Jackrabbit Buttress, 5.6-5.11d

Overview/Approach

Geronimo, 5.6, 4 Pitches

Jackrabbit Buttress is located at the mouth of Juniper Canyon and offers up one of the better collection of easy routes at Red Rocks including Rose Hips- 5.7, Myster Z- 5.7, and Geronimo- 5.6. Climbing to the top of Jackrabbit buttress offers a more interesting option to reaching the much better rock of Brownstone Wall, North and Brownstone Wall, South. The folks who developed these routes are from all over the place. Several of the climbs face southeast making them prime early day winter destinations. The approach via crossing Pine Creek also makes for a fantastic spring or fall hike.  

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 Jackrabbit Buttress. You can also use the Oak Creek trail head (versus Pine Creek) and head north out of the parking area for the Juniper Canyon access on the north side of the wash.

Route Description(s)

Smooth Operator

Myster Z

The routes are listed left to right as you face the south face of the buttress and contour to the east

• Saddle Up- 4 Pitches- 5.9/ I feel this route gets a bit more love than it deserves from a few locals.  Smooth Operator, at the same grade and gets you up to the same spot atop Jackrabbit Buttress, is a better, more interesting, climb in my opinion.  The first pitch’s cave like experience is fun, but climbs well below the grade.  The 2^nd pitch is soft for the grade, but is sustained 5.7-5.8 up a solid hand crack which offers good pro for the budding leader at this grade.  The final pitch is a bit run out, but is your typical low angled mid-5^th jug fest to the top.  You can sling features to protect his last pitch if necessary. Dow

• Black Pearl- 135'- 5.9+/ A fantastic 5.9+ splitter crack in Red Rock worth teaching on. The Black Pearl is relatively easy to get to near the mouth of Juniper Canyon. This 135’ single pitch involves many sizes and techniques from fingers, ring locks, hand jams to chicken wings. There are plenty of wall features which keep it in the 5.9 fun realm. Most aspiring trad leaders should be able to climb it on top rope at a minimum. New anchors have appeared as of 2016 that actually allow you to top rope it with an 80m rope (barely). The crux for folks not accustom to off-width will be the chicken wing/heal toe section about mid-way up. You will not find a more heavily varnished single pitch at Red Rock. Good to combine with one of the routes on the Brownstone Walls. A mostly shaded alcove with a few hours of sun before noon. Dow

• Smooth Operator- 3 Pitches- 5.9/ The first pitch involves a long traverse right via easy varnished ground with horizontal protection. The corner before the traverse and the crack after the traverse make this a decent 5.8 pitch. The second pitch (5.7-5.8) follows an arching crack that trends left up to a comfortable belay. The third pitch (5.9) offers a stunning black varnished wall traverse right into an excellent corner. All of the rock on this pitch is pitch black varnish and offers several fun moves at the grade. Dow

• Rose Hips- 1000’- 5.7/ The first pitch is the crux of the climb, a full 200’ of 5.6-5.7 climbing. The last bit of this pitch can be a little tedius in approach shoes as I found out. The easy face and chimney climbing turn into an off width crack which can be climbed at a higher grade or sparse run out 5.7 smearing on the right sandy face. The 2nd pitch offers the only other eventful climbing, an easy roof pull. The 3rd pitch can suck you too high as evidenced by gear left behind. The 4th pitch involves an aesthetic traverse on a varnished ledge. On most of the route you are treated to the view of climbers on Crimson Chrysalis. From this vantage point it makes Crimson Chrysalis look like a much grander route than it really is. Dow

• Buffon's Needle Problem- 7 Pitches- 5.10/ For a competent party, the route really only consists of two solid 5.10 leads.  But there are no sustained 5.10 or 5.11 routes on Jackrabbit's south face.  Even for a purist like me, the first pitch is not worthy of climbing.  The route is best started by ascending a gully left to right just inside the canyon, to reach the base of a nice right facing corner below a chockstone roof. A stellar first pitch takes on two roofs.  It can be broken up to avoid rope drag and/or getting your rope(s) stuck in the roofs, but if led properly that no doubt can be avoided.  If you take it as one pitch, you end up at a comfortable belay just to the right of a fixed rap placed out on the left, well varnished, arete. A second 5.10 lead can combine several of the pitches all the way through the “eye of the Needle” which is essentially an arch.  This pitch offered fantastic varied climbing at the grade.  It starts out with exposure making intricate face moves via intricate pro, then pulls an airy roof.  It continues up a slightly overhanging tight hands corner to a challenging squeeze through the arch itself to a comfortable belay on the other side below a lower angled  face.  The rest is a long low angled simul climb via large features to the south shoulder summit of Jackrabbit Buttress. Dow

• Myster Z- 1100’- 5.7/ Myster Z is a relatively new route or it would probably be as popular of Olive Oil and Geronimo. Jimmy Newberry and Phil Broscovak put it up in 2003. It runs to the top of Jackrabbit Buttress and then you can traverse the summit of Jackrabbit on the south side to reach the Brownstone Walls. We simul-climbed the last three pitches. The 5th pitch has the only climbing resembling Red Rocks 5.7 and it is short lived (couple of moves up an exposed crack). The first pitch is probably the most exciting overall as a long (160’) 5.6 pitch following a wide crack up into a chimney. The 4th pitch was good climbing at the grade (5.6) as well. These are all long, but fast, pitches. Dow

• Crazy Horse- 450’- 5.8/

• Geronimo- 560’- 5.6/ ”Cute" route on good rock with fun cracks....super place to learn trad lead. RPC’s notes are all anyone needs to climb this route, great guide work as usual. I took his advice on the single raps after the first double rap. All goes smooth, good tat everywhere as of 2009. Dow

These routes are on the north face of Jackrabbit Buttress

• Nauterjugg- 90’- 5.11d
• Juggernaut- 90’- 5.10d
• Monday Funnies- 300’- 5.9
• Cottontail- 180’- 5.8
• Don’t Touch that in Front of Grandma- 90’- 5.7
• Stuffed Animals on Prozac- 190’- 5.8

• Octopus Cave- 220'- 5.9/ Octopus Cave starts out in the obvious cave like chimney located at the left end of Aquarium Wall.  Although there are no routes established on this wall to the left of Octopus (2018) there could be in the near future.  As it stands, it is the furthest left established route on Aquarium Wall and utilizes a fixed nut nest for a double 60m rope rap back to the base. Both pitches offer above average climbing for Red Rock, but the second pitch has considerably more choss.  The first pitch includes a variety of climbing, from hands to off-width to stemming on mostly good rock.  There are no bolts on this route (2018). Dow

• Aquarium- 1000’- 5.9R