Routes, long and short.
Comments to some of the climbs done in Red Rocks,
in ascending order of difficulty as fivenineclimber sees it.

Multi pitch

solar slab gully, .3
Surprisingly good. Great route to do with a couple of kids. Safe, solid and a bit runout. 2002, myles

solar slab, .6
You have to do 3-5 pitches on another route to get to the start of this long moderate. To round off a great expedition, resist the temptation to rap from pitch 7. Instead go all the way up to the huge slabs on top of the route and face the challenge of getting down from this wild location. We descended the long gully/chimney to the right (east) in 8 short rappels and moderately hairy downclimbing until it was possible to scramble back over and go down solar slab gully.
Another possibility is up and over into the Upper Painted Bowl and then find the Black Orpheus descend. Probably a better way to go if you want to do that route and familiarize yourself with the way down.
2002, myles / 2005, joe

cat in the hat, .6
Fine climbing I guess, but marred by the almost constant crowds combined with the need to rappel the route to get off. Imagine what kind of scene that creates come mid afternoon. If you must tick it off, then choose a cold windy winter day in midweek. 2001, sonja

geronimo, .6
Lots of non descript climbing for one cool passage near the top, plus a rope eating chimney on the descent. And also very popular. 2001, sonja

algae on parade, .7
From a vantage point under the route the 3rd pitch looks absolutely classic, featuring long, intermittent fingercracks up the face of a narrow exposed pillar. We couldn't resist, and discovered this to be true. Unfortunately the difficulty of that long, amazing pitch is hardly more than 5.4. Anyway, we did a total of 4 pitches, yielding a quality route, well worth doing. The descent, a long, complicated scramble to the top of Lotta Balls, certainly has epic potential, but noetheless feature amazing scenery. It could be better to descend down right of the route. BTW, in Feb 05 a rattler lounged in the corner fingercrack a few feet up on the first pitch. 2005, joe

johnny vegas, .7
A good route. Was there less than ideal protection somewhere along the way? I think so. A 'direct start', which is a completely independent first pitch, is possible. It has one bolt, is around .7+ and starts in a right facing chimney like feature just to right of the start to Beulah's.
2001, sonja / 2005 joe

olive oil, .7
One of the better easy routes at Red Rocks. 2002, myles / 2004, sonja / 2006, david-mark

birdland, .7+
Superb, exposed climbing on a relatively long route. Very tempting to continue on to the top after the last fixed belay, but, alas, if you want to rappel you supposedly have to stop in the middle of the wall. The finger crack leading up to the last belay is quite the 5.7. The initial pitches appear to be part of the old Urioste route Bighorn. See here 2004, sonja / 2005, joe

crack mcmuffin, .7
Thin 2 pitch crack that seem harder than the grade. Long, scenic approach, recently improved, cleared and cairned. Fully worthwhile half day expedition in Oak Creek, with near guaranteed solitude (which is a rare commodity these days). See here
2007, sonja

group therapy, 7+
The chimney up there is intimidating to say at least, but not as bad at it looks. The rest of the climbing is not so interesting but there's plenty of it. 2003, sonja

tunnel vision, 7+
Harder than expected, especially the crux pitch. We lugged along a Camalot # 5, and seemed happier for the fact. 2005, joe / 2006, sonja

black magic, .8
Although often touted as the inferior sibling to neighboring Lotta Balls, in reality it is a far better route in all respects. The climbing is sustained (a huge plus in my book) yet with distinct cruxes. I'm looking forward to repeating this one, while I probably won't do Lotta Balls again. See here 2001, sonja / 2005, sonja

lotta balls, .8
30' of pebble pulling have given this 3-4 pitch route its fame. Sure it's a unique set of moves, but the rest is not worth mentioning. Both Lotta Balls and Black Magic should easily be done in a day, so if you go in here, I guess you might as well tick this one off too. 2001, sonja

