Last route - The Prince of Darkness 5.10c

Prince of Darkness ascends the Black velvet wall on the left of the photo.

In many ways this route was typical for me. Certainly the climbing wasn't typical. It was super hard - more of that later - but the way in which it was organised was typical. I had just done three days climbing in a row, two of the days had been multipitch and the last (a twelve hour day) had been especially tiring. I'd covered a lot of ground approaching the routes, climbed many vertical metres and was well due a rest day.

However, when you've one day left, a rest day is the last thing on your mind. I headed into Vegas the evening before to go to the Internet Cafe and saw an email from Joe (Joe from "A days sport climbing in Red Rocks"). We'd thought about doing Prince of Darkness and he said that he managed to get the day off on Friday and we should do it. Great, I thought, let's. But then the problems started. It was never the best idea. I had to be at the airport at 11am on Saturday, the problem being that it was Salt Lake City airport and not Las Vegas. The second problem was that Joe didn't have much equipment. The Prince of Darkness is fundamentally a sports climb, there are short sections of trad, but the protection is mostly bolts - and plenty of them (up to 15 in a pitch). I had 9 quickdraws, but was confident that I could make more out of spare carabiners, slings, prussic cord and even my gear sling. Anni had taken one of the half ropes with her (Two 60m half ropes would have been perfect for this route) and we were left with my 70m single for climbing, with the second carrying the 60m half rope in a rucsack (we needed two ropes to abseil the route). This system wasn't ideal but was workable. Most importantly, Joe didn't have a belay device; this problem we had to solve. You might be wondering what Joe was doing without such basic kit, but he was on a work trip and planned only to go to the climbing gym if time was available. He ended up checking out Red Rocks, and then, as is pretty understandable, deciding that he simply had to negotiate time off and climb. Red Rocks would do that to anyone. It did it to him, but for the want of a belay plate it looked like the plans were going to hell. You can climb without a belay plate. You can tie a munter hitch knot which does the same thing. The Germans do it all the time. I didn't like the idea because it kinks your ropes up something chronic, and on a 6 pitch 5.10c that is something you can do without. I'm not sure if you can abseil without a belay device. OK, I know that you can. I'm not sure if you can abseil safely without one, and that is why we were on a mission to find one.

After a gentle start, the route ascends the middle of the apparently featureless face

The gear shop didn't open until 10.00. No good. I wanted to be approaching the route at 7.00. Besides, I still had to get to Salt Lake City after climbing and therefore wanted (needed) to be back at the car before dark. It was late, I was tired and I wanted to go to bed. Joe, however, managed to persuade Bill from the climbing gym to lend him a belay plate. I just had to find the gym, pick up the plate, and give it to him tomorrow. I was tired (yes this is going to be a reoccurring theme of this post) and would have been quite happy to have thought "no belay plate, no climb" and gone to bed, but Joe had done his bit, and despite wanting to curl into my tent and sleep I managed to do mine. Finding the climbing gym in Vegas is not easy. Well not easy if you're a foreigner unfamiliar with the road numbering, unfamiliar with driving round large cities (I never felt comfortable driving in Vegas) and all the time are muttering to yourself, "why the hell didn't he bring a belay plate, I would have if I planned to go to the gym". I'm sorry Joe, but I would have.

Joe on the other hand, had to drive 3h to get to Red Rocks and that meant leaving at 4.00. Which in reality made my driving round Vegas at 22.00 seem like very little, and my whinging seem pretty pathetic. But I like to whinge when I'm tired. Besides, I really wanted to climb this route, and I really wanted to climb it with Joe. Firstly, Joe was a great guy (and I hope that we meet and climb together again). Secondly, we were sports climbing at a similar level. Well, he was climbing a shade better. Climbing with someone of the same level means that you can share the route more. The moves that you found hard, they would have found hard. You both can cruise the easier stuff and share the awkwardness of the harder stuff. Thirdly, although this route was close to my limit (and Joe's) I had confidence that both of us could pull it off. I'd spoken about climbing this route with Tacos and was less confident climbing with her. I wanted to share the leading, I would have had to do all the 5.10 pitches if I'd climbed with Tacos and mentally I'm not sure if I would have been focused enough after 3 days of hard climbing. Joe and I had climbed up to 5.10d. But it was hard. 6 pitches of up to 5.10c was going to be a stern test.

