RED ROCK CLASSICS...

This trip to Red Rocks I sank my teeth into two five star Red Rocks multi-pitch classics: Frogland 5.8, 6 pitches, and Birdland 5.7+, 5 pitches. Given the number of trips I have made to Red Rocks, I am a little ashamed of how few of the moderate multi-pitches I have ticked. For climbers that want easy to moderate multi-pitch routes Red Rocks is the King! On top of that, there is a seemingly endless supply of incredible bouldering and sport climbing. People say, "I'm tired of Red Rocks; been there too many times" but, I don't get it? 

Red Rocks on a moody Feb 27,2017. Rainbow Wall in the back (Juniper Canyon) and Mescalito on the right (Pine Creek).

If you're a sport climber on a rest day, you can have so much fun playing tourist in the desert. Pick an easy multi-pitch and go explore! Most of the 5.6 - 5.8 multi-pitch routes can be comfortably climbed in sticky approach shoes. Theresa and I chose Frogland as our first classic multi-pitch. 

Frogland is fantastic. Your classic desert sandstone jug haul with steep, easy laybacking. The crux of the approach is likely getting your vehicle to the trailhead. The road to Black Velvet Canyon parking lot is totally doable with a regular SUV but, I would take it really slow if you are driving a 2wd car. A little rough here and there. 

Black Velvet parking lot is easy to find and the trail starts off as a wide jeep path used by hikers and mountain bikers. You pretty much continue down the trail for 15 mins until some large boulders on your left, then look for the climbers trail heading uphill towards Whiskey Peak. Took us about 45 mins to get to the base of Frogland moving at a mortals pace. 

We arrived to meet one other party just beginning to rack up for the route. I said to Theresa, "no problem, we are lucky its only one other party and not three!". Along the route, we shared belays with Sarah and Jess, and got to know them. Turns out they freshly moved to Bishop, CA (one of my favourite places) and were keen to explore the Sierra's alpine climbing this summer. In the parking lot we toasted cold beers and exchanged contact information for summer Sierra adventures!

The first pitch is easily distinguished by a large, rectangular, flake perched at the base of a left facing corner. Up the left facing corner you go, plugging gear into the corner crack and clipping three bolts, to a ledge with a tree belay. Super fun! 

Pitch two went up a short, right trending slab then continued back left up the corner to a wide section. From below, the wide section looked intimidating. In Yosemite, such a wide section would send an icy shiver straight to your manhood but, on Frogland, you just stem across it using an abundance of face holds. Capping the offwidth section is the steepest 5.7 layback I have done. Straight up vertical terrain on the most positive of bomber laybacks you could ever desire. This deposited us at another comfy ledge. 

From the comfy ledge, I lead up on the heels of Jess seconding pitch three. A short steep bulge is surmounted then you easily traverse left into the main corner and up to another nice ledge belay. 

The fourth pitch is listed as the crux. Jerry's guidebook says, "place gear high and traverse low", for the 5.8 crux slab traverse. I will admit that this crux would be intimidating for a 5.8 leader. It has some spice. Jess lead this pitch for his team but had difficulties. Turns out he brought two left climbing shoes so, climbed with one left climbing shoe and one right approach shoe. 

Theresa and I were getting a wee bit cold waiting at this point. I mistakingly assumed Frogland would get full sunshine but turns out it stays in the shade. Danm it! Yes, we shivered just a bit. Well, I could not stay still any longer and asked permission to lead through which Sarah obliged. Up the crack I went, clip a bolt, traverse three feet left, clip their gear, crimp, slab move, I was in the easy crack pulling face jugs to the next belay. 

Looking up is a large chockstone wedged into the corner. Pitch five begins with some 5.8 slabby face moves to a bolt then left into a corner. Up the corner you go turning it into a fun stem beneath the chockstone. Wiggle your way up through the chockstone tunnel and belay on top. How cool does that sound! The top of the chockstone makes a luxurious, comfy belay ledge.

The start of the next pitch is not intuitive. Graded 5.6, you look for for an easy, sandstone ladder to the summit but it doesn't exist. Make an uber exposed right step off the chockstone to a small stance with the whole route cascading between your legs. A pull move up gains lower angle, less exposed terrain and the easy 5.6 pitch unfolds to the summit. Scramble, hike, and trail run the last moves to the summit cairn. Belay off a scrawny tree and celebrate big success. 

