Nevada’s Red Rock Canyon is not a place made for blind adventurers. The approaches are really involved to get to the rock formations, nevermind climbing them after! You certainly have to earn your right to be there — navigating a labyrinth of paths, squeezing through cactus fields, and scrambling along washes for an hour or two just to reach the base of these stunning sandstone faces.
Fortunately, my friends Connor and Johnny — both a couple of studs from the Coyote Collective — kept me from getting lost in the desert or lancing my hands too badly with cactus. We thrashed our way in, climbed for 3 days, and lived like dirtbags, marveling that this magical landscape lies only a short distance from party mecca; the Vegas strip.
We scaled crack climbs and face routes like Y2K, Power Failure, Unimpeachable Groping (assuming named after our former president), Big Bad Wolf, and Physical Graffiti, using the fins and waves of the hard, dark-colored desert varnish known as patina (a mineral coating). While crossing through a deep wash, we stopped mesmerized by an exquisite and exclusive desert concert as hundreds of frogs sang in chorus. And we laughed over some shenanigans like when our rope got stuck in a crack during the rappel and Johnny had to reclimb the pitch to free it, or when Connor took a “whipper” while leading which resulted in his new nickname: Pancake Boy; He’s a tough squirrel so emerged a little banged up but otherwise healthy. Seriously, good effort, Connor.
It was an outstanding escapade, punctuated by an all-you-can-eat sushi bonanza before racing to the airport. Thanks for the fun, Johnny and Connor (Pancake Boy, ha!). Let’s do it again soon.
Photos and videos courtesy of Connor and Johnny.
Descriptions: Various shots of the desert landscape, the three of us climbing, and moments from our hikes in and out. The setting is bright and colorful, with blue skies, green cactus and shrubs, and of course, slabs of red rock dotted with that dark desert patina.