Before starting, damn I look tired

All the belays were equipped with abseil anchors and the protection was plentiful. This was about as safe as multipitch routes come, and a perfect way to experience harder climbing. The first pitch wasn't really anything, about 100ft of 5.6 trad. It felt easy and I put only a few runners in it. The second and third pitches were supposed to be the crux. Both involved long, delicate face climbing with small crimps and high steps. They were graded 5.10b and 5.10a respectively (although the latter was supposed to be sandbagged). The movement was identical through both of these pitches (crimp, crimp, high step). Sometimes odd sections were a little trickier (the crimps smaller, or the footholds poorer) but by and large the move was the same, every move was hard and I couldn't seperate the two pitches in terms of difficulty. We took one of these each. We both climbed better on lead and struggled on second (I suspect because of the bag). The climbing was sustained on perfect incut edges. I've heard the route critised because of the repetetive climbing, but I liked pulling on small edges and rocking onto small footholds and every move was quality and for me a challenge. A slight variation came on the second pitch when the route met a crack. This offered a brief phase of traditional climbing requiring the placement of natural protection, but for me, more importantly, the opportunity to jam one of my hands in the crack and shake the other one. It might look bizare but by shaking your hand around below your waist you give the chance for the lactic acid which builds up through climbing to disperse.

The fourth and fith pitches again offered similar climbing but it felt slightly easier. Perhaps the holds were bigger, the angle slightly reduced or perhaps we were just used to it. The last pitch had the 5.10c moves on it. The moves were short and sweet. We'd heard that after these moves the rest of the pitch was fairly easy, we both disagreed.

Looking down from the fourth pitch

We abseiled down and were back at the car for 18.00. We said our brief goodbyes and I set off on my long drive for Salt Lake City. I managed the 700 km (400+ mile) drive in good time. It involved driving for 2h and then pulling at a rest stop, resting (in the British sense of the word) in my sleeping bag for a couple of hours and repeating. This way I felt awake enough to drive. I was shattered when arriving at the airport and even worse when arriving in Finland. For many days my lower back ached which I think is a symptom of spending two days in semi-hanging belays. It was, however, worth it. The route and the company were fantastic.

The first of several abseils

Crimson Chrysalis 5.8+/5.9

This is a popular and classic line. It actually features in the top 25 routes of North America http://lamountaineers.org/NAC/browserf/other/climlist/clindex.htm. This is the top 25 climbing routes not only the top lowland rock routes. The list also features alpine rock, alpine mixed and snow and ice climbs. It's also the easiest climb in the 25 list and accessible. This probably makes it one of the 25 most crowded climbs in North America and it was with this in mind that we left the campsite at 06.30. It's not uncommon for the route to have 4 parties on it. Whilst, this might not sound too bad the descent is to abseil the route and the thought of having people climbing below you, people climbing above you and people abseiling through you is unappealing.
The route goes straight up the Cloud Tower in 9 pitches. The climbing is consistently 5.8 for almost all every move. It is sometimes slabby, sometimes overhanging but most of the time dead plum vertical. It looks improbable for mostly 5.8 climbing and would be but for the jugs. British climbers call large holds jugs, Finnish climbers call them handles, whatever you call these - make no mistake they are big and easy to grasp. The climb mostly follows cracks which are used for protection and links these with bolt protected face climbing. I rarely used the cracks for climbing and only employed my Indian Creek techniques when not faced with a climbing wall sized hold. The climbing felt continous and fluid. The route was sometimes run out but the climbing was so intuitive that these were dealt with almost without noticing.

I did this with Tacos. After the previous days exploits we felt confident for something bigger. After only minor bush whacking to find the route, we were delighted to see that nobody else was there. I took the first pitch (which the guidebook claimed was run out), I disagree. I found the gear perfectly adequate for the 5.8 climbing. I think this was a sign of things to come as I was to power up the steep walls placing about 10 pieces in a pitch and feeling totally safe and in full control. I'd been sports climbing at .10d and on this route I could focus my full attention on enjoying the moves, the exposure and the fact that I was on the longest steep climb that I'd been on. We mostly switched pitches, but in such a way that I got the 3 ones with the hardest ratings. This suited me perfectly.

