[Hide Comment] Climbed with my sweetie 10/24/05.

Another incredible Joe Herbst route, in a beautiful canyon with an absoultely magnificent summit that I never wanted to leave! A Red Rock climb that won't be forgotten!

My two cents.... We had gear up to a #3 but I felt some larger gear would have come in handy in several spots on a few of the pitches. Also...there's a bit of chossy rock to deal with at times. Oct 25, 2005

[Hide Comment] This was an awesome route. The roof traverse is an incredibly aesthetic line and a great photo op.

When we were there we did not see a single person in the entire canyon: a welcome change after doing crimson chrysalis the previous day. Feb 11, 2007

[Hide Comment] I think that most 5.7 leaders will be over their heads a bit on this one. Wide gear is getting lighter and you'll appreciate it on pitch 2. It's as good as everyone says, enjoy it! Mar 22, 2007

[Hide Comment] As an alternate to the water streak for P6-P7, jodie b. nicely lead the corner up and slightly right of the large oak (at the top of the gully). This seemed like a nice variation to a scary, largely unprotected water streak. Oct 10, 2007

[Hide Comment] At all costs link pitches 4 and 5. I've now done it both ways and the hanging belay from the detached block at the end of p4 is unnerving. The start of p5 puts the leader's butt in the belayer's face right at a crux sequence with a potential lead fall directly on to the anchor.

Linking the pitches requires some thoughtful rope management to avoid rope drag but we managed and the rope fed smooth as silk. Jan 31, 2008

[Hide Comment] Great route. Get an early start in the winter as trail finding on the way out is random. We were 10.5 hours car to car without too much goofing off.

It'd be tough for a 5.7 leader as there are some run outs. The 5.8 section was more like easy 5.7. I thought the Crux was the 2nd pitch.

I had a single rack with doubles on 2" and 3". That was plenty.

Prod. Nov 29, 2008

[Hide Comment] While the water streak is probably too much for the 5.7/5.8 leader, it is a beautiful pitch with fun moves on excellent rock. While you can't put gear in wherever you like, the pitch does protect and is a lot of fun. Mar 30, 2009

[Hide Comment] Fantastic climb with a remote feel. This wall starts high up, so the approach has significant vertical gain. The roof on P5 is burly and was led by my partner with difficulty. Seconding, I climbed up the fridge-sized "loose block" on the right and so bypassed the burly roof. I thought the hanging belay was pretty cool and great for photo ops. But I'd skip it next time.

The P7 "water streak" is out of character with the rest of the route in that serious injury is possible for a shaky leader. If you follow the chalk, there is a 30 foot section of sustained 5.8 smearing/stemming with tiny edges for handholds and only a thin crack near the top for protection. An ugly 20' sliding fall is a real possibility onto the sloping ledge up and right from the belay, with another 20' of tumbling if you don't stop there. I recommend avoiding this pitch (as shown in the Handren topo) if you are not feeling confident.

On P7 I climbed the water streak but did not follow the chalk. Zig right on a 5.7 upward traverse, then zag left on an unprotected 5.4R ramp, rejoining the chalked line above the 30' sustained section. The rock was a bit fragile and it didn't appear anyone had gone this way recently. There is also a single bolt about 40' above here that confused me (apparently, this bolt is on the last pitch of Hot Fudge Thursday). Instead, I moved left and up, past a large detached block lying against the face to easier ground.

The descent is simple by RR standards, the Handren guide's description is perfect. Apr 22, 2009

[Hide Comment] Beautiful sunny mid-winter day on 19 Dec 09. Got an early start and had an amazing time up this. Made 5 pitches out of it. Scrambled up the first "pitch" then linked P2 and P3, and P4 and P5 through the roof. Ended up with awesome ledges to belay from besides the hanging belay right before the roof section.

Water streaks are a little dicey like mentioned. First one is protected by the only bolt on the route, a rusty quarter-inch with a homemade hangar. Second dicey move is about 30 feet higher but sunk a decent .75 C4 right below it, so a fall there wouldnt be too bad.

Striking views of the greater Vegas area and the entire basin await when you top it out. There is a summit register in an ammo can a bit north of where you top out at, as well as a nice ledge to take the view in from.

Descent is lengthy, hike off the slabs to the west, lots of loose rock. 10 hours car to car with a lot of BSing on the ledges and a good hour on the top hanging out. Have fun!

