: 16,608

I was out scrambling on peaks of the northwest Calico Hills - (very interesting + fun).
No sun at all until about 11:30. Then intermittent sun, about half the time.
No significant wind the whole time.

Ken

Jacob Koffler · · Las Vegas · Joined Jan 2014 · Points: 10

even though it might be sunny on saturday, with all the fog and mist this week, it will still be too dangerous to climb this sunday most likely.. my take anyway

Cody P · · Las Vegas, NV · Joined Apr 2013 · Points: 15

This is the saddest thread I have ever read....

Arin F · · Las Vegas · Joined Oct 2011 · Points: 64

Did the hiking thing with the family yesterday. Hit Pine Creek and cruised by Dark Shadows. Noticed climbers on every pitch of birdland, groups on dark shadows, Y2k, and the list goes on. Pretty sad but this is the norm.

Rob WardenSpaceLizard · · las Vegans, the cosmic void · Joined Dec 2011 · Points: 130

I am thinking of heading down checking this out with the hope of getting a good idea on the rock ...I live in Zion and there were folks on Moonlight the day after rain. Some people just don't care and it irritates me.

Mike Schasch · · Bellingham, WA · Joined Jan 2008 · Points: 0
Rob Warden, Space Lizard wrote:I am thinking of heading down checking this out with the hope of getting a good idea on the rock ...I live in Zion and there were folks on Moonlight the day after rain. Some people just don't care and it irritates me.
Moonlight.....is that the one where you hold the chains, then walk directly THROUGH the water???
Phil Esra · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2010 · Points: 100

Some are surely dickheads, but a lot of people, especially on the trade routes, are probably just clueless. The problem may be solvable, but it seems clear that it's going to take a different, or at least far more proactive, approach.

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

Tuesday 12/9 the rock was still damp out by the Hamlet (first pullout) from the recent rain. I broke off a few edges rapping down some easy top-rope near that area. With unsettled weather predicted Friday and next week, climbing without breaking some holds somewhere will be dicey. I would not trust my gear to be really solid.

Daniel Winder · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2009 · Points: 101
Stone Nude wrote:how about the new broken key hold on Caustic Cock at Cannibal Crag?
Bummer. That is (was?) a really fun route.
Rob WardenSpaceLizard · · las Vegans, the cosmic void · Joined Dec 2011 · Points: 130

did that rain on firday the 12th ever show up? I am getting conflicting reports

Likeasummerthursday · · Las Vegas, Nevada · Joined Jul 2014 · Points: 90
Rob Warden, Space Lizard wrote:did that rain on firday the 12th ever show up? I am getting conflicting reports
Def did. Saturated. Oak Creek was difficult to cross at places. A fair amount of snow on the high RR peaks. Plenty still there. Humidity is high.
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Nevada
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