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Red Rocks has been one of our favorite climbing areas for a long time. It is probably the mecca of moderate trad climbing in the US. With tons of great multi-pitch from 5.6 to 5.11 in of the most beautiful desert areas anywhere, Red Rocks has become very popular. It has also changed (for the worst) a lot since we took our first climbing trip there the year we started climbing. Long gone are the days of free camping in Black Velvet Canyon or at the tiny Oak Creek campground. Still, Red Rocks has a special place in our hearts and it always will...
The weather there is generally good year-round making it possible to climb during the winter months. Summer on the other hand, is brutally hot. Camping at the 13-mile campground is probably the best option ($10/night as of 2008). The campground is run by overzealous hosts (a pain in the butt) who strictly enforce the rules. One of the more problematic rules is a 14 day maximum stay in any 28-day period; i.e. once you've reached the limit, you must find some other place (good luck!) for 14 days.
The best time to be at Red Rocks is when spring is in full swing (usually mid-april) and all the vegetation is blooming. End of March coincides with the annual Red Rock Rendez-Vous and can be very crowded. The weather in late winter (January through March) is less reliable. Low pressure systems are not uncommon. Fall (October and November) is also enjoyable.
We've climbed a lot of the mega-classic routes over the years. The table shows what we've done and provides links to trip reports and pictures for most of them (those pages are spread out throughout this and our previous site).
| Route (alphabetical order) | Rating | Pitches | Quality | Area |
| Amber | 5.10c | 4 | ** | Black Velvet |
| Atman | 5.10b | 1 | ** | Calico Basin |
| Beulah's Book | 5.9 | 4 | **** | Oak Creek |
| The Big Horn | 5.8 | 4 | **** | Pine Creek |
| Birdland | 5.7+ | 5 | **** | Pine Creek |
| The Black Dagger | 5.7+ PG | 7 | **** | Juniper |
| Black Magic | 5.8 | 4 | *** | First Creek |
| Black Orpheus | 5.9+ | 10 | **** | Oak Creek |
| Cat in the Hat | 5.6+ | 5 | *** | Pine Creek |
| Crabby Appleton | 5.9+ PG | 5 | ** | Pine Creek |
| Crimson Chrysalis | 5.8+ | 9 | ***** | Juniper |
| Dark Shadows | 5.8 (5.5 PG) | 4 | ***** | Pine Creek |
| Dream of Wild Turkeys (p1-7) | 5.10a | 7 | ***** | Black Velvet |
| Eagle Dance | 5.10c A0 | 9-11 | ***** | Oak Creek |
| Epinephrine | 5.9 | 16-18 | ***** | Black Velvet |
| Fold Out | 5.8 | 2 | ** | Icebox |
| Frigid Air Buttress | 5.9+ | 7 | *** | Icebox |
| Frogland | 5.8 | 6 | ***** | Black Velvet |
| Geronimo | 5.7 | 5 | ***** | Juniper |
| Ginger Cracks | 5.9 | 7 | *** | Juniper |
| The Gobbler | 5.10 | 3 | ***** | Black Velvet |
| The Great Red Book | 5.8 | 2 | ** | Calico Hills |
| Horndogger Select | 5.8 | 3 | * | Oak Creek |
| Inti Watana | 5.10+ | 12 | **** | Mount Wilson |
| Johnny Come Lately | 5.10d | 1 | ** | Black Velvet |
| Johnny Vegas | 5.7 | 4 | ***** | Oak Creek |
| Karate Crack | 5.9 | 1 | * | Willow Springs |
| La Cierta Edad | 5.10c | 6 | **** | Icebox |
| Lotta Balls | 5.8 | 3 | **** | First Creek |
| The Misunderstanding | 5.9 | 2 | *** | Black Velvet |
| Mountain Beast | 5.11- | 8 | *** | Oak Creek |
| The Nightcrawler | 5.10c | 4 | **** | Juniper |
| Olive Oil | 5.7 PG | 6 | *** | Juniper |
| Overhanging Hangover | 5.10a | 2 | ** | Black Velvet |
| Peaches | 5.7 | 1 | ** | Willow Springs |
| Plan F | 5.10 | 1 | ** | Willow Springs |
| Power Failure | 5.10b | 3 | *** | Juniper |
| The Prince of Darkness | 5.10c | 6 | **** | Black Velvet |
| Ragged Edges | 5.8 | 2 | *** | Willow Springs |
| Raindance | 5.10a | 1 | ***** | Black Velvet |
| Red Zinger | 5.10d | 2 | **** | Oak Creek |
| Refried Brains (p1-4) | 5.9 | 4 | *** | Black Velvet |
| Resolution Arete | 5.10+ C1 | 24 | *** | Mount Wilson |
| Sand Felipe | 5.10a | 1 | *** | Black Velvet |
| Sensuous Mortician | 5.9 | 1 | ** | Icebox |
| Solar Slab | 5.6 PG | 9 | ***** | Oak Creek |
| Sour Mash | 5.10a | 7-8 | **** | Black Velvet |
| Sundog | 5.9+ | 5 | ** | Oak Creek |
| Triassic Sands | 5.10c | 6 | ***** | Black Velvet |
| Tunnel Vision | 5.7+ | 6 | *** | White Rock Springs |
| Unimpeachable Groping | 5.10+ | 7 | **** | Juniper |
| Wholesome Fullback | 5.10a | 2 | **** | Black Velvet |
| The Woman of Mountain Dreams | 5.11a | 16 | **** | Mount Wilson |
| Y2K | 5.10a | 4 | ** | Pine Creek |
| Yellow Brick Road | 5.10c | 2p var. | ***** | Black Velvet |
We stopped four times at Red Rocks during our 2003-2004 bus trip (twice in 2003 - here are accounts of the first and second stop that season, and twice in 2004, in the spring, then in the fall).