SR Dec 23, 2009

[Hide Comment] Definitely recommend combining pitches 4+5, using long runners under the big roof. Also, pretty easy to combine pitches 7+8, you will easily reach the summit with a 60m rope. I actually enjoyed the crux of p7, which i thought was the crux of the route. A bomber .75 c4 is right at your feet, as was mentioned. It is hard to read, but if you figure it out it isn't too bad. Mar 17, 2010

[Hide Comment] second pitch definitly sustained 5.7 the ENTIRE way. kinda tough! Feb 4, 2011

[Hide Comment] The trail up to this route is perfectly obvious and easy. We made it to the base of the route in an hour (and we are not triathletes). We chose to build the hanging belay at the end of the P.4 roof pitch, both for aesthetics (it's cool to watch the second come up) and rope management (it' would be hard to string it out to the next belay). The belay isn't bad at all (small cams and nuts in an overhead crack on the left, mid-sized cams in the crack on the right)---and you can definitely paste your feet to the wall. When starting the next pitch, instead of stepping left five feet and surmounting the roof (5.8 and really awkward), you can hand traverse the block out the right side of the roof for five feet and then step up onto the face and back into the line of the route. It's still probably 5.8, but way less awkward. On P.7, (the second water streak pitch) you can easily escape left (5.4) onto a black, varnished wall, then climb straight up (passing the obvious cactus) and take the pitch 100 feet to the top of the 5th class climbing. Jubilant Song is a really fun route with fabulous positions on a high and exposed peak. May 25, 2011

[Hide Comment] After you do the traverse under the huge roof and pull the moves up the following corner, you will suddenly have perfect comprehension of how this route's name came to be... Nov 16, 2011

[Hide Comment] There are so many good routes in red rocks I can't believe this thing gets any traffic at all. Don't bother with it.

The only saving grace is the well cairned approach and decent trail. Dec 1, 2011

[Hide Comment] I would advise to disregard what Mr. Manlove has said about this great route. The trail is well marked from the parking lot to the base of the route due to the use the trail sees from hikers summiting Windy Peak. The approach can be done in under an hour. Link the 1st two pitches with a 70m and don't bother to bring anything larger than a #4 Camalot- one will suffice. The crack is wide but can be protected with mid-sized gear. On the traversing pitches the rock is soft but no worse than anything else you'll find on other RR routes. We did not belay off the loose blocks after P4- they seemed sketchy. The rest of the climbing is pretty straightforward with one delicate section of 5.8 climbing but then is cruiser to the top. This route is a great winter route plus there is a great summit with a summit register hidden in an ammo box. Our car to car time was just under 6.5 hours. Dec 4, 2011

[Hide Comment] Andy, we linked 2-3 with a 70m barely, not 1-2. Best to climb the short first pitch to the ledge then link the next two.

Definitely link 4-5, don't belay off that hanging block, it looks really bad, surmount the roof and around a corner is a nice set of cracks for a belay.

I wish we would have lined 6-7 up the water streak, it would have been more enjoyable but would probably need a 70m as well. A red C3 was key in the p7 crux. Dec 4, 2011

[Hide Comment] Some people see cold beer, pretty girls, and hear good music bumping on the stereo, and think "this party sucks." This route's a lot of fun. The name is there for a reason. Large hexes work great on the route+save weight, I can see linking helping out, only part that seemed sketchy to me on the whole route was the moves above the junk bolt, once that's replaced, it'll be even more badass. Dec 4, 2011

[Hide Comment] Agreed, this climb has the whole package, reasonable approach, technical climbing, a little spice, great summit and easy walk off. No more choss than any other RR moderate.

I didn't think the bolt was too manky either but an update might be nice. On par with the run-out on the other pitches it wouldn't be unreasonable to not have it there at all, there's a bomber #2 C4 a bit lower down. Dec 4, 2011

[Hide Comment] Although I did clip the bolt I would suspect that any other confident leader wouldn't need to clip it at all. The reason I did was because there was a lot of hullabaloo about the moves above the bolt- but those were clearly not 5.8 moves and with that good #2 C4 below you it wouldn't be too nervewracking to have no bolt there. But, to keep the route original (the bolt wasn't put up on the FA was it? Unlikely.) a bolt replacement wouldn't be a bad idea. Overall I would say this route is not burly for the grade as some had indicated. I have certainly been on harder Herbst routes with the same grade. Dec 5, 2011

[Hide Comment] Fun route with an airy 4th pitch. Went up an exciting variation on the last pitch that went out right past a piton, under a roof with a crack in the back. Seemed 5.9ish? Anyone know anything about it? You can link the last two pitches this way.

Also, it seems like starting on "A Song & A Prayer" to the right, up to the ledge would be a better way to start the route. Dec 30, 2012

[Hide Comment] First to ascend route in 2013! What a great day! No need for anything larger than #3. Beautiful all day sun! Try building anchor just above roof problem above pitch 4. No issues w/ rope drag if done correctly. car to car in 7.5 hours. Jan 6, 2013

[Hide Comment] Wonderful! Good climbing with a remote and more serious feel to it. Finishes on a summit too, as well as having an inspiring name. Did it on the recommendation of Larry de Angelo - if you happen to see this Larry - thanks from The Brits you met on "Lotta Balls" October 21st.
Jan 16, 2013

[Hide Comment] AWESOME route.

