Spring Break Climbing Bliss

OVERVIEW

The magnificent Red Rock Canyon located 15 miles outside of Las Vegas is home to some of the world’s best climbing and has typically great weather over spring break. The climbing at Red Rocks is on beautiful multi colored sandstone rock. It is known for both its short overhanging sport routes and its massive multi pitch traditional routes. Spending the entire day trad climbing up just one cliff is unbelievable. The exposure and view thousands of feet up are breathtaking on these world-class routes. The single pitch sport and trad climbs up clean sandstone cliffs (none of that greasy stuff here) and picturesque splitter cracks are unreal. This is by far the best climbing I have ever done. Only downside is leaving Red Rock after a week of climbing can be rather depressing. Check out the pictures of this trip from last year:
http://www.student.virginia.edu/~outdoors/gallery/album16

We will alternate every day between multi-pitch trad climbs and single pitch climbs so that different muscles can rest each day (we’ll be there all week after all!)

This is truly an advanced climbers trip since we’ll be doing multi-pitch trad. The ideal climber for this trip would already be an experienced 5.7+ trad climber able to set up belay anchors. However, depending on who signs up for this trip, that might not be a requirement. On the trad climbing days, the non-trad climbers could separate and go sport climbing, or they could go on the multi-pitch trad climbs and just follow. This is however, dependant on how many experienced multi-pitch climbers sign up and whether they are comfortable leading all the pitches or climbing in teams of 3. For now, lets put down the requirement that you must be able to top-rope 5.10 to go on this trip. However, as we start to find out what the skill levels of the people signed up for this trip are, we might end up raising the requirement so that you need to also be able to lead climb, and/or clean, and/or trad climb, and so on. So do not assume that joining this trip means you are guaranteed to go on it. One final requirement, to prevent any surprises, you must have climbed with Aarash or me already (you’ve probably done that lots if you are going on this trip anyway), so that we know what your abilities are. I’ve set the maximum attendees to 5; however, that value will most likely change (up or down), so pay no attention to it. If the trip is full, sign up anyway because we might still let you in. If it’s not full and you are marked joined, you might end up not being able to come for logisitics reasons (i.e. number of trad/sport leaders to others…)

Also, we can move around the start and end dates a little to accomdate everyone if needed.

The club will pay for camping at a nice BLM campsite right outside the park, half the cost of campfire breakfasts and restaurant dinners, park passes, and rental car and gas. The trip participation fee listed covers the other half of the food. You will need to supply your own lunches (probably power bars) and you will also need to purchase plane tickets on your own, which from BWI to Las Vegas and back currently costs $226. Sometime around early February, once we’ve decided on who is going, we’ll explain how to buy the plane tickets cheap and which flight to get so we are all together or at least arrive at the same time.

The club can supply all climbing gear and camping gear.