Red Rocks

Here are some stills from the Red Rocks segment in my upcoming film Western Gold.

Pete Lowe on the first ascent of Abstraction V9

Heather Robinson on All Nightmare Long V6

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I went on a solo mission back to Wet Dream today. Two days ago I fell on the last move to the pinch four times so I was eager to return and dispatch! It was forecasted to be a warm one today so I got started earlier than normal.

Drive in to Black Velvet Canyon

Wet Dream is an amazing line that climbs a steep overhanging wall with rad sandstone holds and unique movement leading to an insecure slopey finish up off the ground. It is a power endurance problem where each move is hard and the redpoint crux is saving some energy to pull the last hard move to the pinch. It’s one of the best hard climbs in the country; if you climb V11 or 12 it’s worth the trip to Vegas just to try Wet Dream and Stand & Deliver. There is also a stand start to Wet Dream that is in the V9 range and is worthy in it’s own right.

I had a decent first go falling on the crux, then it all came together. Check out the video stills:

First move

Wet Dream

Sticking the crux

Slopers on the upper crux

Sticking the last hard move!

Not a pleasant hike! 2 big pads, 1 regular pad, 1 baby pad, plus camera gear! The things we do to climb a rock...

BIG THANKS to Blurr for the new threads and Organic for making pads that carry well!!

Stand and Deliver is an amazing V11 put up by Ethan Pringle back in 2005. I think it’s only seen a handful ascents to date. It sits alone high in Juniper Canyon and requires a 45+ minute hike to reach. Fortunately it is one of the best of it’s grade in the country so it is well worth the trek. It features immaculate polished sandstone on a slightly overhanging wall. The holds are decent but some of the feet are poor.

We spent an hour hiking today and eventually found the boulder. I pulled on for my flash attempt, did the first two moves then stuck the big crux move and commenced a crazy helicopter:

Sticking the crux on Stand & Deliver

Helicopter on Stand & Deliver

I somehow reeled in the swing and moved upwards to gain the sloper pinch near the top which felt way better than I expected. At this point I knew it was done since all I had to do was match on the juggy crimp and hit the top. I high stepped to do the match:

Then realized the high foot wasn’t going to work and right as I was about to pull it off to campus the move, the foot popped which made my left hand pop and allowed gravity to grab me.

Uh oh

Two tries later I found myself on top of the boulder smiling. A little later Anthony nabbed his 5th V11 to complete the team send!
I hauled my camera up for this one but of course the battery died just before I topped out. I did get footage of Anthony on my iPhone which turned out really well so that video should be posted within the next couple of days.

In other news, I started a Facebook page for Savage Climbing. I’ll be posting lots of real-time updates about where I’m traveling, what I’m climbing and how my video projects are coming along. There will also be lots more photos posted as well as other climbing videos. Come check it out!

I went on a solo mission today to climb UltraViolet V9, an area classic at Red Rocks. UltraViolet isn’t the tallest boulder but it’s not short so I was a bit worried about taking a fall on my heel without a spotter. The heel is feeling better since last week’s fall on Wet Dream but it still hurts to walk on hard surfaces.

I didn’t haul my camera gear up to this one so I filmed with my iPhone 4. Best to watch in full screen since I filmed in portrait. Hoping to go back with some friends to get some proper footage of this climb. It’s the best I’ve climbed in Red Rocks so far. Don’t think it gets much traffic, there was no chalk on it at all.

I fled the snow in Yosemite last week for the sunny skies of Las Vegas.

Red Rocks

It’s been a wonderful thanksgiving with many old friends coming over from SoCal. I’ve been staying with my good friend Adam who has been kind enough to let me crash at his house in Las Vegas! I’ve done a little sport climbing in Vegas before but this is my first bouldering trip here. On day one I went straight to Wet Dream which is a classic V12 that Ethan Pringle established in 2004. It’s an amazing overhanging wall that leads to an exciting finish on slopers and pinches. It is very steep and very sustained. There is also a right variation that is equally cool and clocks in around V11. I’ve done all but one move on the 12 and I nearly sent the 11 a few days ago falling off the slopers up high. Unfortunately, the first time I fell off the top I swung out, missed the pads, and landed on the rocks below. I bashed my left heel pretty good so I haven’t been able to climb since Friday. It’s feeling better now so maybe after another day of rest I’ll get back out to the boulders. You need a lot of pads for Wet Dream and I’m scared to take another fall on my heel so I’m not sure when I’ll have the chance to get back on it.

Before I hurt my heel I had a day at the Kraft Boulders which is the main bouldering area of Red Rocks. I had a good first day there with flashes of Angel’s Dyno V7, Monkey Bar Direct V8, and Stake Your Claim, a new V10 that was just put up a couple weeks ago. Since I couldn’t climb this weekend it gave me the chance to do a lot of filming which was fun.

Savage Stunners

Anthony displaying his dyno prowess on Angel's Dyno V7

Anthony campusing Stake Your Claim V10

Stake Your Claim

Anthony Trying Americana Exotica V10

I’m planning to hang out here for another week, then head down to Hueco for two weeks before I go home for the holidays. My Rocklands film is almost finished. I’m hoping to wrap it up in the next 2-3 weeks.