The approach was pretty straightforward. We followed the directions in Handren's guide and found everything no problem. We also discovered a slightly faster way through the dirt roads - taking the second turnoff after the Black Velvet parking(instead of the first one) brings you closer to the 4-way intersection, and skips some very rocky sections of the road.

Someone had broken into a car in the other parking lot (closer to Illusion Crags). Don't leave valuables out here.

We linked P4 and the first part of P5, and then linked the rest of P5, P6, and part of P7. I meant to go around the 5.8 bit in the water streak by taking the 5.4 variation, but missed it, and ended up going through some roofs between those two lines that felt about 5.6/7. Can't wait to go back! Apr 2, 2013

[Hide Comment] Last weekend was my first time climbing at Red Rocks.

The approach is supposed to be 1 - 1.5 hours according to the guide book. However my climbing partner was not that fit -- it took us 3 hours to start the first pitch from the time we parked the car. There is a lot of loose rock to scramble over, and the path is often faint.

I lead every pitch. This takes more time -- I managed no better than 1 hour per pitch.

At the end of pitch 2 the guidebook says "on top of some boulders". There is a boulder with a pyramid point that is just right for sling-looping. Under the boulder some webbing and a steel screw link provide for a nice last-clip -- which was great because I had just about run out of cams. Would anyone suggest the best way of setting up a belay anchor at this point?

I noticed the boulder creaked occasionally -- like there were micro movements. This boulder is going to fall at some point and I hope no-one is standing on it when it does. I tried to figure out mechanically what ever must be keeping it in place and I concluded that it was a miracle.

Now if you look at the picture titled "Upper pitches of Jubilant Song": some time around point 5 or 6 it seemed natural to climb to the left -- to me it's no more difficult than anything climbed in the lower pitches. I certainly was not aware of the water streak while I was climbing although the guidebook says to look out for it.

We got to the top near sunset; after a time we needed headlamps to find our way down. The wind was howling at the top. A compass is best for finding the north west direction off the plateau -- so glad my Casio Protrek watch has one. Finding our backpacks was not easy. On the way back to the car large numbers of Cairns and Google satellite view prevented us from getting completely lost.

We finally got back to the car 14 hours later at 9pm. There was no rescue party waiting -- I don't think the park rangers even check this side of the mountain for late-night cars.

As to the grade, myself I can lead a 5.10b in the gym, but I still would not climb anything more difficult than Jubilant Song when it comes to multi-pitch Trad climbing. The approach, weight of the gear, sustained effort, height exposure, and dehydration, are all factors that subtract from the grade you *think* you can climb.

Next time I'll make sure my partner gets their fitness up in the weeks before I climb to prepare for this approach. Starting well before sunrise would also be a good idea.

And also make sure I have high-quality head-lamps to take all the way to the summit in case of a late walk-out. Oct 31, 2013

[Hide Comment] Joshua, sounds like you had a great adventure! Great job getting down in the dark without incident! After you gain more trad experience, you will learn how to go faster, safely. My first long trad climbs I went so slow I ended up spending more than one unexpected night out, but after a while I learned how to speed things up. Some years ago I repeated the first climb I did in Yosemite (Royal Arches (5.10- or 5.7 A0)) in probably 1/3 the time! Oct 31, 2013

[Hide Comment] Great climb!!!! The roof traverse is absolute gold. I led the second pitch, stemming in the corner. Pro is great but it is a whopper of a 5.7 if you do not have good stemming technique. For the novice leader be prepared to feel the burn. I found it best to climb fast and run it out rather than waste energy placing a lot of gear. the rest of the pitches were really fun. definitely worth the long hike in. If this was closer to Red Rock park it would be constantly mobbed. Mar 31, 2014

[Hide Comment] This route has a beautiful approach and solitude. With all due respect, I will give my two cents in hopes that it helps climbers who may be close to their ability and experience level on this one.

The first part is crack climbing with many face holds (pitch 1 to the middle of pitch 3). At the end of the second pitch there is a loose blocky section that I would suggest climbing past and belaying in a nice chimney-ledge zone that is composed of pretty good rock and has a large area to stand and sort out gear.

The middle section is the fantastic roof traverse. Linking P4 and P5 is easy to do for the leader but may have some drawbacks. The follower could be faced with a nasty, slabby pendulum if you reduce rope drag by running it out (or back cleaning excessively). There are good placements under the roof, so I would suggest using them with double length runners. The issue is that you may have a hard time communicating with the follower, thus you may tug on them as they are traversing. Each time they clean a piece, they risk being pulled off by the top belay. There may be a way to set up the belay from the end of P5 so that you can still communicate with the follower if the wind picks up.

