| Dark Shadows Wall, 5.8-5.12c Mountain/Rock |
Contribute  Loading...
Children Loading...
Geography Parents Loading... Mountains & Rocks
| Dark Shadows Wall, 5.8-5.12c   | 
| Page Type: Mountain/Rock Location: Nevada, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 36.12333°N / 115.49389°W Activities: Trad Climbing Season: Spring, Summer, Fall | Page By: Dow Williams Created/Edited: Apr 26, 2009 / Apr 26, 2009 Object ID: 508945 Hits: 356 Loading... Page Score: 87.96% - 9 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Overview/Approach
The Dark Shadows Wall (14 published routes in 2009) is located in the very shady confines of Pine Creek Canyon on the north face of Mescalito. The actual route Dark Shadows (obviously the namesake for the wall) might just be the most popular route at Red Rocks. Therefore the route overshadows the wall in general (pun intended) which is home to several other fantastic climbs including Chasing Shadows, four pitches at 5.8+, Negro Blanco, over a 1000’ at 5.11a, Risky Business, four pitches at 5.10c and Excellent Adventure, three pitches at 5.11a. Dark Shadows to the top of Mescalito is actually 10 pitches in full length, but the majority of folks have only climbed the first four pitches of the route. If you reach the summit of Mescalito, you can then rap perhaps the competing most popular route in all of Red Rocks, Cat in the Hat. This option would allow a complete traverse of the peak.
The varnished rock on the wall is exceptional as it steeply rises out of the actively flowing (unusual by Red Rocks standards) creek below. For the most part you can almost rule Dark Shadows Wall out for the winter months as this is one of the most shaded north facing walls in the park. Likewise in the summer these would be the most desirable routes to climb. In the spring and fall, on weekends, you will find an array of tourists hiking this section of Pine Creek Canyon.
Park at the Pine Creek trailhead off of the Red Rocks loop road. Hike down the trail along the creek, past the old homestead and into the wash as it heads for Mescalito. Continue deep into the right fork of Pine Creek Canyon. This is a lush area with quite a bit of vegetation overshadowing a flowering creek. There is a trail that skirts the canyon floor on the right. Eventually you come to the Dark Shadows wall on the left with a large boulder perched over running water. Route Description(s)Routes Listed Left to Right as you Face the Wall
Negro Blanco- 1100’- 5.11a/
Lethal Weapon- 90’- 5.12c/
Parental Guidance- 170’- 5.12a/
Short Circuit- 60’- 5.11b/
Risky Business- 360’- 5.10c/
Excellent Adventure- 350’- 5.11a/
Sandstone Sandwich- 150’- 5.10c/
Heart of Darkness- 1100’- 5.11c/
Dark Shadows- 1040’- 5.8/ I have only climbed the first four pitches (as is the most common story) and refuse to sign the summit log until I do the whole route. I am usually climbing elsewhere in the world when it is warm enough to spend much time on this wall. Everyone I know combines the first two pitches. Easy climbing to the comfy ledge. The third pitch is another easy pitch. The forth pitch is a fantastic steep crack for the grade. Dark Shadows is a must do route if you are in this trad grade range. However I thought Chasing Shadows was definitely more exciting. Dow
Lost Shadows- 340’- 5.9/
Chasing Shadows- 350’- 5.8+/ Chasing Shadows is a fantastic alternative, if not a better route, than its much more popular brethren, Dark Shadows. Chasing Shadows shares the first two pitches of Dark Shadows. Most, including myself, combine those two pitches as one long easy pitch. From there the line for Chasing Shadows runs up right via an exposed crack that leads to a fixed belay just below an exposed significant roof. The last pitch of Chasing Shadows is stellar albeit run out and exposed to the hilt as it traverses crimpy and crumbly edges across paper thin varnish above the roof and then straight up to its own fixed anchor just meters to the right of Dark Shadows fourth pitch anchor. Dow
Edge Dressing- 350’- 5.10b/ (a final bolted pitch variation of Chasing Shadows)
Slot Machine- 150’- 5.10b/
Peyote Power- 1050’- 5.9/ (on the face to the right of Dark Shadows Wall)These are mostly trad lines requiring an assortment of gear as spelled out in Jerry’s book. Many do have fixed rappel stations. Read up on which routes you are interested in ahead of time to determine whether you need to bring doubles or a single rope for the raps. Jerry’s Handren’s “Red Rocks, A Climbers Guide", is the best guide book for Red Rocks. The routes are north facing and offer just about the coolest temperatures in all of Red Rocks to climb in. External LinksRed Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, BLM
Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association
DowClimbing.Com Red Rocks
Images
|
|
Red Rocks