trihardral, .8
A worthwhile route on the left side of the Lotta Balls wall. The very fine beginning lead to a cruxy second pitch dihedral, with some loose sections. The third lead does not go up the overhanging fist crack from the pit (the one full of trashed cams), but traverses out right onto the face following some improbable features. 2006, sonja

frogland, .8
High quality route, one of the better of its grade. Easy approach, easy walk off, a rare set of circumstances in the canyons of Red Rocks. See here 2001, sonja

dark shadows, .8
The long dihedral pitch is fantastic with sustained, challenging climbing, using wide stems and all sorts of jamming, with the usual Red Rock jugs thrown in when you need them. And the rest of the route is good too.
This is also another place to experience Cat In The Hat like gridlocks, unfortunately. The route continues to the top of the Mescalito (refer to the Urioste book for beta), but supposedly the way off that summit is quite involved. See here 2004, mark / 2007, sonja

diet delight, .8
Excellent forgotten route on the lower east facing part of Windy Peak. Its recent inclusion in the SuperTopo guide will likely bring more traffic, but it is still off the beaten path. 2003, sonja

big horn, .8
Another 5.8. There's a lot of those on this page it seem.
If you look to the left from Birdland's second belay you can see this steep, wide and foreboding crack on the left wall of the huge chimney/corner. It is similar to the last pitch of Frigid Air, both in difficulty and the abundance of smooth, hard, jet-black varnish.
Climb the first 2 pitches of Birdland, then do a 4th class traverse to the base. After this awesome crack Bighorn goes on up to the top of the formation. It looked less inviting, so we rapped back down, downclimbed the traverse and then descended Birdland.
2006, sonja

there and back again, .8
Never a route to attain classic status, it is still a very fine outing. The shortcomings are plenty; indistinct appearance, short pitches, general lack of charisma...but the crux is hard and there's something interesting on every rope length. Better time spent than working on this website. See here
2006, sonja

jubilant song, .8
On the large south face of Windy is this classic Herbst outing from '72 or '73. An enjoyable, albeit longish hike from the end of a rugged dirt road drive takes you way up on a ledge below the route (this in fact is the most time consuming approach of all the routes on this page). From here 8 full pitches, with several cruxes along the way leads to the cool and seldom trodden summit.
The climbing on the upper part of Jubilant Song, after that signature traverse, is stiff for the grade and deals mostly with thin face climbing. Not a give-away route, from fivenineclimber's standpoint. See here
2006, sonja

refried brains, .8
In both the Swain and Urioste books there are 6-8 pitches listed to the last fixed anchor, while in reality, even with our 50 m ropes, it was easily and conveniently done in four.
Regardless, this is a brilliant, sustained route that begs to be taken all the way to the top of Black Velvet Peak. The aforementioned Urioste guide book contains the full route description. 2002, thomas

chrimson chrysalis, .8+
A mega classic and one of the best known Red Rock routes. A fair amount of bolts protect the 500 foot ever narrowing chimney that is the essence of the route. Still there's plenty of opportunities to place gear, so bring a full rack. Following the relative security of the chimney pitches are hundreds of feet of airy, exposed face climbing leading to the isolated top of Cloud tower. The last pitch is unrivalled in quality, with thin cracks and delicate face moves on immaculate deep red rock, above 900' of vertical exposure.
However, for an aging, faint hearted adventurer like myself the mental crux of the climb is the rappel descent down the upper part of the route. And if you ever had a reason to employ the Euro Death Knot this is it. Rope snagging is a real risk when pulling the rap lines, but the EDK turns this russian roulette somewhat less unnerving. 2002, myles

