Red Rocks February 2022 with Adam

Adam standing in front of Armatron

Adam and I met each other for a quick weekend of climbing in Red Rocks on February 26 and 27, 2022. The weather was nearly perfect, sunny with highs in the 50's and lows in the 20's.

February 26 - I wanted to try linking MysterZ (5.7) to Armatron (5.9-) again after giving up because of crowds the last time I was here. However, today I lived up to my reputation of getting lost easily and managed to get us onto the wrong climb entirely at the start of the day. We went up a single pitch on a buttress closer to the parking lot before I realized my mistake and we were forced to bail by rappelling off a #10 and #11 nut placement. I am really bad at route finding. But, we managed to figure things out and get onto MysterZ soon afterwards. We climbed the whole thing pretty quickly, but we still didn't get to the top in time to climb Armatron. I had brought too much gear for this climb (perhaps for an easy climb like this I don't need to bring a double rack) and this, combined with the weight of both double ropes and my backpack was really weighing me down. I will say that I was more efficient on this trip than on any previous occasion with the double ropes. As usual, my problem on this line was route-finding. I was glad to have another party ahead of me, even if they were climbing a bit more slowly than I would have preferred. The climb felt extremely easy, and I was constantly running it out way above my pieces. I also know I did not pitch it out as described in the guidebook or on Mountain Project, so there were two occasions when I actually ran out of rope early and was forced to build an anchor. I brought lots of large gear which was useful to have in places, but the climbing overall was so easy that I probably could have skipped it and carried less weight instead. The part where you reach something that looks like an overhanging chimney/offwidth at 5.9+ was interesting. Here, as I had read in several comments, you avoid going that way by rather blindly traversing over right through a roof into an easy hand crack. There was also a section of stemming through a very wide crack/chimney where I placed almost no gear, which certainly felt rather dangerous, but the climbing here again was super easy. By the time we got to the base of Armatron the sun was already behind the mountain, but this at least gave us a chance to get our bearings and be sure we found the base of the route easily the following day.

February 27 - We set out early on this morning and made it to the Armatron base right at the same time as another (more local) party was arriving. This turned out to be ideal, because this guy Dave was a really chatty character, and he gave us all the beta we needed to do both the climb and the descent. Overall, I felt that Armatron was very very easy for the grade. There were, perhaps, two 5.9 moves on the entire climb. The rest of the thing just felt super chill. That said, the climb itself was really beautiful. We were climbing it in full sun, and it was the perfect temperature (high 20's when we left the Pine Creek parking lot) on the wall (even a bit chilly when the wind started to blow and I didn't have a jacket on). This time I left my pack at the base and only brought a smaller rack consisting of single cams through #3 and a double rack of nuts. Even with this, I didn't ever feel as if I was running out of gear. The first pitch had 5 bolts and I didn't place a single piece. The next pitch was two finger cracks (5.9) where I did place some gear, and from there it transitioned around a bulge to the right into easier face climbing. Pro was plentiful. The next pitch was the "money" pitch. The black sandstone here is just so much harder and seems so much more dependable than the white/red stuff we often see in other places at Red Rocks. This pitch really could take a nut wherever you wanted to stop and place one, and I climbed it a good bit more slowly than I needed to so that I could savor the feeling of the warm black plates baking in the sun. The fact that all of the belay stations on Armatron are bolted definitely made things go even more quickly - I was constantly riding on the tail of the party in front of us (Dave and Dillon). I was surprised by this, because Dave seemed to have done so much climbing and knew the route so well, but I guess I was just climbing quickly. Pitch 4 felt like more of the same as pitch 3. Pitch 5 was easy climbing along an arete. Pitch 6 was the boulder problem (do a pullup!) followed by easy climbing to the top along another arete. From here we unroped and scrambled the last hundred feet or so to the top (this was exposed but very very easy climbing). The view from the top was expansive and beautiful, we could see all the way to the lake in the distance. I wrote a note in the summit register in an ammo can, and we then followed Dave and Dillon back to the Armatron base to retrieve my pack and other gear. This climb has a long (1.5-2 hour?) approach and a similarly long descent, but this just adds to the fun of the day. It would be fun to link MysterZ with this climb, but that would require climbing quickly and not getting lost on the approach and on the climb. I definitely DID NOT want to be making the Armatron descent in the dark without someone else showing me exactly where to go. It was quite icy and exposed in some places, and slipping could have been really bad.