As we got higher the exposure started to kick in. I enjoyed watching my rucksac, which I left at the bottom of the route, get smaller and smaller until eventually (I didn't have my glasses) it became to small. Perhaps it's visible in the photo (I again don't have my glasses). To my delight, more so than watching the shrinking rucksac was that nobody else started the route. All day. As we got higher I was relieved to think that it would be us abseiling over other people, and not the other way round. I wondered what the procedure was. Surely, four on one of the hanging belays would be too crowded. Luckily, the situation never arose.

Tacos on the fifth pitch. On the abseil we got the rope stuck only once, which was no small achievement based on the plentitude of what I no longer saw as jugs but now as rope snaring objects. We started the hike out as the sun set and were almost 12 hours car to car.

Nearly home and the destruction of something beautiful

I arrived in the United States to a full moon and as the next full moon dawns I feel a lunar call that it’s time for my journey to end.

This image was taken whilst the forests of California were burning. The loss of such ancient forests is deeply upsetting and regrettable. But the forests were splendid once more in the skies of Nevada. There was a beautiful colour inversion caused by the airbourne particulate matter. I had seen this before at Lappeenranta whilst the Russian forests were ablaze. Whilst this feels eerie to the mind, the soul can’t help but enjoy the colours.

Sin in Vegas

Vegas advertises itself with sin, tourists buy T-shirts with the logo "I sinned in Vegas" and the reputation of the city equals this. After spending an almost puritan time in the desert I wasn't ready for the bright lights, packed casinos and hustle of the city. In the desert we cooked and went to bed soon after it got dark, and only occasionally did we drink a beer (and then only one). We were simply too tired.

I felt at home in the desert. Of course the conditions were tougher than every day life but so were the rewards. Every night the sky shone with a plethora of stars and we could pick out and name individual stars (even Vega). I loved this remoteness and the freedom from light pollution. In Indian Creek we only had what we carried in. Water was a scarce resource and this suited life in the desert. Elsewhere water was rationed, in Zion we had 8 mins showering water per day and to me this felt both frivolous and luxurious. I only used my full 8 mins once; how can one justify wasting water in the desert. Edward Abbey (author) commented that "water isn't short in the desert, there is in exactly the right amount" and his words felt true. One doesn't need much water, the usage seemed in tow with the resource... up until I set foot in Vegas.

Vegas is to me, a city, where a city shouldn't be. I understand that living in a city is different to living in the wilderness and that the citizens demand energy and water. Vegas is however a city blessed with being surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery that I have seen. But the city doesn't respond by adapting itself to its surroundings but opposing them. Water isn't a scarce resource in Vegas. It's everywhere. Every casino seems to have its own waterfall. They use water to keep flamingos and to sink pirate ships in. They burn electricity to power a million lights, each trying to be brighter than the next. In Red Rocks you can't see the stars, but you can see a beam of light projected from the Luxor. The water and power to fuel this comes largely because of the damns which have destroyed the countryside of Utah and Arizona. They not only mock the very essence of the desert by scandalous wastage of water and light but destroy the desert in the process. To me, this is the biggest sin in Vegas.

Superior Ethics or Environmental Recklessness

My friend Toby has a blog and this topic has been dealt with there http://lightfromthenorth.blogspot.com/2007/07/superior-ethics-or-littering.html (albeit in a different context). I wanted to raise the question again as this is read by different people.

This is the first of three rappel stations from the top of Lotta Balls buttress.


The American Safe Climbing association has done a fantastic job replacing bolts at Red Rocks. They haven't retro-bolted routes (as far as I'm aware) but replaced old dodgey bolts with modern safe ones. The bolts on Lotta Balls are new and I would assume placed by them. Someone has gone to the trouble of equiping the rap stations with slings and rings. I wonder is it acceptable to bolt descent routes when no bolts were previously placed? Do we have to wait until the tree dies of semi-natural causes before bolts can ethically be placed? I for one, would happily see two expansion bolts here and the holly given a fairer chance for life.

Lotta Balls

On Wednesday morning I met a Japanese lady named Tacos and we decided to do a multipitch route. Although I had some longer lines in mind, as it was already quite late and as we hadn’t climbed together before we decided to do something shorter. The Lotta Balls buttress seemed to house routes which would fit this bill.