The final section (p6 and p7) is the water polished groove. If you don't like the first part of the groove for p6, consider going up a shallow corner that is just above-right after the gully with the shrub (a few people have already mentioned this). The corner has a fun mantle move, good pro and you can exit via fun face moves (maybe harder than 5.7, but well protected) . P7 took small cams every 8 feet or so (small red and then blue metolius), not too much different than the spacing on a sport climb - but it feels run out compared to the rest of the climb where pro seems to be available everywhere. Apr 5, 2014

[Hide Comment] WOW mega classic, this climb deserves 4 stars, the approach is far but well worth it for a great adventure! Anyone have any information on a variation to the last pitch? i lead up to a broken corner with a fixed piton in an off witdth section. we were able to combine the last 2 pitches this way. last pitch felt more like 5.9ish to me climbing it this way. Nov 6, 2014

[Hide Comment] I just attended Richard Harrison's memorial at Blue Diamond and now, a day later, my mind goes back to our high school days (1971) and our first trip to Red Rocks to visit Joe Herbst and try on some Red Rock sandstone for size. Richard and I were both from Upland, California and had been climbing for little more than a year, but were already lifers, dreaming of the High Lonesome. We certainly found it on Jubilant Song, which Joe had first climbed a few months before and encouraged us to bag as our first big multi-pitch adventure. Not really. We'd done dozens of muiltipitch lines at Tahquitz and Suicide but none with the wild remoteness of Jubilant Song, which was more like climbing a small mountain than swooping up a crag route. We had a hand drawn topo that described a series of remote dirt paths that we somehow followed to the base and once we hit that big corner we were off the the races. I remember on that big traversing pitch I felt like God out there on the lead and was hoping the wired nuts I was placing were going to hold if things got grim and I pitched off. On top we got caught in a white out and couldn't see twenty feet ahead and only found our way back to the road by listening to the sound of truck horns miles away. It took hours and we were freezing. Hitched back to the turnoff to Herbst's trailer (at a Boy Scout ranch) and had to tromp two miles through shin high drifts to get there. And it was locked. Herbst had gone looking for us.

The first of many epics with my first climbing partner, Red Rock pioneer and mentor to several generations of Nevada climbers - the one and only Richard Harrison. We love you bro.

JL
Nov 16, 2014

[Hide Comment] P2 is full on 5.8. Very sustained. This is where your #4(s) will provide a restful breath.

P5 To get out of and over the chockstone belay you will have to pull an uncharacteristically non-sandbagged 5.8 (old-school) move.

P7 The moves up the water streak are more non-sandbagged 5.8 insecure slab moves. There is great pro (.75) at your feet, so go for it. If you are unsure, it is easy to retreat and pull the much easier 5.6ish face moves to the left.

This route is legit 5.8. Mar 11, 2015

[Hide Comment] Great homily john. Ujahn and I did this route yesterday. The advice up thread to take the 2nd road past the black velvet turn off will be what I try next time. The Handren directions allowed me to confirm that a rental car does a poor job as a road grader although we did press ours into service. Wound up parking about a mile further down the road and walking the road to the trailhead.

The route was great. The P2 comments above seemed accurate, it was harder than the 4th P 5.8 we both thought. Still very do able, long slings will allow you to get smaller pro back in the crack. Due to each of us tossing another Yellow onto the rack, we had 3 yellow Aliens and I used them all running the under the roof pitch and the 5.8 pitch into one. I think you could get by with a single #3, although a double in the 1 and 2" range would be nice. We brought a medium Supercam, which is @ 1/4 inch larger than the #3 and goes almost as small as a #2. That covered the 2 and 3 sizes to act as a double that Handren suggests and we tended to think we could have easily left it at home. If you are climbing at the grade or off the couch, I'd bring something like it, although a #4 is not needed. Single nuts were nice as well although we didn't use them all.

My buddy had his 42nd birthday to celebrate and I screwed him over unintentionally by suggesting he must have dropped the green alien on p2 when he asked where it was at the changeover as I remembered placing it. I turn 61 in 3 weeks and the memory must be going as the thing was back at the hotel room. Dohh!

Anyway. 6:45 car to car including the extra couple miles and doing the "spare protection" 5.8 finish instead of the 5.4. (Note on that, my thoughts are that a fall at the start of that would suck bigtime, go the 5.4 and don't worry over it if it looks hard and you are concerned you might fall) Now I need to get the front fender put back in before I return the rental car. Cheap plastic shit. Oct 22, 2015

[Hide Comment] Fun varied route, a good alternative if you are sick of waiting at belays. My partner placed a cam, nut, cam, and tri cam in the 20 ft "runnout" section Jan 5, 2016

[Hide Comment] Absolutely loved this climb. We had the peak to ourselves the entire day. We took a little too much time enjoying the sun and moderate temps, and ended up summiting at sunset. Who ever placed the wonderful cairn trail was a god send. We had no troubles finding our way back to our packs with a single headlamp and a full moon. Feb 23, 2016

