After a gnarly bivvy at Circus Circus (Paul's theory is to "go native" in Vegas) we finally head for the rocks. We reach the Oak Creek trailhead around 9 and head out. The plan is for Paul, Jenny, and Alastair to bag Solar Slab (which I've already done) and for Eric and I to hump it all the way to Catwalk, an 8 pitch 5.6+. Solar Slab has a 5.9 start called Beaulahs Book. Since the 5.9 is a short chimney (sort of a mini-Epinephrine) I tell the others that they should go for the gusto and give Jenny a tight rope on the crux and they will have no problems with the other 11 pitches (other than getting up before dark!). We part at the base of Solar Slab and Eric and I start the crux: the approach.
Swain says it's 2 hours to the base. That's probably about right if you're fast and know the way. At least I know the way. Eric's not at all happy - especially since Jenny gets to climb with almost no hiking. The approch is a long slog up the Oak Creek streambed. After a while there's water, making Eric a lot happier but slowing down progress significantly. We're finally to the climb around noon and Eric isn't happy. His plan is to back off after a couple of pitches. My plan is to get committed since there's no way off once we get started.
The first couple of pitches are fun and easy. The route follows an obvious crack / ramp system. We climb fast and soon I point out to Eric that there are no rap anchors. In fact, the belay anchors aren't all that great sometimes. He agrees that there's nowhere to go but up but he registers his protests. One nice thing for Eric is that there are no people anywhere near us and he has permission to clear some of the crud off of the belay ledges. I hear lots of crashing rocks as I lead. Three more pitches up the ramp - mostly easy with short cruxes (5.6) at the bulges. Pro is OK at the cruxes but there are some long runouts on the easier parts. Doesn't bother us though and we make good time. At the top of pitch 5 the topo shows an escape. Eric wants to take it but it's dubious at best and rather wet so we head up. Pitches 6 and 7 are really nice - 5.6+ with good pro. Eric does a great job and we're on top - the whole climb took about 3 hours. Eric really enjoys the descent to the packs - easy slabs next to waterfalls in the stream. There's snow and ice across the gully from us but we're on the sunny side and there's no problem. The trip back to the pack goes quickly and we are ready to head down.
Getting back down is a real grunt. Eric does the whole thing in his rock shoes to make the scramblimg easier. I'm carrying all the gear and getting wasted. Near the bottom it gets dark but a full moon gets us back to the car in time to avoid a ticket from the rangers. It's 7 pm - the descent took about 3.5 hours. Eric barely can drag himself into the car.
What about the others? Around 2pm we saw folks at the top of Solar Slab and hope that's them but when we hit the car we found out that it was another party. The problem was the 5.9 pitch - it completely freaked Jenny out. Not only the chimney - there is a 5.8+ layback above the chimney and she had never done a layback. Paul eventually got her up but when they reached the base of Solar Slab they decided to bail after just 3 pitches. The other big problem was that they had put way too much in their pack and it was a real pain getting it through the chimney. Everything turned out well since they used the descent to teach Jenny how to rappel. By the time they hit the bottom she was having big fun and had recovered from being scared on the crux. Unfortunately they had to wait three hours for Eric and I to stagger back.
After it was all over, Eric decided that the climb and descent back to the packs were both OK but that the approach was "minus 1000 stars". I guess I can agree with that.
The next day I volunteered to take the kids to the amusement park at Circus Circus while Alastair and Paul try to climb before the weather gets bad. This works out just fine: the kids show no signs at all of being tired and spend the day riding the coaster, bumper cars, water ride, and playing laser tag. There's no lines at all so no waiting. I figure Eric managed to take 10 - 20 turns on each of the ride. It took hours to convince Eric that he could handle the coaster (he thought the loop would be too scary) but once he tried it we couldn't pry him off it.
Meanwhile, Paul and Alastair did Dark Shadows (5.8). They had a great time - the only problem was that it started raining as they topped out. It wasn't too serious and they joined us that afternoon and played with the kids a bit. The highlight of the day was a trip to New York - New York and a ride on the big coaster there.