black orpheus, .9
Is this route really as good as most guidebooks allude to? Several factors speak against Black Orpheus. The climb doesn't look striking from any vantage point. A huge section of the route is wandering 4th class, literally breaking the climb in two. The socalled crux, mysteriously graded .10c on Greg Barnes' SuperTopo, is very short, overbolted and not a move harder than 5.9. So, worth doing BO on your next trip? Definitely! Here is outstanding climbing on a historic Red Rock route put up by one of the most prolific couples in American climbing history.
A few highlights: The lower dihedral is surprisingly difficult, besides having great rock. Below the aforementioned "crux" is the main pitch of the climb, a sustained and varied corner with lots of attention grabbing moves. The much photographed 5.6 lieback is quite likely the cleanest fingercrack of the grade anywhere. And on top of all that, you'll get grand exposure on the upper pitches.
But the reason we were so enamored with this climb when we did it in february of 2006 has little to do with the climbing itself. Because in the party below us was Joanne Urioste, effortlessly gliding up the route she and her husband George pioneered 27 years prior. And meeting her and later on George made for a fine day indeed. See here 2006, david

beulah's book, .9
If you like chimneys, or if you need to overcome a fear of same, do Beulah's Book. The start of the second pitch is an awe inspiring sight. A single bolt, barely 6' above the belay appears to be the only protection on this smooth, flared bombbay slot towering out over you for 50'. Okay, admittedly it is quite hard, but compared to similarly rated Yosemite test pieces it's not that bad. Will say no more, to keep intact the challenges of an onsight . #4 Camalot should suffice.
After this exhilarating chimney you're faced with a long 1"-2" lieback crack, which at solid 5.9 is the true crux of the pitch.
According to some, the hardest chimney move on Epinephrine is similar in character to Beulah's Book, making the latter a great warm up prior to tackling that Black Velvet classic. 2004, sonja

hourglass diversion, .9
Good overlooked classic on the quiet Brownstone Wall. See here 2007, sonja

community pillar, .9
Old school big fissures and chimneys, but with a fine varnished handcrack crux. A full body workout, including a long descent. See here 2007, sonja

ginger cracks, .9
Fine climbing on this one, albeit a bit chossy in the upper reaches. The exposure is gnarly, the setting dramatic and the crowds a bit less than on nearby Crimson. The recent addition of several new bolts on the crux pitch, and elsewhere, definitely have removed some of the old school adventure we had hoped for. See here 2005, sonja

frigid air buttress, .9+
An outstanding, very traditional adventure, with no fixed gear (save for belay one) and interesting routefinding. A plethora of mixed challenges will be thrown at you on the way up, from strenuous chimneys, OW's and cruxy finger cracks. Highly recommended. See here 2005, sonja

rainbow buttress, .9+
The grade attached here only reflects the socalled right side variation of pitches 5-7, as described in d'Angelo's book, 'Red Rock Odyssey'.
The main attraction of doing Rainbow Buttress this way is the large, clean cut dihedral encountered after the traverse. This corner is also the crux of the climb, with a thin, hard to protect section not far above the belay.
Overall this route offers one of the finest outings in Red Rocks, not so much because of the climbing itself (which is good, but certainly not spectacular), but for the full value of a complicated approach, fine route and long, scenic descent. For us, a party of three, this translated into an awesome 12 hour day. See here 2006, david-mark

la cierta edad, .10-
Hidden gem on the Refrigerator Wall. Steep, strenuous crack climbing from chimneys to tips, in classic Red Rocks style. See here
2006, david

Y2K, .10
Will immediately admit to pulling on a runner in the crux. Too bad, because in retrospect I know I could have done the quick lunge to a jug and onsighted that roof. Aside from this distinct passage, Y2K contains a lot of fine and varied climbing, from slabs to steep cracks. In 2001 there were some dangerously loose blocks at the top of the last 5.9 corner. It was possible, but difficult to do the traverse to the anchor without pulling on them. The belayer is without shelter if you set up anchor at the base of the dihedral. It may or may not be an option to find a better belay. 2001, sonja

bridge of sighs, .9
Strenuous jamming up a blocky chimney-like overhang leads to a steep, shallow corner with a super sustained finger crack. The moves in this 50' dihedral is some of the best 5.9 climbing to be found on a short Red Rocks route. Excellent outing, an annotation not to be attached to its 5.7 neighbor, Robin Trowel.

