The Red Rocks Rampage Continues!

Monday 7 March 2011

Rest day, so onto the Las Vegas Strip to check out the variety of crazies this city is known for!  Legal street drinking, costumed street performers (is getting your photo taken with passers-by while dressed up as a movie character a 'performance'?), guys and girls handing out cards for nude girl shows and prostitutes; its all part of the makeup of this weird Sin City.  We walked much of the length of the Strip, quite the ways and very draining for a rest day activity.  Most of it wasn't really our cup of tea, so not many photos were taken.

I've been eating quite well since Mel and Emil joined me at the campground.  We've eaten out a few times, but mostly we make a daily pilgrimage to either Whole Foods or Albertsons to buy makings and return to the campsite and cook a pretty healthy dinner.  Bed by 9 most nights!

Tuesday 8 March 2011

A good day's climbing!  Onsight a 5.11c; tick off 'The Glitch' 5.12c; send 'Fear and Loathing' 5.12a first try of the day, after a handful of goes earlier in the trip; and send 'Promises in the Dark' 5.12b second shot.

My base level of climbing 'fitness' is improving, hence the higher grade onsighting and doing harder routes in quick time, but besides having one or two goes on some harder routes I haven't really tested the upper limits of my current climbing state yet.  Had the skin on my fingers held out, I would have had a real crack at some 5.12c, 12d and 13a sport routes; as it is I need a few days off to grow some skin back!

Wednesday 9 March 2011

Did the 5.9+ start to "Physical Graffiti" with Mel.  Onsight "The Fox" 5.10d (20) fingers to offwidth crack corner.  Wow what a pitch!  Finger crack to blank dihedral with a thin hands crack that I had trouble jambing - I laybacked it until a good stance where I could place a cam, then more laybacking until another stance and better hand jambs.  After a rest on good feet and a forearm jamb, I half jambed half thrutched up the widening crack until I got to an ok rest and was able to place my last big cam.  I got up the off-fist, foot jamb, layback, arm bar (anything really just to get up!) to a point where I could rest ok, but i had no more big gear so had to run it out until the angle eased.  I was getting quite high above the last cam and Mel and Emil were getting a little nervous, and when I got to the point where the top slab started, I realised that the crack didn't thin back down as I thought it would.  I had to keep running it out and thrutch up the crack with a thigh jamb and chicken wings until the top.  By that stage Emil was ready to jump off the belay ledge in an effort to take in slack, but he knew that I was near ground fall runout anyway.  Plus cams have been known to track out of such soft rock, so if that last cam blew I was finished.  Luckily I made it up ok, and Emil seconded the pitch and we walked off.  That experience, and Emil's sound advice, taught me to read the route better from the ground and not to do a route at all unless I was sure beforehand that I could adequately protect it.  Then we went to try some sport climbing at Cannibal Crag, where we dogged up a 12c and a 12b that were both very hard.  Emil split a tip the other day, and mine are in a nasty state, so we gave up on those routes.  To finish the day I tried to onsight a 5.11a "Risk Bothers Roof" to try and improve my roof jambing, but I couldn't get through the cupped hands section of the roof so had to bail.

Thursday 10 March 2011

Rest day checking out the Red Rock Canyon visitors' centre, and went in to town to watch movie 'Adjustment Bureau'.

Friday 11 March 2011

Onsight an 11a and 11c, and ticked a 12a second shot.  Need some days off in a row to let the tips grow some skin back.  tried a 12b but the crux was too hard to flash.  Onsighted a nice long 11b with a pumpy start followed by 5.9 climbing for 30 metres, then had a coupld fo shots on a cool little 12c with a hard boulder start then pumpy steep climbing on round holds to a hard move under the chains.

Saturday 12 March 2011

Onsight 11a and 11b, and flash another 11b, so even with the fingers in this state I'm base level climbing well.  Tried to flash a 5.11d with tape on the tips, but the lack of feeling and lack of confindence in the fingers stopped me doing it.  Shame; it was really flashable and a great route.  A few days off climbing before meeting Mel and Emil at Indian Creek (Utah) later this week.



Sunday 13 March 2011

Rest day, internet, shopping, planning route from Vegas to Indian Creek via the Grand Canyon.