Not sure where this place is, but it's a beatiful shot by Will*	The same spot, taken at a different perspective. Notice the sport bolts on the right hand side.
Red rocks at dusk	The crystal lake stands like a desert gem
Profile shot of the First Pullout, with Panty Wall in the distance	Panty Wall a little closer up
A distant perspective of red rocks, taken from the top of the scenic loop	White Rocks?!?
A crazy looking rock at the First Pullout	Looking out from Panty Wall at the scenic loop
The eastern side of red rocks park. Notice the snow on the peaks.	A lonely joshua tree
A lonely lake, taken by Jordan	Red Rocks taken from above
A desert tree in front of Sandstone Quarry. Great shot by Lauren	Profile of Panty Wall taken benaeth the only pine tree in the area

Red Rocks, Part Trois!

This trip by far had the most climbers (me, Steph, Will, Maya, Nicki, David, Jordan) and I had big dreams of us conquering entire walls, with three ropes in use at a time. However, my dreams were soon crushed once I found out that the Red Rocks Rendezvous was going on the exact same weekend that we were going, which meant that all the most popular walls were going to be monopolized by climbing clinics. This meant that we had little freedom to chose where to climb without running into climbing classes and an example of this was on the second day out when we scrambled all the way up The Magic Bus only to find that it was completely taken up by the time we got there (and those leads were some of my favorites in the whole park). On the positive side, we were able to use all the clinics ropes on Panty Wall while the climbing classes were on lunch, which meant that we had a good hour and a half of getting to top rope without having to setup anchors. With limited time however, only Nicki and I were able to get in a good lead, and the rest of the time on our climbing trip we spent top roping.

As far as climbing milestones go for this trip, Jackal made a rare appearance on the rock and worked up enough courage to climb a classic route on Panty Wall named Silk Panties. In his picture on the left you'll notice a look of pure horror on his face as he's climbing. Don't worry though, he succussfully made it up to top and down without dying. Also, it was my wife Stephanie's first time at Red Rocks and she did really well climbing all the routes at Panty Wall. It was also her first time rappelling, and I had her get her money's worth on the long 80 ft. Sandstone Quarry wall. Other first time climbers at Red Rocks included David, Maya, and Will and they all had a great time climbing.

Climbs Done:

Sandstone Quarry

Approach	None
Poison Oak	None
Sun Exposure	Low if inside Front Corridor canyon, else high

 

 

 

Friction Gription (5.9+ ***) TR: I got to climb this route several times and very much enjoyed and was still felt it was a little challenging at the beginning and middle. This route and Sicktion might be worth repeating again and again at Red Rocks.

Sicktion (5.10 **) TR: Did this route again after not climbing it for two years. This seemed a lot harder than I remembered! Thus, I bumped up the rating from 5.9+ to a solid 5.10. The begin is definitely the crux and the middle is still very thin and sustained. I'm not sure why this was so much easier the first time I was in Red Rocks, but I hope it's not because was a better climber then.

Panty Wall

Approach	30-45 min. up moderate-steep hills
Poison Oak	None
Sun Exposure	High

 

 

 

Silk Panties (5.7 ***) Lead: This is the right most lead on the wall and is very well protected. This was probably the most popular route on the wall, and even the Jackal made a rare appearance on it!

Unnamed (5.7 ***) Lead: The guide says this is TR only, but sport bolts were placed recently. This was one of my favorite routes.

Boxer Rebellion (5.8 ***) Lead: This route, and the one to the right, were my favorite leads at Red Rocks. The middle part, between bolts three and four, gets a little thin but overall it is a lot easier than it first appears. A must do if when you go to Panty!

Brief Encounter (5.8+ ***) Lead: This was probably the hardest lead I did on our trip, as it gets a little overhung at the end. But the holds are great the rest of the way so it's really no sweat!

Note on climb ratings: * - Good, ** - Excellent, *** - Classic

§ Special thanks to Will Write, Nick Kominitsky, Jordan Keene, and Lauren Hanson for providing many of these pics

	David gets ready to climb Friction Gription		Will gives Friction Gription a try
	Getting a quick climb in before sunset!		Belaying in style
	Do or do not, there is no try.		I rappel down after setupping up anchor, eager to climb on Friction Gription!
	Showing the group the hardest sport route at Red Rocks, Monster Skank		Steph prepares to climb at Sandstone Quarry
	David attempts Siction		Steph poses before jumping on the rock
	Nicki climbing Siction, while Maya cleans Gription.		Getting ready to side pull
	Onlookers in the dusk		I chalk up before the next section of the climb
	Racing The Shadow up the wall!		The Jackal as the Thinker... or the Sinker??
	All the men climb simultaneously on Panty Wall		The women attentively belay their man
	Climbing couple 1		Climbing couple 2
	Climbing couple 3		The etnire climbing gang after our last day of climbing at the First Pullout
	Myca and the climbers at Panty Wall		Steph rests on my shoulder as I lower her down
	Belayer talk		Will attacks Brief Encounter
	A Kodak momment		The Jackal holds on for dear life!
	Nick and Lauren are in awe of the Panty Wall		David sneers at the camera
	Maya finishes Silk Panties		Helping Steph get ready to climb at Panty Wall
	A great shot looking down at Steph climbing		A stunning side view of Panty Wall and beyond, ala Will-o-vision
	Will-o-vision, looking down at Maya		Nick poses his girlfriend Lauren for the picture
	Nicki begins Silk Panties while her boyfriend David belays...and wonders if the route's name is really true?		This one's for all the trad climbers out there. The guy did this route entirely with stopper nutts.
	Condor on top of Red Rocks!