The next day, Saturday, was cold and wet so we stayed in town a while. We visited Hoover Dam (pretty cool) and saw a herd to desert Bighorn (way cool!) on the drive back. Finally, around 2pm Alastair and I headed for the rocks while Paul took the kids.
After lengthy debate, we decided to hit `Illusion Crags' at the far south end of the range. We had never been there before and wanted to see something new. The approach was about 25 minutes and we arrived at a broken cliff band, about 150' tall. It was hard lining up the routes in the guidebook with the crag and most of the routes looked rather crappy but we eventually located a reccomended 5.9 (the only thumbs up at this grade in Swain - forgot the name). The crux was good - a well protected crack / face combo. I belayed 50' up where the route gets easy by traversing over to a bolted 5.10+. After playing on this for a while (I was really glad I hadn't led it!) it started getting late and we headed back. All in all, not that great a place to head for. Not nearly as good as Willow Springs.
Last day. Good weather. Time to do something big! The route: Frogland (6 pitches, 5.8-). The main problem is that this is a weekend and Frogland usually has a big crowd. Unfortunately, there are three parties above us, none moving that fast. Everyone ahead seems to feel that hauling large packs up this route is fun and worthwhile. Although the approach is trivial by Vegas standards, Eric starts moaning about it and complains about the heat. Since the route is in the shade, I've got him in long pants and long sleeves but he doesn't appreciate this during the hike.
Doesn't matter how fast we hike since there's a traffic jam on the route anyway. Eventually, Alastair is able to take off on the first pitch, a nice dihedral. Paul and Jenny follow: the theory is to lead on two ropes and belay Jenny and the other adult at the same time. Jenny has a bit of a hard time at a long reach but does just fine. I think this pitch is as hard as any of the other crux pitches above. Next is Eric and I. Eric is complaining bitterly about the approach, climbing in general, and the unfairness of life. He cheers up a bit when another party arrives and he can boast about his climbing exploits to someone new. I eventually motivate him and we're soon at the belay. The next pitch is easier - Paul leads and Jenny cruises. Eric complains even more but I don't let him back off.
The third pitch is easier but here we start to have serious problems. Eric refuses to climb and the party behind us climbs around him. I'm almost ready to give in and lower him off but Alastair gives Eric the what-for and he starts climbing again but we now have another party in our midst.
The fourth pitch is spectacular: a traverse leads to an arete just left of a roof, the first crux. Paul leads and Jenny follows with some advice from Alastair. Jenny is getting a bit cold and now has another problem: she really needs to pee but the ledges are too small and she doesn't want to pee right on the route. She's getting more and more uncomfortable but insists on continuing up.
The next pitch is the other crux: a short slab protected by a bolt and then a slot capped by a chockstone which you have to tunnel behind. Alastair makes the mistake of leading with the pack on and has to leave it at the chockstone. Meanwhile I bring Eric up, taking constant verbal abuse. Anytime I'm even the slightest bit late taking in slack he yells at me. Even though he's in a bad mood, though, he's climbing well and has no problems with the first crux.
I lead up behind Paul and Jenny - she does fine on the slab but doesn't like the slot below the chockstone or the squirm through the tunnel. Eventually she arrives at the large belay ledge and finally gets to relieve herself, greatly improving her enjoyment of the climb. Unexpectedly, Eric's bad mood passes and he starts singing on the ledge while belaying me.
The last pitch is easy and spectacular. We're all having a good time now and we take a bunch of pictures. The summit view is great and we relax a while. The descent is uneventful and we're soon in Vegas. The climb took all day but we wasted at least a couple of hours waiting for the climbers ahead of us.
That evening we celebrate with the Everest IMAX movie (Alastair), the New York-New York roller coaster (Eric, Jenny, and I), and preparation for our DARPA meeting (Paul). By the next morning we're all on planes - another great Vegas trip finished.