This is becoming a yearly pilgrimage and a second (5th?) home in some ways. Fine with me. I started messing around with video a bit on this trip — here’s an edit of the stuff I shot:
Bryan and I rolled in with intention, determined to get after it with the two weeks of climbing we had. I was feeling especially rushed because of all the bad weather I saw the last time I was in Nevada but the weather forecast was splitter skies forever and stayed that way the whole time we were there.
We got after it, torching our fingertip skin and burning through our ticklist well before we had to go. Some of my favorites were:
Adventure Punks: Some of the most fun, consistent 5.10 corners anywhere. Memorable. Last pitch really is wide — watched Bryan bump a #6 most of the pitch.
Cloud Tower: everyone does this, but it is good. Got spanked so hard on the crux. Come back in a decade?
Only The Good Die Young: As bizarre and contrived the line felt, this route was actually super fun. If you’re into traverses and delicate trickery, check it out.
The Nightcrawler: Everyone does this route as well, but the last pitch is in my top five favorite 5.10 pitches anywhere.
Ten Minute Shift: This is really an approach pitch to a superb 11b balance pitch — the last three aren’t really worth doing — but it’s worth it if you’re up there.
Woman of Mountain Dreams: My favorite route at Red Rock so far — dirty, adventurous, and long. But excellent! I liked it so much I made a topo for it:
On our last day in Vegas, Bryan and I hiked straight to the base of Yin and Yang and fired it first try with no warmup. “Well,” I said. “We could climb something else, I guess.”
We drove to the Strip instead.
