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Community Pillar
5.9, 7 pitches
Pine Creek Canyon

, Red Rocks, Nevada
Images from our
April '07 climb
Sitting across from some very busy, sunny routes in Pine Creek, this striking line of awesome climbing is remarkably pristine.
Well, good. In a busy world spiraling out of control, a little quiet time on a shady wall is what we need.
And, looking at the climbing scene around us, this type of route will likely remain ours for the near future, too. Although there's great adventure here, and good climbing also, it is old fashioned. No fixed, convenient rap anchors to ensure a quick, inexpensive retreat. An abundance of BIG cracks, requiring grunt and momentum before finesse. Long, roundabout descent. Relatively low grades, considering the effort put into the climb. Not the stuff average weekend warriors hunt for.
Joe Herbst should be pleased..
 
 

The route follow a chimney like fissure up the face of the pillar for many pitches. There are some variations available to a few of these leads, to muddle up an otherwise simple route layout.
First, on pitch one, you can do the notorious dark and tight squeeze inside the chimney, or some loose, dangerous looking faceclimbing outside. Well, both choices come with obvious drawbacks, but having read too much lore about the inside option it seemed inevitable I would end there. Without shedding too much light, so to speak, on this dark spot, a few things bear mentioning: Your girth will determine a successful passage, because it is very tight. I'm 6'2"/ 180 lbs, and became mildly concerned somewhere along the way. Sonja, on the other hand is relatively petite, so physically it was not bad, but she had to work hard to control claustrophobia. Removing helmet and rack for later hauling is advised.
So far so good. The next crossroad is on pitch 4. Either 5.8 OW to squeeze or a beautifully varnished, albeit steep and tough looking 5.9 crack. The latter looked like our kind of territory, and was.
The last route choice happens near the top. From a unique and deep cave you can climb back out immediately and do death defying faceclimbing, or perform this wild stem/bridge maneuver out the roof of the cave via a bomb bay chimney. We chose the last option, and lived to tell.

Community Pillar is also profiled in Red Rock Odyssey, a highly recommended read by Larry DeAngelo.

 
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