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Mountain/Rock |
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36.01944°N / 115.46861°W |
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Trad Climbing |
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Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter |
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Windy Peak’s east face along with its much taller south face offer some of best unobstructed winter sun at Red Rocks. The east face makes for one of the better bad weather objectives at Red Rocks due to decent protection from westerly winds as well, something the south face would not offer you. It also sits at a much lower elevation and has a less involved approach. My reason for visiting the east face would be when suspect weather is upon Red Rocks. The best route on the east face hands down would have to be Diet Delight, 5.9, 4 pitches. The best pitch one the face is the crux (3rd) pitch of Action by Knight, 5.10b. A great route for trad lead learning is Jackass Flats, 5.6, 2 pitches. Two great single pitch trad leads are the Free Crack, 5.9+, and the Aid Crack, 5.10+.
Catch Highway 160 off of I-15 south of Vegas and travel west towards Pahrump. After several lights, you will pass the Highway 159 junction on your right, which leads to the Red Rocks Loop Road. There are several dirt roads on the right that will get you to the base of Windy Canyon. I used the direct approach which requires a high clearance vehicle. There is a dirt road on the right that runs right below a large cliff wall to its right that emerges from the desert floor. Turn right off of the main highway, curve left and then take the right fork as it descends via a dip. Follow this somewhat treacherous road as it leads due north. Turn left at the dead end and pull off at the 2nd right pullout. This is the preferred trailhead for the Windy Peak routes. You will be facing the east face. The 1000’ south face is quite a ways up canyon. Descend from the trail head looking to gain a trail that eventually circumvents the obvious large pile of brown and red rocks to the right. Descend into a wash from there and attempt to pick up any number of faint trials, not that there really is an established one beyond wild burro trails, that lead up to the base of the east face. Diet Delight starts mostly center of the face up a short pillar to a thin crack in the middle of the largest clean face as seen on approach. To get to the base of Jackass Flats, you need to follow a bushy ramp from the base of Diet Delight as it gains 3rd class ground left. Don’t be sucked up too high on this scramble. Eventually you descend to the base of the chimney.
The Routes are Listed Left to Right as you Face the Wall