straight shooter, .9
Brilliant, but short. Done this one many times, but for some reason always felt a wee bit short changed at the top. Nonetheless a striking finger fissure.

magellanic cloud, .9
Stellar climbing. Varied, sustained and with an interesting crux. Watch for rope drag; bring lots of long runners.

sensuous mortician, .9
Heady lead. Rack up with all your small wires and a good nose for routefinding. Avoid this route at all cost right after a rain when the minute footholds will break off. The climbing goes on and on, thru thin cruxes and delicate moves until the final all out undercling/overhang to reach the chains. Not a good late-winter-trying-to-get-in-shape lead.

atman, .10-
The handcrack version of Straight Shooter, but tilted from slab inclination to mildly overhanging. Not a bad lead for a seasoned fivenine crack climber, especially since the Swain book gives it an ego boosting .10 rating.

spanning the gap, .9+
One of the better of Swains creations. Too bad there's a true death flake of sizeable proportions up there, that must be stood on for one move. If it pulls it will grab the rope and rip you off with it, in a tangled and mangled mess of gear, flesh and rock.
The brilliant upper face of the first pitch is like a mellow version of the Sensuous Mortician. The second pitch unfortunately turns sandy and grainy.

small purchase, .10
Clean corner first found by Herbst in the early seventies. Besides a trivial start and finish, it is all fingers and tips in a steep dihedral.

the fox, .10+?
I haven't been on a bunch of hard 5.11 cracks in my years of climbing, but enough to know when I've done one. The Fox is not a ten. What degree of eleven it is I don't know, but it's wicked hard. Anyway, bring all yours and your friends cams, and make sure you got double or triple of the biggest ones.

nadia's nine, .9?
A puzzling climb. Have never spoken to anyone who's done it. We know we found the right one, but it was so damn hard. At first I thought I just had a bad day, yet the crack was too thin and too steep, with roofs too big and too sustained to be a within the grade. I guess it really must be the quintessential of the famed Joe Herbst 5.8's.

Two or less pitches

doobie dance, .6
One of the finest moderate finger cracks in the area.

romper room, .6
The equally brilliant neighbor to Doobie Dance.

magic mirror, .6
A surprisingly fine and long pitch, featuring some challenging crack climbing for the grade.

traditional, 7+
Always watch out for those plusses. A thoroughly enjoyable, although physical big crack/roof affair on the long forgotten Illusion Crags. More good stuff there for later.

fold out, .8
Give away five eight, but definitely quality climbing.

ragged edges, .8
Ignore that silly anchor halfway up and do as one pitch. Bring a couple of #4 Camalots.

cold september corner, .8
Two bad bolts marks the end of this decent route. In february of 04 we fixed a hex to back them up, which will make this a safe route until some less critical climber comes along and claims the booty..
A spectacular roof with memorably moves is the defining feature of Cold September.

cantilever corner, .8
Awesome route. Long and sustained. Great for a cold, windy morning.

varnishing point, .8+
Hard pulling on that lieback around the roof. Cruxy and uneven. Not my favorite at the Brass Wall, unlike the next route:

the black hole, .8+
Off to the left side of the Brass Wall, hidden behind a chossy section and thick foliage is this seldom done gem. We think it is one of the best routes of its grade in Pine Creek. Very sustained, with crux after crux stacked on top of each other in a long, awkwardly leaning corner.

black track, .9
Must be the easiest five nine around. Good, though.

topless twins, .9
Another fine, but relatively effortless nine.

doin the good drive + a simple
expediency, both .9
Two worthwhile, although somewhat nondescript climbs, side by side on the front side of Pine Creek.

classic crack of calico hills, 9
This one surfaced in the new guide by Brock, and with 4 stars and such a name it had to be done, asap. It is 2 long pitches, both of equal difficulty no matter what the book says. The first is strenous, varied and definitely deserve the annotation classic in the original sense of the word. The second pitch is awesome, elegant and exposed, and not as hard as it looks. Figure on 45 min to descend down right to the base.