Vegas, baby!

Dan (scroll down for Emily's perspective):

We had a really great time climbing in Joshua Tree and we only really scratched the surface of what we could do there. One night in the van Em and I started talking about climbing in Vegas and all the routes we want to do we just got really excited and realized we had to get there sooner rather than later. It was also kind of a pain trying to get a campsite in the actual park at J Tree so it all kind of lined up that way.

I think tons of people visit Vegas and don’t realize how beautiful it is literally 10 minutes outside the city limits in Red Rock Canyon. The sandstone mountains are so unique looking and the topography varies pretty wildly along the 12 mile scenic loop. If you are ever in Vegas definitely make a point to get out there for at least a few hours.

As for the climbing this was my 4th time in Red rocks and there’s we’re still so many classic climbs I haven’t gotten the chance to do. Driving in to the city Em and I both noted how it all felt kind of familiar and homey at this point. We have a good sense of the area now and have lots of good memories from our past visits there.

We started this trip to Vegas climbing in an area called the Great Red Book. We climbed some 5.10 sport multi pitches there (Em also led her first outdoor 5.10!!!!!!). We also got on the classic 5.8 trad route the area was named after which was easier than almost everything in Joshua Tree so it was a good confidence boost!

The next day we got on a route called Black Widow Hollow which has a squeeze chimney pitch that apparently would be good practice climbing our main objective Epinephrine (more on that later). If you don’t know what a squeeze chimney is it’s all in the name. It’s basically a crack just wide enough to fit your body into and you basically squirm your way to the top. Climbing it was really physical, tiring, and kind of brutal. I had to repeatedly stick my head out of the crack to turn my head around to grab gear and place protection. There were several points where I would just puff chest out to wedge myself in securely so I could move my feet up. Overall I think it probably took Em and I close to 2 hours just to climb this one pitch. Overall though it did boost our confidence. We were able to get up cleanly. Didn’t feel too scared so overall a pretty good day!

After a few more days of climbing and some rest days our friends Amy and Bill met up with us in Vegas! They are doing the van life as well and just got back from a month in the Baja. It was nice to be able to hang out with some friends again and share stories of our travels so far. Mexico really seemed like a blast and I’m definitely a little envious of their time there. I am kind of addicted to climbing and disc golf though so maybe it’s not the place for me 🤷.

We climbed with Amy and Bill for a day and got to show them around Red rocks a bit. We were really happy they seemed stoked about the area.

The next day They had some plans with some other friends passing through town so Em and I decided that would be the day we would finally get on Epinephrine!

For a bit of context Epinephrine is probably in the top 10 most classic climbs in America. It’s really unique because it is accessible difficulty wise (it’s only rated 5.9), is quite long (over 2000ft of climbing), takes you from the bottom to the very top of a peak which is rare in this area, and features a series of 3-4 signature chimney pitches. Em and I tried this climb a few years ago with some friends and had to retreat after only 4 of the 13 pitches because we were just taking too long and frankly scared and tired. Ever since then it’s been hard for me to forget it and I really wanted to come back at some point and get it done.

The day of the climb we woke up at 4am to get to the climb nice and early so we’d make to finish and descend the climb in the daylight. We ended up getting to wall by 6:30 with only one group ahead of us. We started climbing at 6:50. Compared to the first time trying the route things went really smoothly. We didn’t get off route and with our recent chimney practice those pitches overall didn’t feel too hard or scary. Emily being the follower though did have to tether our backpack to her harness for the chimneys which was quite heavy. This made the chimneys kind of a pain for her but except for one section of the climb she absolutely crushed it and climbed super well. She was even able to muster up a smile for the camera after grunting her way up for 15 minutes.

We finished all the chimney pitches by noon and it felt absolutely great! We knew we had the rest of the climb in the bag and it was going to be great climbing from there in out. The rest of the climb was just stellar climbing and every pitch was fantastic with great holds, cool moves, and good exposure. We did have some groups coming up behind us at this point in the climb. They were rushing us more than we would have liked but overall it was still amazing. We ended up simul-climbing the last 600 feet because it was super easy and more hiking than climbing. We ended up topping out at 5:00 and it felt really really great.

The descent was a little trickier and longer than I expected it to be. It took us 3 hours to get down but we managed to get back to the van without using our headlamps! Our celebratory meal was some well earned McDonalds which went down really well especially since we somehow hadn’t eaten anything since 4:00 am.

