Previous Trip
Next Trip
Home
1999
2001

Red Rocks - 2000

I made a couple of stops in Red Rocks on various trips, not worthy of a trip report. Here are assorted notes and pictures.

Cat In The Hat notes

Many people seem to get confused about where they are on this climb. Happened to Ann and I the first time we were on it. The second time we ran into a party that had also gotten off route at about the same place. See rec.climbing for several trip reports in this vein.

The Swain topo is confusing with regard to the first belay. It shows a tree on a ledge, close to the end of the first pitch, and indicates a belay above that ("on a sloping terrace"). Instead of the tree, you will see a three bolt belay / rap station on that ledge (the second set of bolts you encounter on the first pitch). Belay at the bolts, and climb a short (60 ft), 3d class section over the sloping terrace, up and to the right, to the base of a short black wall. You have now reached the "official" first belay as shown on the topo. Belay either at the base of the short black wall, or on the ledge above it. From there, both the topo and the description are accurate. 

Also, watch out for the rope getting stuck on rappel. Lucky for us, on the first trip a couple of climbers who were rapping down after us got our rope unstuck, and the second time we only had to spend about 10 minutes to get it free (on the second rap) and did not have to climb back up. Again, see rec.climbing for some similar stories.

All in all, a great route.

Solar Slab Gully notes

On a 95 degree day in May 2001, my dad and I went up to the Solar Slab Terrace, via Solar Slab Gully (5.3 *). We were pretty beat up from our trip to Mt. Whitney, and we wanted something really, really easy. Luckily, I was able to set up most of the belays in the shade, which made the climb really enjoyable. The route can and should be rapped with a single rope (this is not true for the Solar Slab rappels above the terrace). A single 50 m willsuffice if you are willing to downclimb the last 10 feet to the ground. Predictably, our rope got stuck, but we retrieved it pretty easily. One of the rap stations does not have chains, and the bolts were "equalized" with a loop of perlon cord that was showing wear from the rope being pulled through. I left my chalk bag biner there.

Some Pictures

Ann at the 1st pitch crux on The Great Red Book (5.8)
Bridge Mountain, after a storm
Bridge Mountain, again

List of Climbs

  • Cat In The Cat (5.6***) 5p
  • Panty Prow (5.6) sport (Panty Wall)
  • Victoria's Secret (5.10**) TR (Panty Wall)
  • Panty Mime (5.10c**) TR (Panty Wall)
  • Electric Koolaid (5.9+) TR (Magic Bus)
  • Blonde Dwarf (5.10-**) TR (Magic Bus)
  • Neon Sunset (5.8*) sport (Magic Bus)
  • Zipperhead (5.8) TR (Magic Bus)
  • The Great Red Book (5.8***) 2p
  • Solar Slab Gully (5.3*) 5p

Previous Trip
Next Trip
Home
1999
2001