February Tennessee Wall with Zach

Zach ties in at the base of In Pursuit of Excellence

February 20, 2022. Climbed with Zach at T-Wall.

Mad Hatter (5.9) - Warmup. Zach's lead.

Multiple Use Area (5.9) - Toprope (shares anchors with Mad Hatter).

Prerequisite for Excellence (5.8) - Toprope (shares anchors with Mad Hatter).

Love Handle (5.10) - My lead. Lots of fun. Sling through the handle. Tricky face climbing above the handle. Then a chill roof.

Infinite Pursuit (5.10c) - Zach's lead.

No More Tiers (5.11a) - My lead! Only my second time leading 5.11 on trad. This route pushed me, especially through the final roof, both physically and mentally. But I managed to hold it together (there are plenty of rests) and do it cleanly. We linked both "pitches" (there is a large ledge in the middle of the climb). It was a hard lie back rock over to pull the first roof off the deck. Then a beautiful finger crack to the top of "pitch 1". From there it was a thin finger crack which I fell on during my first attempt. I lowered back to the ledge at the "start of pitch 2" and then led it clean to the top. It ends with a long series of tiered roofs. These are not particularly difficult, but it is a long and pumpy stretch of climbing, and at times it wasn't easy to see where the next jug was, so I would need to place gear high to trust that I could go up to explore further for good holds.

In Pursuit of Excellence (5.9+) - Zach's lead.

Dirt Bag (5.8) - Our cooldown on toprope (shares anchor with Pursuit). This felt hard for 5.8. Was I just tired after the rest of the day?

January Tennessee Wall with John and Rachel

 

John and Rachel at the base of T-Wall

Sunday, January 30

A chilly day to start but it quickly warmed up. It was sunny and a perfect day for being outside. Temps were in the 20's when we parked but probably hit the 50's by midday. We were climbing in just long sleeves starting at 9:30 AM and for various other portions of the day.

Open Sesame (5.9 or 5.8+) - A juggy warmup, this route had me being extra careful when traversing right under the roof where the feet were more smears than holds. I wish I had double-extended the piece near the wall in the crack under the roof to avoid rope drag.

Crack Attack (5.10a/b) - A very crack-centric climb. There was tons of good pro. However, I went left about 2/3 of the way up instead of right. This seemed like the easier way to go, and someone told me later in the day that by going that way I had avoided the crux.

Espirit Nuvo (5.10c) - The bottom section was very easy but quite chossy. The finger crack felt really tough for me, especially at the top. There just were no good feet, and it had me thinking that I need to practice my slab climbing some more. Traversing to the right after the finger crack also felt very challenging. The top was easy but I was exhausted by the time I got ther. I ended up using all 14 double-length slings. I rested twice on the gear while leading this route.

Electric Rats (5.10c) - This one was tons of fun, I really enjoyed it. This climb starts hard but gets progressively easier. There is a big roof to pull at the beginning, then a smaller roof with a heel hook into a corner after that. It was tricky getting up from the ledge into the crack. From there it works up into a hand crack and is basically a hand crack all the way from there to the top. I could have brought one or two #4 cams and would have used them. I placed all the larger gear except one #1.

Woodcock Cove with Malcolm

 

Malcolm ready to ascend

January 8, 2022

Woodcock Cove, went with SCC (Meagan Evans, Executive Director, and some other folks).