Overall, I found Frogland to be super fun and enjoyable. There are a few spicy sections that would test the fortitude of new trad leaders. Route finding is fairly straight forward as long as you have a topo handy. 

Jerry's guidebook recommended a single rack to 3" but, I would recommend doubling up from 0.4" - 3" C4 considering 4/6 belays are gear. You can place a 4" cam but it is not required. I climbed the whole route with 6 small nuts, and 8 cams (green alien to blue C4). Worked for me but I was not placing much on each pitch; maybe 3 - 5 pieces. 

Descent is simple. From the summit cairn (register box) follow cairns south east down slabs to the col then scramble down the gully on the east side. Evidence of a climbers trail exists most of the way and cairns mark most of the route down. Stay on the left side of the gully with minor rock steps until the trails curves around left to the approach trail.

The next day (Feb 27th) was grey outside. I recognized clouds like that from my own backyard
(Vancouver, BC) and knew that rain was threatening. The natural reaction and that of Theresa and I was that it never rains in the desert. We were mostly right. Given the conditions and a late start getting our religious fix of morning espresso, we opted for a classic route with easy logistics, Birdland! Why not stick with the animal land named climbs. 

Jerry's guidebook says Birdland has a "30 min approach with all belays bolted".

Mountain Project describes it as perhaps "one of the best 5.7 routes in Red Rocks". 

Woo hoo! Winner winner chicken dinner. That sounds perfect for a day of maybe taking the climbing gear for a walk. Pine Creek approach is not new to me so we bolt around the loop road, weaving through tourists like pylons and arrive at the trailhead. Its 12:30pm now and the sky has been throwing down rogue rain drops so we throw some coal in the fire, put a hop in our step, and beat it down the trail.

Takes about 30 mins to the base with a solid pace. We notice three parties on route already. One party is all ready rappelling and the other two are finishing the last pitch. Perfect! I flake the rope and rack up, "on belay!". I'm moving before Theresa has time to look up. Pitch one is superb 5.6 jugs and I can barely stop to place gear. The first belay ledge comes quickly and sure enough there are two shiny bolts with chains. 

Pitch two goes up a crack to the right of a chimney. More fun jugs and a few hand jams bring me up to the second belay ledge. 

The climbing is so much fun and the belay ledges are massive. 

Pitch three is the crux with a single bolt protecting a traverse left (5.7+). Continue above on the biggest sandstone jugs you have ever grabbed in your life! The top of the pitch is a smaller ledge with another bolt anchor. 

Theresa felt much more comfortable on this crux than the Frogland crux. We both agreed Birdland was a bit better than Frogland to this point.

Looking up pitch four from the belay, it is a sea of holds but optimally you trend rightward as you climb up. It is the 5.6 sandstone ladder that you expect. Really fun climbing way up high on Brass Wall. 

On pitch five we catch up to the last party finishing the route and introduce ourselves. A lovely couple from San Francisco that are happy to share belays with us. The last pitch (pitch 5) goes up more fun jugs to a perfect finger crack. The crack is flanked by good face holds until near the end. The holds get smaller for a short distance then its over and you are at a small triangular belay stance with bolts. 

From here you rappel the route. We rappelled the route with a single 60m rope but you need to be comfortable with a tiny bit of down-climbing. With a single 70m rope you can rappel in comfort. For the rack, I would say a single set of cams from 1/4" - 3" and a handful of nuts is perfectly safe.

Overall, Theresa and I agree that we liked Birdland more than Frogland. The climbing is a little more fun and bolt belays make sharing anchors a breeze. Birdland also gets full sun so it is much warmer in the winter! Despite the differences, both routes are classic and should be on every Red Rocks climbers tick list.                   

Rock Season Begins...

First 2 days in Red Rocks (Feb 15 - 16, 2017)

Lloyd King destroying 5.10a

Finally made it to the rock. After delays on the run way and worries about Air Canada losing my bag with all my climbing gear, I finally tied into the sharp end to stretch my legs.

I have not been able to join some of my two favourite people, Lloyd and Joanna, on a climbing trip for several years now. It was fantastic to coordinate this time together to be able to team-up for some crushing on the red sandstone again.

Calico Basin and Cannibal Rock was our destination for some quick hit climbs before the sunset. The routes around the right side of the block are good warm-ups but there not bolted that well - 3 bolts each in 15m of climbing. Fun none the less.


As the travel brain and sluggishness wore off over the course of a few routes, we moved around to the proud overhanging prow of Cannibal Crag where lies an amazing 5.11b 3 star route called Caustic. Short but sweet, this route got our forearms and fingers warm.

