This blog post is about Mesa Rim Team Member Alex’s bouldering and sport climbing trip in Red Rocks, how the two forms of climbing are different yet complementary, and the pleasure of doing both at one of the most inspiring places to be on the wall.
In early January, I had the opportunity to go on a climbing trip to Red Rocks, Nevada. Having never been there before, and itching to go on another outdoor trip, I immediately began to research what routes and boulder problems I wanted to get on, in the few days we had to spend there. My friend Graham and I shared a campsite with other Mesa Rim members, Andrew and Mike.
On the first day, we climbed in the Kraft Boulders area. It was a nice surprise to run into Sam and Mesa Rim setter Leo while we were out there. They were crushing harder problems than I could handle! We started on some warm-up routes, then moved on to a couple harder v2s, Potato Chips and Monkey Paw. The sun was setting, so we decided to set up camp and get on early start for sport climbing the next day.
The next morning, after some campfire roasted sweet potatoes and coffee, we headed over to the the Calico Basin area and led some easy sport routes to warm up. We took our time exploring, scrambling, and traversing through the vast rock formations in the canyon. The sun was hot enough to melt pockets of ice into pools, while in the shade there was still rock hard patches of ice. Red Rocks offers gorgeous views of various type of rock and geological formations. It was truly inspiring to be in a natural part of the earth that we’re lucky enough to be part of.
The initial approach wove through a dry and rocky river bed, and curved into some interesting scrambling through sandstone cliffs and corridors. We finally found some open routes and decided to start at the Magic Bus wall. We started off by climbing Neon Sunset and Technicolor Sunrise. They were super easy, fun leads right in the sun, with no wind. We moved on to Electric Kool-aid and Queasy Sunrise, which I enjoyed greatly. By this point, the area started getting a little crowded. Because this area is known for considerably easier or introductory routes, it is a popular spot for people that are new to leading or want to set up top ropes for beginners. We decided to do some yoga in the sun and take a little nap. Again, as the sun set over the mountains we decided to head back to camp for awesome card tricks by Andrew and campfire stories.
On the last day, we decided to go back to Kraft and try a harder v2, Darwin Award, a fun v1 called Monkey Crack, and then move on to the Pearl, a super crimpy v4. I wasn’t able to send the Pearl, but Graham was successful after a few tries. He says what truly helped him was having the right beta for the first half, to move efficiently from a left finger pocket to throwing to a thin crimpy rail with his right hand. The trick was to have a correctly positioned right foot for enough leverage and balance to make the move. It’s unbelievable what a difference the angle and position of your feet can do for a climb. After that, we decided to call it a day and head back to camp. With sore fingers and weary bodies, we felt nothing less than accomplished with our abilities on the rock.
This trip has inspired me to boulder more to improve my lead climbing. Because I am so new to bouldering, I noticed that sequencing crux moves is something that I can improve on. Patience and dedication to one problem is not easy, but it is quite gratifying once you have worked hard to earn a reward that at first seemed unreachable. I returned to san diego refueled and inspired to train harder, and be grateful for what I have accomplished in my climbing so far. I’m sure I will return soon!
Red Rocks routes and problems at a glance that we did:
Kraft Boulders Area: Potato Chips, Monkey Paw, Darwin Award (v2s), Monkey Crack (v1), Pearl (v4)
Calico Basin Area: Magic Bus Wall – Neon Sunset (5.8), Technicolor Sunrise (5.8), Electric Koo-aid (5.9+), Queasy Sunrise (5.9+)
Alex Carloin – Mesa Rim Team Member
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