We hiked in with the plan to do either Lotta Balls itself (5.8 four pitches) or Black Magic which was a similar grade and a similar proposition. When we got there, we found that both routes were taken by various groups of old timers. Later, I discovered Joanne Urioste was among them. In the old days, Red Rocks was never considered a world class climbing destination, long approaches, loose rock and poor protection made Red Rock climbing something esoteric. With the spread of Vegas, the inevitable development of new roads, cleaned up rock by increased traffic of climbers, the advent and widespread use of camming devices and the placement of bolts, the popularity of Red Rocks grew. But compared with other climbing places where the routes were done by a huge number of people, Red Rocks is unique in that very few people did most of the first accents. Jorge and Joanne Urioste’s routes are perhaps the most popular, they believed in safe climbing and as such placed many bolts on their climbs. This was a huge achievement as all the holes were hand drilled by Jorge and most of the time on lead. Don’t think that the Urioste’s made sports climbs. We climbed Olive Oil and Cat in the Hat (which were both theirs) and there was not one protection bolt on either of the routes, but when needed they were prepared to bolt and many of their face climbs have plenty of bolts. One of the other pioneers was Joe Herbst, he favoured clean climbing and most of his routes are bold and adventurous (even today with modern protection). Certainly there was controversy between the two styles, but they seem to co-exist perhaps most likely because of the huge quantity of good rock in Red Rocks.

I only had the Select Climbs and it didn’t show many other choices but Joanne suggested that we climbed Trihedral, which was one of Joe Herbst’s routes. I later noticed that the Select Climbs mark this as “ugly loose corner” in their topo. It wasn’t ugly and loose, it was aesthetically pleasing and loose. Joanne did say that she didn’t remember the route very well (it was 25 years ago when she climbed it). I remember it well, it was hard, the crux felt like very sandbagged 5.8 and was poorly protected. I had an excellent cam 7m below me and managed to get a so-so microwire and an appalling cam to protect the crux. This involved cutting on to the face and making thin face moves for about 3m. The moves felt shakey, and I was very nervous on them.

Trihedral is marked in red. Lotta Balls is marked in blue. Subsequently, when I saw the definitive guide I noticed that about as much information is given in this picture as in the guide, and now readers of this blog will know more than those blessed with owning the guide. It's not a bad route, but very testy at the grade.

We then did Lotta Balls. It was again done by Joe Herbst but this time with his wife and had two very important protection bolts (I don’t know if the bolts were her influence). This felt excellent, the protection was secure (albeit spaced) and the climbing felt intuitive (perhaps having a guide book helped). There was a fantastic and memorable section of the second pitch where you leave a crack system and start face climbing on bizarre looking nipples of rock. This wasn’t difficult but required extreme care. When you placed your foot on one of these, you had to keep it very still as the slightest movement could twist it off. The only handholds were the nipples which you had to pinch in a strangely sexual way. I had previously thought the buttress was so named because you had to have a lot of courage to climb on it, but after this pitch it was obvious how it got its name. The face climbing was protected by two bolts, it felt run out and strange but contrary to the previous route I felt in control and confident at all times.

See I wasn't telling lies about the nipples.


And the same for feet.

A days sport climbing in Red Rocks

It was the multipitch routes which drove me to Red Rocks, however I also really enjoyed the sports climbing. Although I had left notes on message boards, I found the best way to meet people was to turn up at the popular crags and start chatting with people. In the morning I went to the Gallery area of the Calico Hills and met Johnathon and Phil. I climbed with them in the morning and then in the afternoon with a guy named Joe, with whom I also hatched plans for some multi-pitch later in the week. I'd hoped that the day wouldn't be too strenuous but in the end I climbed 9 routes, 8 of which were on lead, and 7 of which were tens. I climbed 10c on-sight clean and very nearly 10d (one small fall due to poor reading of the route). All of the routes were overhanging and crimpy. I like crimps but as soon as the terrain gets steep I find the climbing really challenging. That being said I loved the sport at Red Rocks, and now can really imagine myself going on a Sports climbing holiday and getting really into it. Actually, my parents live close to Portland so if anyone is interested in some English Limestone let me know.

