Check out the snow in the background!
Yesterday we got up early – still used to UK time – so we made our way to the Red Rock Loop Road, hitting the Visitors Centre just after it opened at 8am.
It was a cold morning, but that didn’t deter us, so we started the loop heading for Willow Springs to check out the American Indian rock art and hopefully a good climb close to the road.
One of the great pitches of Cat in the Hat
When we got there, all the climbs were in the shade and it was freezing, so a quick re-look at the guide for routes in the sun lead us to Cat in the Hat. After a 30 minute trek along Pine Creek, we made our way to the bottom of the route. The clouds had come in, and there was no chance of seeing the sun.
The route was great, fairly easy climbing until the top where our hands had frozen by snow now falling! As we abseiled down, the clouds moved on and we had about 10 minutes of glorious sun. But it was too late to warm the bones, so we headed back towards the hotel for hot tea and blueberry muffins. Yum yum.
Panty Wall sun!
Today was much warmer. I fancied a stress free day, so opted for the sports routes just near the start of the loop road. We parked at Calico Hills (avoiding the $5 etrance fee for the loop road) and walked across to Panty Wall. Glorious sun on bright red sandstone. The rock formations are amazing and the colours really vivid. We blasted up the routes enjoying the safety of the bolts and watched a cheeky chipmonk checking over the bags.
Blue skies and Red Rocks
We left early, more hot tea and muffins were calling…
This must be one of the few places in climbing where a red T-shirt is NOT particularly photogenic!
Er, wow. Looks amazing.
Quick pointer for Tish though – the red T-shirt trick usually makes for great photos on everything other than red rock!
Have fun kids, take care…
“Panty Wall” ???? Being near Las Vegas this was obviously once a venue for a Tom Jones concert and the knickers are still stuck high up the wall 😯 …………… well that’s what came into my mind 😆
“It’s not unusual …” for Ian to think of something like that!