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Rock Climbing Red Rocks, Las Vegas Fall 09
- Mike starting pitch 3 of Frogshead 5.8
The next day we decided to climb Crimson Chrysalis 5.8 III. We got to the gate around 6am to find a couple of cars in front of us. Both groups were going for the same climb so we opted for Birdland 5.7+ II. Birdland was pretty fun with the crux being on the third pitch. Pitch 4 and 5 has really cool face climbing with a beautiful crack to finish pitch 5. We rapped the route before any groups caught up to us. Early starts really help with not having a ton of people stacked on a small belay perch.
We decided since we got bumped on Crimson Chrysalis that day we would give it a try the next day. We got to the gate first this time. Cars started to line up behind us. We thought for sure we would have company on the route. The three of us basically ran up to the base of the climb and racked up for a full day. We ended up being the only team on the route all day. Amazing!
Crimson Chrysalis is 9 pitches and 1000 ft. dead vertical. The anchors are all bolted with poor stances at each belay. Not super comfy for a team of three. Pitches 2 and 3 can be combined as well as pitches 8 and 9. The climbing is steep and exposed with good holds showing up when ever needed. Just like the Gunks only on a larger scale. We finished the route in 6 hours. We rapper the route making sure not to get any ropes stuck. What a fantastic day. We had the route to ourselves with not another sole around.
Great Gunks Climbing Weather, Fall is not over!!!
Chuck Boyd on CCK 5.7+
Cruising the crux on CCK 5.7+ in the Trapps
Classic Routes and Classic Fall Weather in the Gunks
Pitch 2 of Beginner's Delight 5.3 Trapps
Monday I guided Joe and Suzanne in the Trapps. I have been guiding these two for a couple of days. We decided to start the day with Beginner’s Delight 5.3. This route is the best of its grade. The exposure on pitch 3, belay situations and excellent rock quality make it a total classic. After the long rappel off the Madam G’s ledge we headed down to Frog’s Head 5.6-. Both pitches on Frog’s Head are fantastic. Totally different from each other. We finished the day with the three star classic City Light’s 5.8-. It’s hard to complain about life with routes and weather like this.
Rock Climbing the Gunks in the Fall
Carla on pitch 2 of Gelsa 5.4 in the Near Trapps
Dickey Barre in the Peterskill
Saturdays for the last three weeks have been a wash in the Gunks, but any other day has been pretty amazing. Mid-week climbing right now is really good. The temps have been very comfortable and the rock has been dry. The leafs are a beautiful yellow across the ridge line. This makes sitting on the GT Ledge even that much better. The local farms are once again busy selling fall favorites. The next couple of weeks should be great.
October snow in the Gunks 10-15-09
High Exposure 5.6 just before the GT Ledge
Chuck Boyd climbing the last pitch of High Exposure 5.6 in a October snow storm
Full conditions in the Gunks
Well all I can say is yesterday was pretty interesting and fun. Chuck Boyd and a friend went to the Trapps to climb High Exposure 5.6+. I decided to tag along and take some pictures. The weather report was for precipitation around 5pm or so. I think we made it to 12:00pm before we were in a full on mid-October snow storm. The snow started to stick to fallen leaves and spider webs. I’m sure the spiders were caught by surprise as well. This short lived taste of winter won’t last long. Hopefully we can get back to some real fall weather.