Johnathon climbing the insanely overhanging "Fear and Loathing" 5.12. I always enjoy watching good climbers in action, his footwark was really precise and he had a technique where he twisted his foot into the holds and edged with the outside. I often read Neil Gresham's Masterclass column which gives tips for high preformance climbing; Johnathon probably hadn't read Neil Gresham but if he did he'd paid great attention as he climbed exactly the way Neil describes. I'd like to climb like this, but balance and careful footwork aren't easy things to learn.

Phil top-roping a 5.10c. The consistently slightly overhanging angle was typical of the day. I actually on-sighted this route and felt pretty pleased with myself as it felt very touch and go with perhaps more touch than go. As I said previously, crimps and overhangs aren't a good combination for me. However, the whole exprerience has whetted my appetite for overhangs and I can see myself training this aspect of my climbing this winter. More importantly, I am proving to myself that the tendons in my elbows are stronger and can cope with more rigourous climbing.

Joe checking out the guidebook under a 5.10d route. It wasn't any steeper than the others but the holds seemed smaller and further in between.

Olive Oil 5.7R

UThis was Anni's second multi-pitch climb. It was a grade harder and every one of the six pitches was 5.7. Sounds like a tough challenge? You bet it was. The first challenge, which we didn't even consider was finding the route. We followed the description in the guide book and as is so often the way ended up bashing our way through vegetation and scrambling up loose rock slopes. Eventually we found the route and when we did were amazed at how good the path was and how quickly we could have got to the route.

The line follows the obvious crack system, traverses across the face on huge jugs and finishes up the corner to the right.

The first pitch was the crux, it wasn't hard but it was awkward. It involved climbing a chimney and then pulling on to the face to make some initially difficult lay back moves before gaining comparitvely easy terrain. I had found it quite tricky but not hard and Anni raced up in no time. There was a pair climbing ahead of us, I had anticipated that we would be fairly slow, but Anni dispatched the pitch so quickly we were soon behind the pair ahead. Normally it isn't nice to have people climbing so close behind you, but as another pair started behind us we realised we had to do it. We were much quicker than the pair in front, bearing in mind it wasn't either of their second multipitch climbs and that one of them had done the route before it was a huge testiment to our climbing abilities. On multipitch routes climbing quickly can be a vitally important skill as it could mean finishing the route in the day light or not.


One thing that could have acounted for slowing things down was that all of the bolts (only for belays) had been removed. This is the belay at the top of the fourth pitch. The wire is fantastic and the tied off flake felt solid. However, this isn't an ideal belay and it would have been awful to have shared it with two other parties. Bolts are a big debate in Red Rocks, whilst I'm generally against bolts where they are not required, I wouldn't have minded some nice belay bolts here.

Anni looking happier after we had warmed up. We got surprisingly cold waiting for the others, we started the route in T-shirts and finished with fleeces and waterproofs on. It was windy and shady, and in combination with the slow moving party meant that we got quite cool waiting.

Turistina Red Rockissa

Red Rock on kuuluisa kivettyneistä hiekkadyyneistään. Red Rock ei kuulu Colorado-joen tasankoalueeseen, mutta se on kuitenkin vanhaa merenpohjaa ja myöhempää aavikkoa, kuten Colorado-joen alue. Punainen hiekkakivi on erilaista kuin idempänä, ja kalliot ovat muodoltaan pyöreitä, pehmeitä, ja niissä on käsittämättömiä koloja, hyllyjä, ja ulokkeita.

Punainen hiekkakivikallio on kuin santapaperia, ja viirukkaita kiviä ja lohkareita löytyy joka lähtöön. Kuumakin siellä on. Koko maisema on epämääräisen muotoinen, missään ei ole järjestystä tai suuntaa. Kivilabyrinttiin eksyisi varmaan helposti, jos vähän yrittäisi. Hiidenkirnuja löytyy joka askeleella nuppineulan kokoisesta valtaviin vettä täynnä oleviin lammikoihin, joihin siloinen kallio helposti viettää. Paikallisella kiipeilijällä oli koira mukanaan. Tässä helteessä hurtalla oli onnenpäivät hyppiä lammikosta toiseen. Loiske kaikui kauas.

Erään halkeaman läpi näkyi pala piilossa olevaa lammikkoa. Lammikko oli valtavassa kirnussa, puolessavälin korkeaa seinämää, jonne ei ollut minkäänlaista pääsyä. Valokuvan saimme halkeaman läpi. Paikallisille linnuille tämä näytti olevan todellinen keidas.

