|
kazzabean
Sep 6, 2013, 8:52 PM
Post #1 of 8
(5944 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Sep 6, 2013
Posts: 2
|
Hi there We are visiting from South Africa and were planning to go climbing in Red Rocks (Nevada) tomorrow (7th Sept) until Monday 16th September. I see in the guide book it warns one of climbing just after rain since the rock gets brittle. Does anyone know what the conditions are like at the moment? How do I know if it is ok to climb or not? Many thanks for any advice! Karen
|
|
|
|
|
yves
Sep 6, 2013, 10:20 PM
Post #2 of 8
(5931 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 10, 2004
Posts: 125
|
From what I just saw, it is looking a little stormy for the week-end, but honestly nothing that should prevent you from climbing there. You should check on whichever weather report is available for Red Rocks (Nevada). I have climbed in the past after a little bit of rain and provided you pay attention you should be all right. In nine years, going once a year I had only one experience of one hold breaking especially if you climb some of the most classics. What are your plans ? It is a great place to climb multi pitch Trad climbs and if you are into it you also have great sports climbing.
|
|
|
|
|
marc801
Sep 6, 2013, 10:30 PM
Post #3 of 8
(5920 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Aug 1, 2005
Posts: 2806
|
yves wrote: From what I just saw, it is looking a little stormy for the week-end, but honestly nothing that should prevent you from climbing there. You should check on whichever weather report is available for Red Rocks (Nevada). I have climbed in the past after a little bit of rain and provided you pay attention you should be all right. In nine years, going once a year I had only one experience of one hold breaking especially if you climb some of the most classics. What are your plans ? It is a great place to climb multi pitch Trad climbs and if you are into it you also have great sports climbing. It's considered unethical to climb there after a rain until the rock dries out. With the kind of monsoonal rains they've been having, waiting 2-3 days after the last rain is not out of the question. It's not to protect you, but to protect the rock and the routes. More than one route has changed drastically due to holds breaking off. There's one infamous route that went from a 10b to an 11c because someone climbed it the day after a rain, pulling off a flake and leaving instead a 3-pad sloper.
|
|
|
|
|
kazzabean
Sep 6, 2013, 10:36 PM
Post #4 of 8
(5917 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Sep 6, 2013
Posts: 2
|
Thanks for the reply. I've had a look at the weather forecast and for the next 5 days there is a 30% chance of isolated thunderstorms. Not sure if that falls under the category of "light rain" or "heavy rain" :) From Thurs next week onwards it clears up and no more rain, and with a bit of luck that will change and possibly clear up earlier in the week. We keen to do some sport routes, mainly single pitch. The trad rack couldn't fit in the backpack :)
|
|
|
|
|
yves
Sep 7, 2013, 12:14 AM
Post #5 of 8
(5896 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 10, 2004
Posts: 125
|
Sorry, but it has nothing to do with ethics. It is advised not to climb after the rain because there is a risk of damaging the rock. But, tell me why you should not climb, if you do not damage the rock ? Just be mindful of that and careful when you climb ... If you can ... But I was expecting that anyway ... I will stop at that ...
|
|
|
|
|
marc801
Sep 7, 2013, 4:03 AM
Post #6 of 8
(5869 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Aug 1, 2005
Posts: 2806
|
yves wrote: Sorry, but it has nothing to do with ethics. It is advised not to climb after the rain because there is a risk of damaging the rock. You really don't know what ethics means, do you? That's the very definition of ethics - when what you do on the rock affects everyone else. If you break off a hold, you are altering the route for everyone after you.
yves wrote: But, tell me why you should not climb, if you do not damage the rock ? Because the rock is very weak when wet and you don't know when and where you might damage the rock when it's wet. It's really not that hard to comprehend unless you're completely selfish and you feel your climbing experience is more important than anyone else.
yves wrote: Just be mindful of that and careful when you climb ... If you can ... That is the whole point of not climbing after a rain for as many days as it takes for the rock to dry out. It may mean going elsewhere if you really want to climb on a given day.
|
|
|
|
|
ecade
Sep 9, 2013, 5:01 PM
Post #7 of 8
(5716 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jun 23, 2011
Posts: 132
|
Hi Karen, Red Rocks is interesting, sometimes it rains in one canyon but not in another. The soil will often tell the tale. Last December I was there, one day we went out to climb Birdland, but the canyon was wet, however, Kraft Boulders were dry, so we put the rack away and bouldered for the day. It was quite enjoyable. The area is large and you can often find dry places after a rain, by dry I mean, it didn't rain there, not that it rained and it has dried (I think you should wait the full day if the area did receive rain and then dried for fear of breaking) I most certainly agree with Marc regarding ethics... DO NOT CLIMB IN RED ROCKS CANYON IF IT RAINED IN THAT CANYON THE DAY OR POSSIBLY EVEN 2-3 DAYS BEFORE. IF YOU BREAK A HOLD ON A CLASSIC YOU MAY RUIN THAT CLASSIC FOR EVERYONE ELSE. Also, there are limestone crags around Las Vegas where you can climb during and after rain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|