Me on Caustic 5.11b as the sun sets.

Unfortunately, our day was cut shorter than we would have preferred by dwindling daylight. As the sun set, the light began to become unreal. To our surprise, there were still some pockets of water here and there - lingering from the last rain storm and the higher mountains back behind the front ranges were still snowy.

Lloyd taking the swing off Caustic while cleaning draws.

Pocket of water beneath Cannibal Crag

My second day, or first full day, dawned bright and sunny - whoop whoop! We planned some classic, easy warm ups followed by a thorough forearm pump session at Tsunami Wall.

Hiking into Magic Bus Crag on a beautiful day.

Lloyd starting up Neon Sunset (Magic Bus Crag)

We arrived at Magic Bus crag with only one other party of two already at the crag. A pleasant elderly couple began to make conversation with us and in a social, subconscious way, welcomed us to join them at the cliff.

Joanna on Electric Koolaid (Magic Bus Crag)

Joanna looking strong on Electric Koolaid (Magic Bus Crag)

Some of the gear in my pack.

Staying hydrated in the desert is mucho importante. I like to carry my 2L platypus. Its nice because it shrinks down, compressing smaller as you drink it. 

After warming up, we packed up and headed down to Tsunami Wall.  On the way down through the slot canyons and corridors, we encountered some amazing rock features. Can you imagine a whole sport climbing crag made of stone shaped like the photo below!

Rock formations make us dream of steep sport climbing.

That sums up the first two days in Red Rocks. Looking forward to another 12 days of amazing experiences, climbing, and hanging out wit friends.

ELFIN LAKES WINTER CAMPING FEB 2013

Last weekend, Kristina got psyched to rent AT skis and go into the backcountry. Wicked idea I thought so, I texted a few buddies and got my friend John Grant and his friend "Churchie" on board for a little overnight romp into the mountains.

The weather forescast was sunny for Saturday and cloudy with flurries Sunday. Krissy took care of the rentals at MEC. Our friend Frank set her up with a sweet rental package. The stage was set now we just needed somewhere to go.

Its not easy picking places on the coast anymore. I've been to most of the local places many times in the last two decades, and I'm over the whole driving for 3-4 hours to get somewhere - like we used to do in university, when we had more enthusiasm than money and wisdom. I always like experiencing new areas and I have not been up to Brew Hut yet so, I checked the hut registration on the VOC website but, it was a no-go. There was already 16 VOC'ers heading up for the night on Saturday. 

Well, considering it was Krissy's second time backcountry skiing (the first time was an epic gong show of mass proportions involving soul searching and survivalist determination thanks to our chumsky friend Zac) I opted for an easy stroll up Paul Ridge to Elfin lakes hut. "Perhaps the hut will have room" No way. I caught wind from a friend that it was drastically over occupied with even a few squatters on the downstairs tables last weekend. So, we went prepared with full overnight kits. 

1 liter wine "check"
Vij's Indian dinner "check"
Down booties "check"
Bibler envy of the mountain tent "check"

Packs were packed and the stoke meter was max. 

The road was super groomed the whole way with barely a bump or pothole. We left the Vdub at the lower lot and piled into John's duct taped Toyota pick-up for the final push to the summit parking lot. Made it easily without chains and arrived to a VERY full upper lot. 

Krissy was getting anxious to begin up the trail and I was happy waiting... actually quite amused with watching John do his last minute packing. Churchie offered to head up the trail with Krissy and I said I'll catch up so, off they went, and I waited for John. 

John is awesome but, he has this interesting pride in carrying the biggest, heaviest pack everytime. I can respect a man thats training and a heavy pack... and all that but, a piece of me inside is propelled to provide assistance in the face of this toil - its never easy to watch. 

I caught up to Krissy and Churchie on the trail and Krissy was pleasantly stoked with skiing and the trip. She was loving the ease of skining and the convenience of climbing heals on her bindings. Churchie was proving to be a trooper and kept pace ahead of the group the whole day. 

John caught us just before the Red Heather hut which was perfect timing to stop in the sunshine and enjoy lunch. The weather was amazing and the sky was deep blue. We continued up Paul Ridge, opting for the summer trail across the easier but, steeper west side slopes of Paul Ridge. Stability was great with solid bonding throughout the snow pack.

