With the holiday season quickly approaching so are the last minute options for climbing trips. Bishop, Yosemite, Joshua Tree, and Sonora are all probably high on the list. For those that want a little something different, the sandstone of Red Rocks, located just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada, offers a wonderful option. While its a bit of a drive, flights to and from Vegas are often quite affordable last minute.



The state park offers a solid variety of climbing with good options in the moderate range (5.8-5.10) sport climbs in the Black Corridor and on the Magic Bus. There is fun and a solid amount of bouldering in Calico Basin, and for the motivated sport climber there is the infamous Gallery-home to the classic Gift (12d).



Camping can be found at 13 Mile Campground, located a five minute drive from the park. Also, Las Vegas is a twenty minute drive away and offers a large range of camping and entertainment options.



Check out the Supertopo link, which describes many of the classic trad climbs of Las Vegas (The climbing in the canyon might be a little cold right now)



Red Rock Climbing Center on Charleston Ave will have plenty of information as well.

Labels: Calico Basin, Las Vegas, Red Rocks

Chris Sharma has climbed a route that could be the hardest route in the world.

Jumbo Love (5.15b) at Clark Mountain, south of Las Vegas is a 250 ft. pitch of continuous, radically steep climbing. Sharma took numerous 100 foot falls on the route; the involved and difficult climbing doesn’t allow one to stop and clip. It’s purported to have a single jug on the whole route with the rest involving long bouldering sequences and sections of 5.13, and 5.14 climbing.

What is it like to climb Jumbo Love? Imagine climbing five times the length of the steepest, longest wall at a Touchstone gym and doing continuous V8 to V11 moves the whole way.

Sharma often is reluctant to grade grades. He’s also quite understated. In true form, he has said only that completing the route would create a milestone for climbing.

Labels: Chris Sharma, climbing, Las Vegas

The Las Vegas area, famous for its glitz and gambling, also offers some of the greatest rock climbing in the world. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, covering nearly 200,000 acres only a few miles west of town, has a couple of thousand climbing routes, mostly on sandstone. You can spend anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days on a route. There’s plenty of bouldering too.

Bolting is legal in some areas and illegal in others, so get to know the area before you start out. The federal Bureau of Land Management has its own guidebook to the area, but there are others on the market.

Remember where sandstone gets its name. Even the best of it can get crumbly, especially when it’s wet.

Boulderers also should take to heart the name of Boulder City to the southeast of Las Vegas. That’s the nearest town to Keyhole Canyon, where the annual Keyhole Classic Bouldering Competition is held in the fall.

Then there’s Arrow Canyon, a limestone slot canyon about an hour north of Las Vegas near the Desert National Wildlife Refuge. In addition to a range of grades from 5.8 to 5.12, it also features a couple of caves.

You don’t even have to leave town to find sport climbing. In Lone Mountain Park there’s a spot called Urban Crag. It’s limestone too, and recommended by the Bureau of Land Management as an alternative when the sandstone at Red Rock is wet.

Here are a few things to remember if you go:

* Even in the relatively gentle spring and fall, this is still the Mojave Desert. Take plenty of water with you. Also remember that Sandstone gets weak when it gets wet, so don’t climb for the first day or two after a rainstorm. The bigger the storm, the longer you should wait.

* There’s a lot of Native American rock art in the area. Don’t climb within 100 feet of it.

* It’s a popular place, so the routes nearest the access roads are likely to get crowded on a nice day.

* Last but not least: when you’re done climbing, you don’t have to travel far for food and entertainment!

Labels: climbing, hot spots, Las Vegas