[Hide Comment] great fun! the climbing is interesting and varied, fairly graded at 5.8, and the summit top-out is a treat. The approach hike and descent are well-marked. The approach is strenuous - almost 1400' of elevation gain over 1.5 miles - but it's worth it, and you may have the wall to yourself. At the risk of stating the obvious, Windy Peak can be windy... Nov 7, 2016

[Hide Comment] Had all of Windy Peak to ourselves. Jubilant Song is a great route! We tossed a coin to decide if we were going to do JS or Hot Fudge Thursday. Mostly 5.7 climbing with a dash of 5.8 here and there. Tough little move after the roof traverse....some old skool 5.8. Advise long slings for the Roof Traverse or the rope drag will be heinous. As expressed, thanks to those that placed cairns for the descent. Back to the packs by mid afternoon. Done April 2015. Dec 14, 2016

[Hide Comment] FYI that currently the road is pretty sketch in a small passenger vehicle. Granted our Hyundai Accent is on the very small side, but I optimistically thought that my skills with navigating rough roads in inadequate cars would overcome. Hard no. We made it out but the risk of high centering and/or spinning wheels out in the gravel was just a little too much. Made it a third of a mile in and kept hoping we’d make that curve soon and have it get better - but ended up having to err on the side of caution. It also seems that we followed the approach drive beta in the recent book and may have done better to follow the MP directions since I recall the black velvet road being perfectly doable in a tiny car. Super stoked on this route - gonna rent an SUV next trip just to be sure. Nov 26, 2017

[Hide Comment] Lost my favorite yellow mastercam on the first pitch November 2017. If anyone recovers it, I will pay nicely to have it back! Email me at anne.fabricius@gmail.com Dec 1, 2017

[Hide Comment] "Ryan Hoover

Fun route with an airy 4th pitch. Went up an exciting variation on the last pitch that went out right past a piton, under a roof with a crack in the back. Seemed 5.9ish? Anyone know anything about it? You can link the last two pitches this way."

This sounds a lot like what I recall doing, though I don't recall a piton. It was fun but having done the route only once I'm curious where I was on the topo. Oct 31, 2018

[Hide Comment] Great climb. Linked p4 and p5 and extended the anchor using the 60M rope back down to the start of p5. I was standing on top of the detached boulder. It was a good stance to belay my 2 followers. Just another option to consider. Jan 28, 2019

[Hide Comment] Noticed some potential death blocks on second to last pitch. Added a picture as viewed from last bolted belay of hot fudge Thursday. Be careful! Mar 4, 2019

[Hide Comment] Fantastic route with a couple of really cool pitches!
The approach is pretty steep. Make sure you're ready to charge into the adventure. Apr 8, 2019

[Hide Comment] Great route, and super fun adventure climbing. We climbed this on 10/5/19 and had the mountain to ourselves. Took us just over 10 hrs car-to-car.

A few notes of my own that might be helpful to folks.

We simul-climbed the first 3 pitches and belayed below the start of the roof traverse. This felt pretty casual, especially compared to the rest of the route. We did NOT link P4 and P5, and instead opted for an exposed hanging belay at the end of P4. This was done both for photo ops and because the drag would have been awful. We avoided using the sketchy-looking detached block by plugging in some decent gear up high and left of said block. Surmounting the roof at the start of P5 was fun and had some great exposure. I found my #4 to come in handy here.

We then linked P6 and P7 and belayed in a shaded corner below basically the final "hard" move of the climb. I got a bit mixed up with some route finding on these pitches, but maybe that was just the sun getting to me. I climbed up through the chimney and moved right, but I must not have gone far enough to find the bolt in the water groove. Instead I ended up climbing a fun little steep corner with a death flake at the top, and after surmounting this, then moved into the water groove. In retrospect, I think the top of this flake is where P6 was meant to end. The first moves in the water groove here is where the crux of the route is, which I agree is a little heady for the 5.7 climber, however the holds and pro are there and it isn't too bad.

Where I got really off-route was nearing the end of P7. Similar to another comment above, I was tricked by a bolt up far and to the right, which now I realize was the last bolt of Hot Fudge Thursday. After plugging some fairly marginal pro above the crux move, I climbed up a couple of detached blocks that were about 10' below and to the left of this bolt. The moves getting over to this bolt were very thin face climbing with poor feet, and I'd say it goes at ~10+. After committing to a high foot and realizing I couldn't make the move, I tried downclimbing and came off, but fell and landed on these detached blocks instead of going for a 50+' ride. I was fortunate it wasn't worse!