Cat In the Hat

Cat in the Hat was our first climb in Red Rock, together. Obviously Tony had been doing lots of things before I arrived. It has 6 pitches, rated 5.5 and 5.6. The most important thing about this route is that it was my first multi pitch climb... The second most important thing was that it was my first touch of sand stone. I found that I liked it. The holds were plenty and huge. All belays were on ledges (which Tony is telling me is not quite usual) with space to dance. The fourth pitch felt a bit shaky, not because of the holds, but because of the rounded face, opening to the abyss below me. I was quite relieved to reach the fourth anchor, I have to confess.

We didn't finish it, quite, we turned back after the fourth pitch. We did not have the earliest start in the morning, and we thought it might get too hot to climb, if we leave it late. Our camping site neighbour persuaded us to give it a go. And it was not too hot, after all. I was actually wearing my fleece hiking in. So we missed the pitches 5 and 6; a short traverse, and a face climb on black rock. We were not the swiftest pair on the route, people were coming and going past us. Also, we had a pair of brand new ropes, and you wouldn't believe the twists and kinks they had, despite being continuously recoiled. On top of this, the park gates close at 7pm, so we really needed to be back at the car quite early. Excuses, yes, I know. I felt quite beaten after it. Four pitches as a warm up is quite hard for me. I'm still walking, though.

A Bit of Sport in Red Rocks

The desert is hot. Damn hot. However, to get away from the blazing sun, climbers sometimes head to the deep canyons. Here is the Black Corridoor which boasts over 30 sport routes. It receives almost no direct sun and is an oasis of darkness and moderate temperatures when the surroundings burn. I climbed several of the routes here. The routes vary from steep slabs to overhangs and the holds from small crimps on desert varnish to obsenely extravagant huecos that dwarf even the most ridiculous climbing wall hold. Next time I'm at a climbing wall and there is a blue handle bolted on the wall, I won't say the usual "well you'd never see something like that outside", but instead, "that's almost a Red Rock hold". I also climbed the most overhanging route I've ever attempted. I hope that I'll get the chance to lead it clean and post photos, it was close to 45 degrees and elsewhere would be the ground only of climbers like Simon. But as Red Rocks seems to be the home of improbably easy climbing, mere mortals like me can be Simon Bell for a day.

Telttailua Red Rockissa

20 mailia Vegasin hulinasta Red Rockissa on pienehkö leirintäalue, jonne pistimme leirin pystyyn toisena iltana. Paikka on mahtava Vegasin asukkaille, joille siellä vierailu vastaa kesämökkeilyä. Vegasin Pyramidi-kasinon valtava valonheitin hehkui taivaalla kallioiden takaa, pilaten täydellisesti tähtienkatselun. Red Rock kärsiikin pahasti Vegasin läheisyydestä. Valosaaste on pulmista pienin. Aivan Red Rockin suojellun alueen reunalle rakennetaan jatkuvasti kaupungin laajennuksia kopiokonetyylillä. Kaikki talot ovat 500 viereisen kanssa identtisiä.





Leirintäalue on käytännössä aavikolla, ja se onkin suljettu Vapusta syyskuun puoleenväliin, sillä tuona ajankohtana alue on aivan liian hehkuva minkäänlaiseen virkistyskäyttöön.