Double Toke (5.8) - trad lead warmup. Malcolm got freezing cold because the route too quickly moved into the shade after I led it.

Natural Born Drillers (5.10+) - some tricky bits in the middle

La Femme Makita (5.10)

The Thrill of the Drill (5.10)

Overall, I feel this area will be very popular. Well bolted, with direct southern exposure makes it a great winter destination.

November Denny Cove with Malcolm and Will

 

Malcolm approaching the chains on Room for Cream

November 19, 2021

Malcolm, Will, and I drove to climb at Denny Cove, only my second time at this crag. The weather was cold but dry and sunny. The first two routes were cold on the fingers, but by the third route we were warming up. This is definitely a good winter destination. 

Last Dance (5.10a/b) - Sharp conglomerate, felt slightly painful on the cold hands! 

Tulip Poplar (5.9-)

The Drippler (5.11b) - interesting start, it required jugging up the rope after clipping the first bolt to reach the first moves. Very overhung, this route was pumpy.

Vitamin C (5.10b) - interesting side-to-side movements working with the arete. 

Room for Cream (5.10c) - my lead. A bit runout (only four bolts on this climb), but not overly challenging, so it didn't feel uncomfortable. Tricky to see the holds when it transitions onto the upper lichen-covered face. 

Voyer (5.10d)

November 2021 Tallulah with Jacob

 

Jacob begins his rappel down Primitive Paradox

November 8, 2021

Trip to Tallulah with Jacob, the first time I have been able to climb there in many years. I had forgotten almost everything I might once have known or remembered about this place.

If you rappel down from the top, you come down right at the base of Digital Delight. Punk Wave is 60 feet to the left.

I led Primitive Paradox (5.9). This climb had two or three hard moves but was pretty chill. The hardest move for me was the mantle near the very top.

I led Punk Wave (5.10a). I had some trouble route-finding right after the pitch-1 belay. I ended up sliding directly left of the bolts around the arete and then up onto the fact. I struggled a few feet higher trying to establish myself in the finger crack, hung on gear once, and then took a fall. Eventually I pulled on a black totem positioned in the bottom of the crack, but once I was above this the finger crack actually felt very secure. I will be able to get this the next time I try it if I go into it with more confidence and just reach as high as possible as soon as possible into this crack.

Both after our first rappel (down from the summit) and after our rappel down Primitive Paradox, we struggled with the (double) ropes becoming so twisted that we had to climb back up to free them. So, unfortunately, after Punk Wave we were already running out of daylight.

We finished as quickly as possible up Digital Delight (5.8) with Jacob leading the first three pitches in one go and me sending us to the top. It was aerobic following Jacob's lead with the backpack on!

View from the start of Primitive Paradox

October 2021 Tennessee Wall with Noel

 

Kenton and Noel

October 31, 2021 Halloween! Misty day, chilly. We weren't really nice and warm until mid afternoon, when the sun finally came out.

Art (5.8) - Warmup. Noel's lead. Always fun. Brings back memories of my trad fall 2/3 of the way up on this route a few years ago.

Finagle (5.9) - My lead. Bouldery start, basically two campusing moves. Traverse left to face climbing with thin cracks. Poor protection on the face, better protection higher up. 2nd "pitch" was mostly lichen, felt sort of hard for 5.6. We did both pitches in one go.

Hidden Assets (5.10) - Noel's lead. Easy down low, tricky section 2/3 of the way up in the corner. Pretty classic hand crack. A long route, definitely needed the 70 m rope.

Golden Gloves (5.10) - My lead. Bottom half was chossy, making me nervous about the quality of the protection. But the climbing was very easy. Second half was challenging, but the protection was very solid. Pulling out of the roof was the first crux, and I needed to hang on gear to regain my composure after freaking out about the dripping wet hand/finger crack. The second crux was keeping stable in a flaring hand crack very near the top of the route. The entire route was a good deal more difficult than I had anticipated because all of the cracks were dripping wet today.