Point being -- don't get pulled over to that bolt like I did; HFT merges w/ JS at this point. Instead, move back left, traversing below the aforementioned detached blocks and pull a few easy face moves to get into that corner. The final pitch is mostly exposed class 4 w/ a single burly chimney move to access another ledge system. The descent is clearly marked by cairns -- you want to head NW toward the back of the peak, and pick up the descent gulley. It spits you out back at the base of JS.

We brought a double rack #0.3-#3, with a single #4, some tiny cams, and a set of stoppers. This is probably much more than you need, but having doubles was nice for simul-climbing the first 3 pitches. I placed the #4 a handful of times and I found the tiny cams to be really useful, though they maybe could have been replaced w/ nuts. Oct 10, 2019

[Hide Comment] Super fun route, with a remote/alpine feel. Be prepared for the approach/descent - it's a slog - took us 2 hours to reach the base of the route (including over an hour on steep terrain) and the descent took us 2.5 hours. There is some loose rock and hollow-sounding flakes to contend with so be careful where you pull/place gear. Totally worth it to reach the summit of Windy Peak and be able to take in the views. Thank you to whoever took the time to place all the cairns - you are a legend! Oct 25, 2019

[Hide Comment] This was my first climb in RR; what an adventure! Here are some lessons learned on my part.

Lesson #1: Study the area topo. On the approach we somehow wandered off the main path early, ending up on the right-hand side of the small gulley. Probably lost 30 minutes coming back down and around to gain the left-hand side of the gulley.

Lesson #2: Missed the water groove up top. We belayed perhaps 30' above the 4th/5th pitch roof pull on a small ledge (rope drag was minimal). From here I forgot to keep my eyes out to the right for the water groove and instead followed what seemed like a natural line going straight up. Much of this was quite easy, but there was one challenging varnished dihedral with some thin fingers (5.6-ish). It was off route but still fun. Maybe an option to consider if you're not feeling up to the on-route 5.8 run-out pitch.

Lesson #3: Plan to hike out in the dark. We were halfway down the steep part of the descent as it got dark. Once we got about halfway across the flat section the trail got much less distinct and we couldn't tell which way to go. The obvious trail seemed to run parallel to the road rather than towards the road. We ended up taking a rather circuitous route to eventually reach the road maybe 10 minutes South of the car. Using a hiking app to trace our path in (so that we could easily reverse said path on the way out) would have been smart.

Lesson #4: Wear cactus-proof shoes. I wore minimalist approach shoes which the spikey cactus balls easily punctured several times. Dec 4, 2019

[Hide Comment] The 1/4" bolt on this route has been replaced. Dec 11, 2020

[Hide Comment] Caution: linking back to Joshua Calvert’s comments from 2013, please exercise extreme caution if setting up a belay at the “pyramid pointed boulder” at the top of pitch 2. If you stop right there, it seems to be the only spot with a good crack to build a good belay, but continue on up into the comfy chimney.
Without getting into too many details, we thought we had properly vetted the spot, but we almost had an accident yesterday when the top of the pointed boulder shifted and some of our belay cams popped out. Please DO NOT USE THE CRACK AT THE DETACHED BLOCK AT THE TOP OF PITCH 2.

That being said, we had a wonderful day out with perfect weather and with great buds. 3* route but not appropriate for the 5.8 leader. Apr 18, 2021

[Hide Comment] A great desert alpine adventure with good climbing and several memorable pitches en route to a gorgeous high red rock summit. Not a casual outing for the novice climber.

Drive the standard Black Velvet gravel road out of the Late Night parking lot and take the first left-hand turn. Follow this road toward Windy Peak. Eventually you'll come to a very rough gully to cross. You can park just before the gully, or if your vehicle is able you can cross over and park a quarter mile down at the next parking area. Expect 15 - 20 minutes of driving until you park.

Approach: From the second parking area locate a trail that heads west down into a wash. If you don't immediately find the trail just head west aiming toward the left (south) side of Windy Peak and there is a good chance you'll eventually encounter the main trail which is well-traveled and well-cairned. The first mile is pleasant, then it becomes very steep for about a half mile until you reach the 'football' field. Follow the trail northwest across the field until you begin ascending steep slick rock. In this area the trail diverges (cairns lead left and right). Either way works: the right variation has more 3rd and 4th class scrambling. Both trail merge before taking you to the base of the climb. For most parties it will take 1:15 to 1:45 hours to reach the base of the climb.

Pitch 1: A 5.6 right facing corner leads to a roof (5.7) which can be protcted well and passed on the left. Easy (5.5) climbing then leads up to an obvious bushy belay ledge.

Note: this ledge is the last place you can escape the route without leaving gear behind. There are no fixed anchors on this route.