Las Vegas, fantastinen huijaus

Pelikoneet kävelevät vastaan jo lentokentällä. Yksikätiset rosvot kilisevät rivissä, vilkutellen valoja ja mainostaen suomalaisittain järjettömiä voittoja. Ja ihmiset veivaavat niitä. Itse en ole laittanut pelikoneisiin lanttiakaan, enkä luultavasti laita paluumatkallakaan. Hyvä puoli Las Vegasin kasinosirkuksessa on, että hotellihuoneet ovat helposti 30-50% muiden samankokoisten kaupunkien hotellihinnoista. Joka hotellissa on kasino, tai pitäisikö sanoa, joka kasinolla on hotelli. Hotellien alihinnoittelu tulee helposti takaisin kasinoiden kautta. Toisaalta, hotellihuoneet ovat hyvin riisuttuja, ja hotellien tähditys luistaa yläkanttiin ainakin yhdellä tähdellä.
Jokainen telkkaria katsonut tietää Las Vegasista valomeren. Se onkin asia, joka ei turistia jätä rauhaan, niin kauan kuin kaupungin alueella liikkuu. Joka kasinolla on oma, mielikuvituksellinen fasaadinsa, joka syö pienen kaupungin verran sähköä. Kun kävelet lähelle, neonvalojen surina ja hehkulamppujen napsahtelu on korvin kuultavissa, kun peilikoneiden kilinässä tulee sekunnin tauko. Fantastiset kulissit on yleensä nostettu reilusti katutason yläpuolelle. Lähitarkastelu voisikin tappaa illuusion tehokkaasti: kulissit ovat enimmäkseen maalaamatonta betonia ja ruosteista terästä.
On aika sopivaa, että Vegasin suosituimmat showt musiikin jälkeen ovat taikuriesityksiä - silmäkääntötemppuja. Voi olla että oma kyynisyyteni on huipussaan, mutta en tavannut paikassa mitään aitoa, josta olisin todella voinut sanoa: "Tuohan oli hienoa." Vegasin kohokohta onkin itse asiassa Red Rock kanjoni, suojeltu alue, jossa voi nähdä maailman oudoimpia maankerroksen muotoja, kivettyneitä hiekkadyynejä. No, okei, se sirkusesitys Circus-kasinolla on kuulemma ihan oikeasti trapetsitaiteen huippu. Se pitänee nähdä.

The drive to Vegas

Leaving Indian Creek I didn't fancy the drive back to Moab again (I've had to do this several times to email) so I went south into Arizona and through Monument Valley, West and back into Utah (through Zion) and then down to Nevada. This took way longer than I had anticipated. I didn't and haven't yet got to Las Vegas but I did and am at least in Nevada.

One of the nice things about driving is not the famous tourist sites but the little roadside things. For example I saw these odd little towers, I've no idea what they are but they looked pretty fun.

Bigger towers in Monument Valley. This would provide amazing climbing but they are in Navajo lands and climbing is not allowed. From a distance the rock quality looked pretty variable.

Tommorow, I'll meet Anni. I can't wait. I've seen some fantastic things and I'm looking forward to sharing the experience with her.

Tony - Wish List 1: Epinephrine

It feels strange wishing for epinephrine on a blog potentially read by as many biologists as climbers. To the climbers - epinephrine is a hormone secreted when you're scared which helps you pull through the tough moves. Epinephrine is also one of the longest routes in Red Rocks and ascends the beautiful Black Velvet Wall almost to the top. It's a route with a lot of history and is most definitely "old school climbing". The first 180m follow a 5.9 chimney through stretches without any protection. The rest of the climb comprises face climbing to link crack systems. I know, because I've read just about everything that I can find about this route.


The line of Epinephrine is shown in red, you can't see the bottom as it's hidden in the 180m chimney. The photo isn't mine as I've never been to Red Rocks.


Whenever I've been away on trips I've had a list of climbs that I've hoped to do. These have usually been close to my limit and been something to aim towards rather than expect to do. Sometimes it's worked out and we've climbed the route that we wanted and sometimes it hasn't as the climbing just seems a lot harder/scarier than we anticipated. I'm not sure if making a wish list of climbs is a good idea, but it's something every climber does. I'm even less certain about telling others what is on your wish list. For me, wish lists tend to be just that, the routes that I'd like to climb and not those that I think I realistically can climb. Can I climb 180m of 5.9 chimney? I don't even know what 5.9 chimney is like. In fact I've never seen a chimney in Europe which would have an equivalent grade.


Beautiful, slick and continuous - the chimney in question. The nice thing about this image is there is clearly some protection!

Why am I drawn to Epinephrine? Well it's never easy to say why something appeals to you, but here are some of the reasons. It takes the easiest line up a steep wall. I like the idea of taking the easiest line, it somehow seems neat and logical. You reach the top of the mountain and walk down the other side. I think it's a hang up from mountaineering but somehow reaching the top, again, seems neat and logical. Many of the Red Rocks climbs seem to finish halfway up the cliff and you have to abseil down. The climb just looks so strikingly different from anything that I've seen before. And I guess the last reason is, I am just so damn curious about what the climbing in the chimney is actually like.