Prince of Darkness and the end of climbing

Trying to sleep in after a tiring day doesn't really work when the sun is pouring through your tent at 5:30 AM and the heat of the day is already building. Chris and I wanted to do something less committing than a trad multi-pitch so we decided on a shorter sport multi-pitch instead.

After a slower start involving lots of coffee, we drove a little further out on a rocky and slightly rutted dirt road to the 'Black Velvet' wall. From there we hiked up a desert wash, and eventually found the start to 'Prince of Darkness'.

We had mistakenly assumed the the entire route was bolted, so we took no trad gear. This was not the case, the first pitch (a mostly easy scramble) had no bolts so Chris improvised some rope stoppers to protect the short section of proper climbing.

I had the second pitch, 140' of sustained climbing on thin holds with no easy sections. I finished it cleanly, my toes screaming by the end. I belayed Chris to the top, then he set off on the next pitch.

He had clipped the first bolt, climbed past it, and was close to the second when he suddenly fell. I managed to get out of the way in time, but as he fell he his smashed his ankle against the wall, straight away Chris knew something was wrong.

We rested for a couple of minutes, but he realised he couldn't go on so we rappelled down to the ground. We packed our bags, and started the long hobble out of the canyon back to the car.

Chris made good time, I found him a decent branch for support which only broke once! We got back to the car, after a consolation beer I drove into Las Vegas to get Chris some medical attention. He had badly sprained his ankle, but it could have been a lot worse. Our climbing trip had finished prematurely, but the adventure wasn't over yet.

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Crimson Crysalis

Time to tackle a big one. Chris and I had packed all of our gear the night before, we were determined to bag this route. Crimson Crysalis, 900 feet, rated 5.8, mixed route (bolts and trad gear required)

Up at 4:00 AM, to the trail head by five. The park wasn't open to traffic until 6:00, so we stopped at the outskirts and hiked in rather than wait to drive. It was forecast to be the coolest day of the week, and given it was a Saturday morning we wanted to make sure we were the first ones out there.

It was an easier hike this time, not having to carry additional water as we had already stashed a gallon up there. Hearing coyotes wail in the dim light as we hiked in was great, unfortunately they stayed out of sight.

It was still early by the time we made it to the base of the route, we gear up and set off. What a difference a day can make, we flew up the first pitch that gave us concern last time, and the second pitch didn't look intimidating at all!

The climbing was phenomenal, beautiful rock, stunning scenery, and a fantastic line all the way to the top. We were in the shade the entire climb, it was actually quite chilly on the wall!

But nothing could dampen our spirits, six hours after we had set off we were on the summit. Incredible views to the surrounding areas, we sat and basked in the sun, savouring the climb.

A couple of hours later we had finished rappelling back to the ground, we packed our gear and hiked out. We reached the car twelve hours after we set off, not a bad session.

We stopped at a nearby crag for a short sport climb, then returned to camp elated with how the day turned out. We had a world-class route all to ourselves on a day with perfect weather. Doesn't get any better than that.

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The Black Corridor

We wanted an easier start to the day, and it was going to be another hot one in the desert so rather than do long multi-pitch routes we settled on doing some short single pitch sport climbs in the Black Corridor.

It was only a short hike from the car and the area promised shady climbing all day, we were still adjusting to the heat and time differences so it was an easy choice. The crag was busy, many people had the same idea, but we managed to climb the routes we wanted. A fun morning.

After lunch we decided to hike out to Pine Canyon to attempt the classic 'Crimson Crysalis'. It was a long steep hike, we arrived around 3:00 PM to the base of the imposing wall. We geared up, climbed the first pitch, but realised we had left it too late to climb the complete 900' so we bailed back to the ground.

Chris attempted a nearby trad route, but we didn't account for all of the trad gear so he had to bail before finishing the pitch. Our confidence was a little shaken, but we stashed some water nearby for an another attempt in the future. Our spirits rose on the hike back out, another stunning afternoon in the desert.

We hiked back to the carpark as the sun faded, just in time to witness a successful marriage proposal. We offered the happy couple some beer, and chatted for a while before returning to camp for another night.

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Dark Shadows

No choice but to be up early, the sun pouring into my open tent at 5:30 AM, quick coffee and breakfast and I was off to Las Vegas airport for a long overdue reunion with my climbing partner Chris.

We gathered some supplies and set off in the middle of the day to find some climbing areas in the shade. We decided to climb 'Dark Shadows', a 340' mixed climb at the grade of 5.8

It was a popular route, so we explored the base of the cliffs while the other climbers finished the route. The rock was in shade by the time we got on, perfect timing! I led the first two pitches, Chris finished the last two pitches.

It was a great fun climb, a perfect start to the trip. It was great to get accustomed to the rock and placing trad gear, but nothing too strenuous to start with.

We hiked out, stopping at a nearby stream for a quick but refreshing dip, then back to the car park for a well-earned and frosty beer.

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