The skin track along the west side was way better than the snowshoe beaten track on the east side. Two single ribbons of trail lead across Paul Ridge to where it joined the crest and the marked winter trail. The view was spectacular over to the Tantalus range. Only one steep little section proved tricky for Krissy and she got a bit freaked. We could have easily gone around this slope but, I find these experiences character building. 

John toiled under his pack... I guess he skate skied at Cypress the night before, and drank too many beers after when he was suppose to be packing so, he began suffering muscle cramps in the last km to the hut. 

Eventually we rolled up to Elfin Hut and set-up our camp nearby. It was such a nice day so we lazed the afternoon away catching rays in the snow. I would look up to the Gargoyles and think about going for a run... then change my mind and go back to catching rays.

The hut was fully booked with no beds left. It was a mishmash of university students and weekend warriors. In the late hours of the afternoon, as the sun began to set, an asian family with 4 young girls all rolled into the hut. I shake my head and say to myself, "what the hell were they thinking". I pity the family for their obvious lack of experience and I question their rational to bring such young children all the way up here without proper safety equipment. Unfortunatelty, its a story I have seen played out in the front country areas of local mountains several times before. 

Our camp is cozy. I've packed a closed-cell foam mat under my inflatable mat so the snow is well insulated. I carve out a kitchen table and benches while the hut campers look on. Inside the Elfin Hut, the air is humid and the smell of damp socks lingers so its nice to be outside in the fresh air.

We witness two skiers returning from the Gargoyles while an overly enthusiastic girl races over with a 40 ounce bottle of cheap whisky to quench their thirst. It almost makes my stomach turn to watch the skiers chug under the pressuring eyes of their peers. "Haha", we chuckle amongst ourselves, "nobodys going to sleep in that hut tonight". 

As the evening turns to dusk, we sit in our snow kitchen watching an amazing sunset over the horizon. Vij's curry and Ritter Sport milk chocolate round out my menu plans and it goes down easy in the chilly winter air. After dinner, darkness settles in but, we have port to drink and its cold so, we find some real estate inside the hut. 

Its loud but, warm and the smell has improved. A large group of university students plays cards while drinking copious amounts of alcohol at the front tables. This one guy has a collarded shirt, blue jeans, and penny loafers and I think to myself, "what the hell... where are these guys from". His buddies fashionably sport jogging pants pulled up around the knees and tank tops. I chuckle to myself, "wtf... these guys are all dressed the same". 

On the back tables of the hut, in the kitchen area, I find the asian family half passed out, sitting crammed in at the edge of a table, with no beds up stairs and no tents. The children sit perfectly side-by-side passed out with their heads in their arms on the table. You can only imagine my reaction inside, part of me is like "holy shit, thats hilarious" but, another part of me is like "damn... thats a sad sight".

Soon, a ucalaly kicks in and a guy starts jamming in the corner. Hehhh... this guy is pretty good. He's got part of my attention. For the second song he kicks into a cover of the Lumineers and the whole hut is on fire. People begin dancing and singing along and stomping on the floor - I have NO IDEA how anyone could sleep upstairs. Man, it was cool though. Dude on the ucalaly was good and we totally enjoyed the music, shouting lyrics when we knew them. 

Eventually, we retired to our cozt tents while the party surged on inside the hut. I slept well through the night.

We awoke in the morning to cloudy skies and promptly went to task boiling water to feed our need for good coffee. Several cups of coffee and oatmeal goes down before we decide to break camp and fire the descent back to the Toyota.

We labor along the marked winter trail - visibilty shifting between little to none as snow gently falls. The winter trail is icy garbage, downsloped the whole way making skining a chore in spots. We all stop above Red Heather and eat lunch before rocketing down the up-track. 

Its one of Krissy's first times going downhill since being little on the slopes of Big White so she is very apprehensive at first. She forces me to ark wide turns across the meadow so she can follow. Its fun though and she gradually gets her mojo back. By the time we get to the packed up-track, she is exchanging pizza turns for parrallel arcs down the middle. It is so refreshing to see her speed and spirit lifted as we begin passing snowshoers.

It was an amazing weekend that stoked my fire for winter camping and skiing again. It was so much fun to go with the full kit, cooking and camping in the snow. I've had tunnel vision on bouldering and sport climbing lately but, I'm feeling a spark to do more.

In the cold evening air, sitting in our snow kitchen, prying John about his trips to the Himalaya - a little flame lit inside me, and I could feel that pull toward a big mountain adventure again. I am very much drawn to K2 - we'll see what the future holds!