After being deprived of good rock climbing while spending the winter in New Zealand, we returned to Red Rocks in mid-April. Having not climbed there for the last 4 years, we were really excited about the great routes that Red Rocks has to offer and we ended up staying a month!
Guidebooks: a lot of them have been published over the years. The latest and greatest is "Red Rocks" by Jerry Handren. It has nice color pictures and maps, and good gear info. It unfortunately does not give any info however on the seriouness of the routes (PG or R ratings).
SuperTopo has a good selection of the more classic routes and good gear info as well. Nice for first time visitors or overseas climbers not used to climb a lot in the US.
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Welcome to Red Rocks Canyon! |
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| The 13-mile campground. |
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| The sweet finger crack of Birdland (5.7+), one of the many great Red Rocks moderate climbs. |
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| Blue Diamond is the small community next to Red Rocks. It has a library and a small store. |
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| Eric leading one of the chimney pitches of Epinephrine - one the best 5.9's anywhere. |
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| One of Epinephrine's sweet corner pitches above the Rose tower. |
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| Camping at the 13-mile campground. |
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| The crux pitch of Triassic Sands (5.10). |
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| Red Rocks is wonderful when all the flowers are out in the spring. |
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| Lucie on Refried Brains (5.9), another great 5.9 on the Black Velvet Wall. |
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| Hiking toward Solar Slab in Oak Creek Canyon in the spring. |
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| Eric leading the roof pitch on Inti Watana, a nice 5.10 route on Mt Wilson. |
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| This ain't called red rocks for nothin'! |
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| The Misunderstanding (5.9), one of many very good shorter routes in the Whiskey Peak area. |
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| Wild burros are not an uncommon sight. |
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| The incredible roof of Overhanging Hangover (5.10), a 2 pitch climb on the Black Velvet Wall. |
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| Descending from the top of Eagle Wall. |
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| Lucie on the first pitch of Wholesome Fullback (5.10a), another great pitch in the Whiskey Peak area. |
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| At the base of Resolution Arete at sunrise. |
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| The tricky traverse pitch on Resolution Arete on Mt Wison, one of the longest routes at Red Rocks (~24 pitches). |
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| Signing the summit register after an ascent of The Woman of Mountain Dreams, another long route on Mt Wilson. |
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| The second pitch of The Gobler (5.9), an excellent variation to Dream of Wild Turkeys on the Black Velvet Wall. |
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| Cactus flowers. |
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| Packing for another day of great climbing at the 13-mile campground. |
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| Eric on the crux pitch of Amber (5.10c), a 4-pitch climb in the Whiskey Peak area. |
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| High on Power Failure (5.10), another sunny climb. . |
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| Views of the Solar Slab from high on Woman of mountain Dreams (5.11a). |
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| On the slab descent down Oak Creek Canyon after climbing Mountain Beast, one many good routes to be found on Eagle Wall. |
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| Lucie leading the beautiful varnished corner of Sour Mash (5.10a). |
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| On the approach into Black Velvet Canyon, home of celebrated classics such as Frogland, Prince of Darkness, Dream of the Wild Turkeys, and Epinephrine to only name a few... |
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| A local and much better climber than you and I... |
Red Rocks, Nevada - the Summary Page
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