Pitch 2: One of the toughest pitches of the climb. Continue up the right-facing wide crack corner system which is steeper than pitch 1. The 5.8 leader will have their hands full on this as you employ a variety of techniques (stemming / off-width / chimney / face-climbing) to earn every foot of this pitch. The first 100 feet is 5.7+ and protects reasonably well with effort (mid to large cams; a great place to use those hexes). The last 40 feet eases up a bit. Carefully belay at a blocky ledge or move further up and in to a cozy chimney belay stance (more secure and protected from the elements but communication and rope drag could be potential issues).

Pitch 3: Climb straight up the chimney and continue up another 60 feet on 5.6 rock that may be somewhat loose in areas. You are aiming for a 20-foot ledge at the start of the beautiful smooth orange section that has a small bush on the left side. Belay on the far right.

Pitch 4: The signature pitch of the climb. Launch right off of the belay into the amazing roof section. The first 30 feet is up an easy (5.6) right-facing corner. When you get up under the overhang you are presented with a wild and wide step to the right. Consider rope drag if placing protection at this turn. Continue the exciting traverse right. Protection isn't available everywhere but with the right sizes you can reasonably protect the traverse (a variety of small to mid-sized cams will work, save at least one 2" and one 3" cam for the hanging belay). You will probably find that in some sections getting high up to the overhang offers the best passage, while in other sections stepping down a few feet to footholds offers a better way across. Eventually you will come up against a block on the far right side with a crack at its back and a pod up on the face for belay anchors. (2" - 3" cams needed here). This is a full hanging belay. Utilizing a finger crack up left under the roof (.5" cam) is a good way to help augment and balance the belay.

Note: the photo opportunity of your follower from this hanging belay is one of the best you will ever have on any climb you'll ever do. Try to rig your belay so you can free your hands (i.e. gri-gri or guide mode) and get photos of your follower.

Note 2: The hanging belay can be uncomfortable. If you don't care for this or taking photos then continuing up pitch 5 is an option. Communication, of course, will be severely comprimised if doing this.

Pitch 5: Pull the roof (5.8) above the hanging belay and skirt right, then up a tricky 5.7 section (.75" or 1" cam for pro with 6 feet of committing moves above it). Continue up an obvious low-angle ramp / chute for 40 feet to a small tree to belay from. This is a comfortable belay but communication will be difficult. The tree is barely adequate as an anchor so be ready to back it up with a 3" cam.

Pitch 6: Continue up the gully / chimney above. Move up to a ledge below a left-facing corner. From here you have two options: (a) To follow the original line step right around a bulge and climb a water chute (5.8) with a protection bolt at its bottom and then run out slab to a ledge 25 feet up. Otherwise (b) climb straight up the nice looking left-facing corner (5.6) to the same ledge 25 feet up.

Pitch 7: Two options. The original line steps right back into the water chute. This chute was easier years ago before weathering and broken holds now render it much harder. Also, the protection here is limited and insubstantial. This option should only be led by those comfortable leading 5.10 slab with questionable gear. A better option that is more in line with the rest of the route is to climb straight up off the ledge (15 feet left of the water chute) on a steep but reasonable (5.7) face. Both options end on a large ledge 50 feet up.

Note: Pitches 6 and 7 can be easily linked no matter which options are exercised.

Pitch 8: Aim for the obvious slot at the left side of the broad overhang looming 50 feet above. Grapple through the slot (awkward 5.7) or climb the more pleasant 5.6 face to the left. From there scamper up low-angled 4th class slabs as far as you care toward the summit (all options from here on up are 4th class or easier).

Budget 2 - 3 hours for the descent which takes you past the base of the climb. Apr 18, 2021

[Hide Comment] I thought the roof traverse was overrated ;) The longer pitches before and after are much better.

FWIW even with a cam right at the beginning of the traverse with a non-extended draw, and a few pieces under the roof, we didn't have much rope drag linking P4-5, so hanging belay is definitely not worth it unless you are really into pictures. Jan 19, 2022

[Hide Comment] Great day out with Nate Ross on Presidents Day 2023, we didn't see another party on the mountain. Route is very sunny and we weren't cold until we topped out and felt the wind. Lat/Long for 4wd parking is approximately 36.0126530, -115.4543120.

We had to park near the start of the dirt road since it was too rowdy to get the van all the way to the actual parking, which added a mile / 20ish minutes to the approach. Still, we did the approach in about 1hr 20min while trying to move relatively fast. Approach & descent routefinding was relatively easy to find with cairns marking much of the trail.

We pitched it out as follows: 1, 2, 3, 4+5 (why do a roof belay unless you want pictures?), 6, 7+8. We could have combined 1 & 2 but were feeling a little heady.

Pitch 2 was heady and I appreciated having a #4, definitely bring bigger gear if you're not solid with easy offwidths.

Roof pitch (4+5) was also heady but the gear is solid except for a short section that would just result in a little swing.

