| Brownstone Wall South, 5.6-5.12b Mountain/Rock |
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| Page Type: Mountain/Rock Location: Nevada, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 36.11640°N / 115.4933°W Activities: Trad Climbing Season: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter | Page By: Dow Williams Created/Edited: Nov 8, 2008 / Apr 6, 2009 Object ID: 461714 Hits: 695 Loading... Page Score: 89.5% - 22 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Overview/Approach
Some of the best quality rock and hardest lines in Red Rocks are located back in the secluded, boxed-in confines of Juniper Canyon on Rainbow and Brownstone Walls. The several hour approach is considered quite long by Red Rocks standards, thus these routes become ideal objectives when the park is otherwise crowded. The best way to avoid the long hike, however, is to combine the route Myster Z on Jackrabbit Buttress with a route on North or South Brownstone Walls. On my first two trips back to the Brownstone Walls, I have only seen one other party climbing on any of the 20 published routes (2008). The quality of rock on the Brownstone Walls is 2nd to none at Red Rocks in my opinion.
Unlike Rainbow Wall, the Brownstone area faces southeast and soaks up the sun for much of the early day during the spring. However, Black Dagger on Brownstone Wall South catches shade early in the day in the fall. For climbing purposes, the wall is discussed in two sections, the North and South. The south Brownstone Wall is bordered on the left by Gunsight Notch which connects it to Rainbow Wall at the head of Juniper Canyon. Gunsight Notch is used for the scramble off descent of the Brownstone Wall South routes. The north Brownstone Wall ends at the summit of Juniper Peak, a common scramblers objective, and its routes can be walked off at the north end of the wall. There is an obvious cleft in the middle that separates north from south. Imperfections continuing north along the wall produce more features on the north Brownstone Wall versus south. Brownstone Wall South has a minimum of eleven (2008) published routes ranging from the 5.6, “Peanut Brittle” to the far left (south) to the 5.12b, “Pro Life” to the far right. None of the lines exceed 700’ of actual climbing and most were put in during the 70’s, making Brownstone Wall South a relatively early developed wall by Red Rocks standards. Brownstone Wall North routes are much younger.
Park at the Pine Creek trailhead. There are two approaches to Juniper Canyon. Either hike down the main Pine Creek trail and traverse around the old home site to intersect Oak Creek Trail, or locate a more indistinct trail at the Fire Ecology Loop. They both require crossing Pine Creek ascending up to the south bank. In any regard, you hook into the Oak Creek trail and leave it at any number of trails that make their way towards the left hand corner of Jackrabbit Buttress. Avoid crossing the Juniper Creek Wash to the south. Stay on the north side until you are forced to drop down into Juniper Canyon and scramble your way up the wash until you catch a trail on your right that leads up on loose ground to a large flat vegetated area below slabs to the northwest that lead up to the Brownstone Wall. Continue following a trail until it leads you onto large talus. Scramble up the talus to the large, low-angled slabs above, angling right to the base of the north Brownstone Wall or left among bushwhacking to reach the south Brownstone Wall.
My preferred method of access to Brownstone Wall is to climb the 6-8 pitches of Myster Z to the top of Jackrabbit Buttress and then traverse the slabs along its southern flank to reach the base of Brownstone Wall.Route Description(s)The Routes are Listed Left to Right as you Face the South Wall
Peanut Brittle- 700’- 5.6/
Black Dagger- 680’- 5.7+/ I climbed Black Dagger in October and it can be a bit chilly later in the day as most of this left section of South Brownstone Wall never sees daylight this time of year. The step down, left and then rightward traverse on pitch 2 was quite spectacular for the grade as well as the varnished corner of pitch 3. These two pitches are what lend to the popularity of this route. Beyond that it is nothing special. I combined the 5th and 6th pitches with a 70m rope and we scrambled right to left up from there. Make sure you stay left when you start pitch 5 versus right, although you can go either way on easy ground, just a lot less rope drag if you stay left and out of the long corner. We did not need to rappel on the Gunsight Notch descent although there is tat with which to do it if you are not comfortable with the terrain. Dow
Cat Scratch Fever- 650’- 5.8/
Me, Myself and I- 620’- 5.7/
Bad Guys Approaching- 500’- 5.10c/
Time’s Up- 480’- 5.11d/
The Nightcrawler- 445’- 5.10c/ "This is another five star (and that's on a 4-star scale!) classic brought to you by the amazing Uriostes! The line packs a lot of sustained climbing into a relatively small package. Though some references include a 5-th pitch (a pitch above the Hourglass Pillar), the original Urioste guidebook as well as the new Handren book (ISBN #'s coming soon...) have the route ending atop the pillar after four spectacular pitches. The line features some amazing rock (particularly on the upper half) – bullet hard and beautifully colored. The crux pitches offer a mix of traditional and bolt-protected climbing. Note that all bolts on these 4 pitches have been replaced by Greg Barnes & Matt Ruppell in spring of 2007 (here) - many thanks are owed to these guys! Note that the first two pitches of this route are shared with Hourglass Deviation (5.9) put up by the Uriostes several months earlier." Radek
Hourglass Diversion- 600’- 5.9/
High Anxiety- 650’- 5.10c/ The corner covering the 3rd and 4th pitches, the crux climbing of the route, offers incredibly solid rock that Brownstone Wall is famous for, what I consider the best quality rock in all of Red Rocks. The last loose and bush laden pitch, by consensus, is to be avoided and a double 60m rope rappel line has been established at the top of the 5th pitch, to allow you to descend back to the base of the wall, down the center of the blank wall between High Anxiety’s corner and Nightcrawler’s corner. Dow
Pro Choice- 500’- 5.11a/
Pro Life- 160’- 5.12b/These are all trad lines and will require an assortment of gear as spelled out in Jerry’s Handren’s “Red Rocks, A Climbers Guide”. Most lines are well bolted for any run out section with “Time’s Up” almost fully bolted on its first ascent regardless of the traditional line. The routes leading to the top of Juniper Peak allow for a quick and easy walk off option to the northeast or a scramble option to the southwest (Gunsight Notch). Carrying shoes up for either of the descents would be worthwhile. Carry plenty of water if it is hot, as there was no water on approach or on the Juniper Peak summit. External LinksRed Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, BLM
Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association
DowClimbing.Com Red Rocks
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