The next day we were pretty pooped and sore from the big day but it was our last day with Bill and Amy in Vegas so we went out with them to do some sport climbing and show them another area of Red Rocks. The climbing was really fun and chill for the most part it was a nice relaxing day. We finished off by having tacos and a campfire together late into the night. We’ll miss them but we have plans to maybe get together in Utah in a few weeks and Yosemite as well.

Now Em and I are off to Zion National Park and the rest of Utah. We’re both really excited for this leg of the trip. Climbing in Moab and Indian Creek has been on the bucket list for awhile.

Emily

This was our third time travelling to Vegas together, and there’s a reason we keep coming back. First of all, the flight is relatively inexpensive - but it’s also a super incredible place with more than a lifetime’s worth of climbing!

Nearly every rock formation looks different - vibrant and red, swirly white and red, creamy white with red spots, dark brown with orange streaks. There is also an incredible variety of climbing styles you can do that is unlike any place Dan and I have been. You can have laid back and relaxed climbing days where the climbing is minutes from the parking lot, or big adventurous ones - all minutes from a big city!!

The rock in Vegas is sandstone. Unlike the rough granite of Joshua tree, you’ll find smooth, soft rock with sand at the base of each route. Also unlike granite, sandstone can be fragile, especially when wet. Vegas and the south-west have seen an unusual amount of rain and snow the past few months. The recommendation is to wait at least 24 to 48 hours after rainfall to climb and sometimes hike on sandstone, or often even longer if the rock got super soaked or if it’s in a shady/moist area. Otherwise, you risk permanently altering the rock and ruining trails or climbing routes. Upon arriving in the area and getting connected to the Vegas climbing community on social media, there were lots of reports of tourists climbing on wet sandstone. It was a good reminder that as visitors we should take the time to learn about the land we are visiting and how we can leave it as we found it.

Thankfully, the rainy weather stopped a few days before we arrived so we could get climbing a couple days later. During our first few days, we soaked up the hot sun while climbing some amazing routes. Because of my fall practice, I found I was able to push myself further and lead some harder grades than I usually do, as well as do some trad leading, which felt pretty good!!!!!

In 2019, we came to Vegas with some friends and gave a climbing route called Epinephrine a try. It’s 13 pitches and over 2,200 feet of climbing with a 1 hour hike in, a 3 hour hike out, and a somewhat treacherous drive down a barely-maintained dirt road. Our attempt a few years ago ended with us getting lost on the hike in, making it only a quarter of the way up by 4pm, getting our rope stuck after deciding to bail, and scraping up the bottom of our rental car on the drive out.

Four years later and we were back a little stronger, with solid directions for the approach and descent, and importantly, with a higher clearance vehicle.

We woke up at 4am so we could make it to the base of the route by sunrise. This way we could beat the crowd and make sure we were down before sunset. Dan would lead all the pitches of this particular route, meaning I would be hauling our pack up the wall with our food and water. The big difference between this route and others we have previously done is that is has a few pitches of chimney climbing. During these pitches, I had our pack attached to my harness and dangling below me, which certainly added to the grunt of the climbing. At one point, I was pretty much over it but managed to flash a smile to the camera.

After the chimney pitches, the climbing was just amazing. Every once and awhile we come across an outdoor route that feels like it was meant for climbing, where all our movements flow so naturally. So many pitches of epinephrine felt like this.

The only downside of the day was a group behind us climbing extremely close to me (the climbing version of tailgating, basically). Typically, we would let faster parties pass us but they were a group of 6 and we had another party in front of us slowing us down. I was able to enjoy the day regardless, but not without shooting quite a few dirty looks their way 😇.

We got to the peak at 5pm on the dot, signed the registry, and spent some time enjoying the incredible view.

Our adventure wasn’t done yet! 3 hours of steep hiking back down brought us to the parking lot just as the sun was going down. Time to celebrate! We went into town and grabbed some victory McDonald’s. When we got back to the campsite, I fell asleep in less than 5 minutes.

A huge highlight of our visit to Vegas was we got to hangout with friends! After a few days, our good friends Amy and Bill (who are currently spending a year + on the road), joined us at our campsite and we had a few great days of climbing, campfires, and yummy food. It was really great to see some familiar faces and enjoy our adventure with people we love. One night we made tacos and bill made us some delicious margaritas in our coffee mugs.

Next stop - Utah!