"I'm amazed, did I mention I'm not coming back?" Is the quote of the day from "Neill". Ironically, the other "Neal" sent me this superb testimony in the first person via MMS from the shores of Settlers Cove in Ketchikan Alaska.
Evidently their expedition was expecting inclement weather, gray skies. "Amazed" by the scope of the wilderness where they are kayaking for the next few weeks, Neill compares the quality of his surroundings to "Welch's Grape Juice".
BETA:
We completed the first two pitches on what we thought was Schaeffer's Delight, a 5.7 trad route located at Whiskey Peak, Black Velvet Canyon in Red Rocks, Las Vegas. Turned out we started on Micro brew for the first pitch and somehow crossed over to Schaeffer's Delight.
Overall a very easy route. The crux of the entire day was the first 5 feet which required a strong mantling maneuver at the top through narrow opening in brush. The first pitch has abundantly placed small to medium sized jug holds. Bill Hobbins, our alpha Sherpa on the lead, placed pro half way up until he discovered it was a bolted route and thus, not Schaeffer's Delight. At the top of the first pitch is a small belay station for max 3 climbers and quality anchors to rap down. In fact the second pitch is quite easy, more of a 5.6 in my opinion, all the way up to a spacious belay station with another set of anchors.
Due to time constraints, we had to bail from here. Bill added another section of cordalette to the two straps of webbing already there. Plus donated a nice silver caribener for us to rap down on. Overall a really awesome day. I put together my first Picasa album (public viewing ok) that cataloged a few images and video clips, about 7 minutes playing time (search for it under sherpalounge or vegasdos).
As an added bonus that day, we also got to witness Bill's son, with his own first ascent that day, on the climbing wall built in the baby room, where his diaper clad tyke, Sean, uses his bed as a crash pad. Black Velvet Canyon is hugely popular especially in the spring and fall. We only saw one vehicle that day as temps in Vegas have only now just abated.
SHADE:
One important bit of beta on that crag: Whiskey Peak is in the shade after 2:00PM this time of year.
CLIMBING TIME:
Getting there from the highway (off Blue Diamond) is best with a 4-wheel drive vehicle as the off road section to the entrance of Black Velvet Canyon is a 2+ mile section. But its doable with 2-wheel drive cars if you drive really slow. The approach took about 40 minutes up a steep hill. We brought 2 liters of water each. The first pitch took Bill 40 minutes as he set abundant gear. We ran to ropes which made for excellent time for Jason Griffis and I to follow up simultaneously with Bill belaying us both form the top. Total time to do the two pitches was 4.5 hours. Started the approach at 2:00PM and returned to the truck at 6:30PM.
PAYING IT FORWARD:
We left our cooler of beer under the shade of the truck. Upon return, we found a dollar bill inside, from the other climbers who helped themselves to one of our Natural Light beers, totally cool community move on their part and we were stoked to know that we could help them out....So, white outback with California plates and a guitar case in the back, we know you're out there. Drop by Desert Rock Sports or the Red Rock Climbing Center to identify yourself and give us some beta on your day in the crag.