We skipped the water groove for pitch 7 in favor of going straight up which seemed like the easier and more obvious choice. If you stay left below the roof it you're basically just doing face moves on large edges & jugs. A very large cactus was the crux of that section as it made for a prickly roof mantle. From here I basically ran it out to the top.

Timing was the following: 1hr 20min approach, 4.5 hours on the route (climbing at a relatively chill pac), 2 hours down. Feb 21, 2023

[Hide Comment] Great climb with some memorable pitches and an awesome top out. The approach is well cairned but a bit strenuous so factor that in to your approach time. Route finding at the top can be a little tricky, I would recommend against the sandy, water-streaked groove for pitch 7 and instead opt for the steep, juggy face to the left of it, no harder than 5.7. If you want a fun, somewhat chossy finish, instead of going left for pitch 8, follow the right angling crack on the headwall that has an obvious piton at the bottom up it. Probably goes at 5.9 and takes ya to the top. Descent was well cairned and takes ya past the start so feel free to leave a bag at the base if ya like. Jun 20, 2023

[Hide Comment] 2 star climbing but a 4 star location and summit = 3 stars overall. If you're expecting pitch after pitch of good climbing, look somewhere else. Pitch 2 and 4+5 are great, but everything else on the route is either unremarkable or kind of crap (pitches 3 and 6 come to mind). Jan 30, 2024

[Hide Comment] To the folks saying there isn't too much memorable climbing on this route - do P7 the "proper" way - clip the bolt that puts you to the water streak out right, pull the slab moves, and run it out. P2 is engaging, P4 + P5 is why you came, P7 keeps you focused until the end. Mar 24, 2024

[Hide Comment] This is a great climb and have done it several times, including a full moon night ascent. Though I must've missed the 5.8 moves, I've always thought it to be a solid 5.7. Apr 11, 2024

[Hide Comment] William Thiry’s comments below are pretty much spot on. Here is my take on the climb which we did on April 29/2024.
P-1: easy 5th except for the short roof (5.7) which protects well.
P-2: sustained 5.7 except for the last 15’. With stemming you don’t need any wide crack technique. We belayed in the little nook at the bottom of the knife blade boulder. There is excellent protection in a small crack. Don’t place pro in the hand crack formed by the boulder.
P-3: nice easy climbing to the start of the roof traverse pitch.
P-4: this is a wonderful pitch of traversing under a big roof. You need a confident 2nd as the climbing is a bit run out. We belayed at a small crack just before the end of the roof, and before the location described by the Handren guidebook and by Thiry. I found excellent pro including a #2 cam in a short slot just left of the crack.
P-5: I climbed straight up from the belay, got scrunched up under the roof, then stepped right to easy ground. There is one more move of about 5.7 before reaching a bush. I thought this pitch was solid 5.9 the way I climbed it.
P-6: easy if you avoid the start of the chimney by climbing the wall on the left.
P-7: the variation out left is fun and avoids the very difficult looking and runout smooth groove. Apparently this smooth grove used to be easier. Adding a bolt to protect the starting moves would make this alternative reasonable.
P-8: easy if you traverse up and into the gully on the left then back up right to finish. We tried the slot at the right end of a low broad wall but couldn’t haul our aging carcasses up the steep move. It’s got to be way harder than the guidebook grade of 5.5 though. Apr 30, 2024

[Hide Comment] Not sure why there is a discussion of the #4. Bring it, don't... Honestly a modern #5 would be better for P2, but if you need either the 4 or the 5, you will freak out on the water groove pitch, which requires doing friction moves 20+ feet above gear that felt about as hard as anything on the climb. I've climbed plenty at Red Rocks, and this is harder than any 5.8 I've been on, and at least as hard as some 5.9s. Way harder than Frogland nearby... harder than Armatron. Not as hard as 10s, but while this climb is mostly cruiser 5.easy, the roof and grove are more like 5.9 IMO. But to add to the gear discussion, I would think two #3s would be more helpful than a #3 and #4 which is what I brought. Nov 29, 2024

[Hide Comment] My god is this route good! Easily in contention for one of the best easier trad adventures in all of red rocks.

If you are fit and 5.8 trad is more than comfortable for you, you will car to car in ~7 to 8 hours without even trying. We managed 8 on the dot DESPITE going the wrong way towards the east face for a while (don't blindly trust the cairns, use the MP GPS approach map) and needing to cut through a random path to join the trail again. We took ample chill time for snacks and my friend went slow on his pitches while dusting off his trad skills. We even parked 10 minutes before the real approach trail. If you're fit it should take about an hour for the approach and 1.5 from the summit back to your car, including time to cut back to the base for any stashed gear.

Last bits of advice:
- two 3s is nice, 4 def not necessary.
- combine pitches 4+5
- combine 6+7 by simply staying in the water groove the whole time

Get after it, this climb is truly spectacular. 3 days ago