| East Face, 5.7-5.12b Mountain/Rock |
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| East Face, 5.7-5.12b   | 
| 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, Winter | Page By: Dow Williams Created/Edited: Apr 30, 2009 / Apr 30, 2009 Object ID: 510217 Hits: 299 Loading... Page Score: 88.39% - 12 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Overview/Approach
The East Face of Mescalito at Red Rocks often gets overlooked for more popular destinations on the small pinnacle of a mountain like Dark Shadows Wall to the right and Mescalito’s south face to the left. But the lack of attention for the east face is not for a lack of published routes: 22 as of 2009. Y2K , 4 pitches at 5.10a is no doubt the most popular of the east face routes. The remainder are relatively obscure lines by Red Rocks standards. And for good reason really; the routes are not that long, many being from two to three pitches, and the rock not that good on the east face of Mescalito. Only the northeast buttress routes, Deep Space and Centerfold, can reach the summit and neither receive accolades from Handren.
The east face is by far the warmest of the three faces to climb on Mescalito. Dark Shadows Wall represents quite the enclosed north face and the south face gets a lot of sun blocked out from nearby Juniper and Rainbow Peaks.
Park at the Pine Creek trailhead off of the Red Rocks loop road. In the spring and fall, on weekends, you will find an array of tourists hiking this section of Pine Creek Canyon. Hike down the trail along the creek, past the old homestead and into the wash as it heads for Mescalito. To reach Y2K which represents the north side of the east face, look for a rather indistinct trail off to the left and up from the bottom of the wash. To avoid bushwhacking, wait until you have identified the route and are basically underneath it before ascending the bushy slope to the base of the rock. This goes for pretty much all the routes. A trail does circumvent the east face, but quite a ways down from the base of the peak.Route Description(s)Routes Listed Left to Right as you Face the Wall
The Wasp- 300’- 5.10/
Black Widow Hollow- 400’- 5.9+/ Black Widow Hollow is actually quite dated compared to other routes on Mescalito’s East Face. Joe Herbst and Mark Moore put it in during 1976. The first pitch involves easy 5.7 climbing that lands you on a comfortable belay ledge directly below the 200’+ chimney. Handren puts the 2nd pitch at 210’ and it is more like 220’, but it is easy to add 20’ to the 3rd pitch and still make this a 3 pitch route with comfortable belays. There is a big ledge within the chimney itself 20’ or so down from the top of it. The rope drag is so severe towards the top of the chimney that it makes much more sense to climb Black Widow Hollow this way versus topping out on the chimney for a belay which would require simul-climbing with 60m ropes. As with any deeper chimney, it is hard to protect the 2nd pitch safely. At times you will need to squeeze in, place pro, use an extended sling and climb back out, knowing that any fall will more than likely result into a slam back into the chimney Dow
Pauline’s Pentacle- 230’- 5.10a/
Cookie Monster- 340’- 5.7/
Walker Spur- 350’- 5.10b/
Pine Nuts- 235’- 5.10a/
When a Stranger Calls- 350’- 5.9/
Crunchy Cat- 150’- 5.8/
C11 H17N03- 535’- 5.7/
Mescalito Regular Route- 1100’- 5.7/
This Ain’t No Disco- 140’- 5.10a/
Welcome to Red Rocks- 150’- 5.12b/
Pauligk Pillar- 270’- 5.7/
Y2K- 515’- 5.10a/ It definitely felt below the grade of 5.9 and was rather anti-climactic. The rope snag opportunity on the first of three double rope rappels on descent makes this route barely worth visiting. However, if one is looking for their first 5.10a trad experience at Red Rocks, there could not be an easier objective. The first pitch has the only 5.10a moves on it and they are short lived, involving a well protected (bolt) roof mantle. The second pitch (5.8) is almost a full 200’ and will involve some run-out to avoid tremendous rope drag. The third pitch is an easy traverse into the corner which was supposed to be the crux of the route. However, I led the final pitch and found it quite easy at the grade (5.9). I also did not find the need for any RP’s as Handren suggested in his guide book. A #.75 cam along with a small nut or two easily protects the final steep section with plenty of protection prior. Dow
Too Many Tantrums- 200’- 5.7/
Splitting Hares- 225’- 5.9/
Next Century- 200’- 5.10d/
Ride the Tiger- 600’- 5.9/
Northeast Corner
Bloodline- 300’- 5.11a/
Deep Space- 1200’- 5.9/
Centerfold- 1100’- 5.9+/
Flakes of Wrath- 455’- 5.10dR/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 east facing and offer good morning sun on cooler days, but lose sun rather early. External LinksRed Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, BLM
Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association
DowClimbing.Com Red Rocks
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