Hali and Mike Return to Red Rocks!!
October 2001

We enjoyed our trip in May so much that we decided to go back for another long weekend. The weather was perfect and t his time around we stayed off the strip. That really helped to make our stay much more enjoyable!

Day 1 -- The Gallery / Black Corridor:
This was our first time to The Gallery, and we really enjoyed the climbs. The ratings seemed a little soft to us, but that might just be because we were rested and ready to climb! The rock quality was very nice, but the routes (that we did) were a little on the short side -- most having only 4 bolts. Some of the routes had rather exciting runouts from the last bolt to the anchor; just where the wall slabs out. "Gelatin Pooch" scored Hali's route-of-the-day. Mike split ROTD honors between that route and "Pump First, Pay Later".

5.8 "Sport Climbing Is Neither" M+,H*
5.9- "Buck's Muscle World" M+,H*
5.10a "Gelatin Pooch" M+,H*
5.10b "Pump First, Pay Later" M+,H*
5.10c "Running Amuck" M+,H*

 When the heat started getting to us, we decided to hit the Black Corridor for some cooler climbing. We were a bit spent by the time we got there, so we only made one climb. But a very nice climb it was! We also ran into some people that we had met at Rumney this summer (small world), and did some further gabbing with a really nice local climber (Mike).

5.10a "Dancin' With A God" M+,H*


Here's Hali during our morning stop at the visitor center. This morning was a little cool (as evident by the fleece), but it became very warm as the morning progressed. We actually went inside the visitor center! They have a mini-museum of desert life that is worth checking out.

This is Mike on the way to The Gallery. It was easy to find the location of the wall, but a little tricky to find the right path to the wall (hint: lots of switch backs through the rock slabs).

Hali catching rays on the belay ledge (she's facing the climbing wall). What a nice day!

Hali getting ready to rappel after cruising up "Gelatin Pooch" -- nice features!

Some cool Native American petroglyphs can be viewed along the trail...

Here's Mike doing another trail-side pose.

It looks like Hali is standing on the ground. However, she is actually standing on top of a rock in an attempt to escape a pack of man eating scorpions :-)

We didn't get a picture of it, but saw a herd (pack?) of wild burros racing the cars along the highway on the way back to town. For real. The good news is that they made it across the road w/o incident.


Day 2 -- Mass Production / Black Corridor:
This was a return trip to both of these crags. We met up with our climbing buddies Tony and Lisa, and had a fun, full, day of climbing! Hali and Tony (the two face climbers of the group) gave the ROTD honors to "Trigger Happy".

5.9 "Hit And Run" M+,H,T,L
5.9 "Battery Powered" T+,M,H*
5.8 "Parts Is Parts" T+,L,M+,H*
5.10a "Trigger Happy" L,T,M,H*

 We hiked over to the Wake-up Wall, but the routes didn't exactly thrill us. We then hiked back over to our good friend the Black Corridor to try our luck on something juggy and pumpy. Mike and Lisa (the two over-hang climbers of the group) gave the ROTD to "Nightmare on Crude Street". Hali was greatly disappointed to miss this route (again), but she had twisted her ankle and was done for the day :-( We'll just have to go back!

5.9+ "Bon Ez" M+,H,L*
5.10d "Nightmare on Crude Street" T+,L,M+*


Talk softly and carry a big stick-clip! Here's the group getting ready for a long day in the desert. Did we forget anything? Sun block? Hat? 6 gallons of water? Who has room in their backpack for the solar powered blender?

Here's Hali sitting down on the job again :-) She's actually resting on the anchors of "Battery Powered"; taking pictures and generally enjoying the view.

Who is that girl waaay up there? That's Hali! The nice thing about this crag is that it has some fairly long routes.

Sunrise over "Australia"? The guide book says that blob of dark stone looks like Australia. Hali is getting ready to rappel over the continent.

An arresting photo of Tony and Lisa before the "Hit And Run". This beautiful climb deserves a star and is a much less dangerous lead than it's neighbor "Trigger Happy". We saw a woman take a pretty good whipper off the crux move of TH and she nearly hit the rock ramp below. It's a good thing she wasn't closer to the next bolt -- another 5 feet up (and another 10 down). Someone give that route an "R". At least.

Speaking of whippers... Mike examines his rope burn after his first leader fall (ever). Mike popped just before clipping the second bolt. If not for Hali's excellent belay skills, the 10 footer could have been much worse (translate bad ground fall). Mike was very aware of second bolt placements for the rest of the trip!

This must be called Lumpy Rock...

It's a bird... it's a plane... No -- It's Lisa aaaalllll the way up at the anchor for "Trigger Happy".

Tony and Mike checking with the guide book before heading out in search of the Wake-up Wall.

Ah, young love. Tony and Lisa sittin' in a tree...

Ah, not so young love. Hali and Mike happy to be there.

Mike and Tony eyeing the one make-able route on the Wake-up Wall (we passed).

For Lisa, "Nightmare on Crude Street" was a dream. Here she's just moving over the crux. The bolt below the crux-bolt is swinging in the breeze. I guess we weren't the only people that had a tough time clipping the crux bolt :-)

This is a panoramic shot from the top of "Parts Is Parts" on the Mass Production Wall. Such a pretty place!

Day 3 -- The Gallery:
We started the morning by checking out the Dog Wall, but we decided to bag it and head over to The Gallery. The routes seemed a little harder this time around. Maybe it was the 3 straight days of climbing. Maybe it was Mike's spanking the day before. We all seemed to be a little low on gas, but still had a very fun time! Everyone gave the ROTD honors to "Gelatin Pooch".

5.9- "Buck's Muscle World" M+,H,T,L*
5.8 "Sport Climbing is Neither" T+,L,M,H*
5.10a "Gelatin Pooch" T+,M,H,L*

The new Red Rock sign is so cool that we both had to pose with it. Mike's turn...

And Hali's turn.

The visitor center has a nice memorial to the victims of the September 11 attacks.

There's a nice desert turtle habitat just outside of the visitor's center. Here, Hali is standing near the start of the habitat.

Thank goodness for cameras with timers! Hali and Mike putting it to good use (still at visitor's center).

Another fine example of the timer at work, and another beautiful day. Group photo!

Mike and Lisa sharing the sparse shade at The Gallery.

This is Tony relaxing at the top of "Buck's Muscle World".

Mike trying to relax atop "Sport Climbing Is Neither".

Lisa getting ready to clean the anchor for "Buck's Muscle World".

A tree grows in Red Rocks.

Tony working like a dog on "Gelatin Pooch".

Mike looks like he's panting (GP again).

Hali showing dogged determination (GP again -- and no, there are no more pooch puns).

Mike and Hali relaxing for a minute on the way down from The Gallery. Next stop: the Claim Jumper for a huge dinner. Followed all too quickly by a 2:30 wake up call to catch our very early flight home.

Please contact us if you would like full size images or hard copies emailed to you. Thanks!! -Mike & Hali

To view the web page for our previous Red Rocks trip, click here . To view our vacations web page (mostly non-climbing), click here .

Click Here to Email Mike , or
Click Here to Email Hali