John Peterson's Vegas Beta

I'm not interested in the sport routes at Vegas - I've done a bunch and none of them were all that notable. What makes Vegas cool is the long trad routes. I've been climbing there regularly for about 15 years and have done a fair number of the longer climbs. Here's some specific beta for these climbs. The climbing time is approximate and depends a lot on who I was with and such. You'll always need 2 ropes to rap a route.

• Jubilant Song: (5.7, **) good winter route, approach about 1 3/4 hrs, mostly trail, easy descent, one supurb pitch, mostly easier. 3 hrs climbing time. Trip report.
• Frogland: (5.8, ***) Shady, approach about 1/2 hour, easy descent, excellent route, sustained at 5.6 - 5.7, crowded, 4 hours climbing time. Trip report.
• Triassic Sands: (5.10, ***) Same area as Frogland, excellent route, mostly around 5.7 - 5.8 with a couple of harder cruxes. Good pro. 5 hrs climbing time.
• Wholesome Fullback (5.10, **) Same area as Frogland. Just did the first crux (cold!) but others finished the route. I'd advise hitting a belay ledge to the left at the start of the hand crack - you can avoid the hanging belay this way. Swain shows the thin crack to the right of the hand crack in his book but we did the hand crack. Seemed like solid 5.10. About 1.5 hrs climbing time. Can rap with 1 rope in two raps (work right at the bottom of the second rap to walk off). Chad says bring extra stuff around #2 camalot. Trip report (01). Trip report (02).
• Refried Brains: (5.9, ***) Shady, approach about 3/4 hour, rap route, 5 hours climbing time. Trip report.
• Prince of Darkness: (5.10, **) Shady, approach about 3/4 hour, rap route, 6 hours climbing time. Many people think this is one of the best routes in the area but I found it sort of boring - all the pitches are similar and blend together. Lots and lots of bolts; bring a rack of wires. Hanging belays. Trip report.
• Dream of Wild Turkeys: (5.10-, ***) Shady, approach about 3/4 hour, rap route, 8 hours climbing time. Go all the way up! Every pitch is good. Good pro. Mostly 5.8 - 5.9; crux well protected. Some hanging belays. Classic.
• The Gobbler: (5.10, ***) Shady, approach about 3/4 hour. hour, rap route, 2 hours climbing time to Wild Turkeys. Very good start to Wild Turkeys. The third pitch is well bolted - no big runouts. Nice variety. Trip report.
• Sour Mash: (5.10-, ***) Shady, approach about 3/4 hour. Only did first 3 pitches. Great climbing. New bolts. Rapped the route from the top of P3. 60 meter ropes would have saved the last rap. Trip report.
• Epinephrine: (5.9, ****) Shady, approach about 3/4 hour. Grunt descent - follow cairns. Big packs will slow you down! About 7 - 10 hours climbing time. Ultra classic. Bolts at the belays now - easy to rap down (2 ropes). Trip report and beta, more recent trip report.
• Coltrane: (5.9-, ***) Sunny but not too hot. Long approach (2.5 hrs, not really a trail). Easy descent. Short crux - just one move of 5.9 with a bolt overhead. Climbing time about 3.5 hrs. Good pro.
• Catwalk: (5.7, **) Sunny but not too hot. Same approach and descent as Coltrane. Mostly moderate but fairly runout in the lower pitches. Climbing time 3 hrs. Trip report.
• Rainbow Buttress: (5.8, *) Sunny but not too hot. Approach about 2 hours (same as Levitation 29). We descended as per Coltrane but the Black O descent would be better. Some good pitches but not enough to justify the hike. Climbing time about 4.5 hours. Trip report.
• Black Orpheus: (5.9-, ****) Sunny. Approach is about an hour. Descent not too bad - be careful if you have a single rope. Upper pitches are superb. Mostly 5.8 with a couple of well protected, brief cruxes. Climbing time about 6 hours. Trip report, more recent trip report.
• Beulahs Book: (5.8, **) Sunny. Great way to start Solar Slab. Crux is similar to Epinephrine. 1/2 hour approach. 2 hour climbing time.
• Johnny Vegas: (5.7, **) Sunny. Same approach as Solar. Good route - we did the 5.9 variation (not sustained at all!). Tricky nutting on second pitch. About 2 hours climbing time. Good alternative rap route to Solar Slab Gully but be careful to look for the bolts - they are easy to miss. Trip report.
• Solar Slab: (5.6, ***) Very sunny. 1/2 hour approach. Long descent via Black O. Haven't descended gully but have heard about epics there. A couple of semi-hanging belays. Climbing time around 4 hours. Trip report.
• Solar Slab Gully: (5.3, ***) Sunny but with shaded belays. Climbing time 1.5 hours (? - did this with the kids in 3 hours). Suprisingly good climbing. Rap down. Trip report.
• Lotta Balls: (5.8, **) Semi-shady. Approach about 3/4 hour on good trail. Nice crux but a short route.
• Ginger Cracks: (5.8+, ***) Shady. About 1.5 hour approach. Need 2 ropes to get down. George Bell reports bolts at the belays now up through the crux. Good stuff. Trip report.
• Crimson Crysalis: (5.8+, **) Shady. Crowded. Somewhat over rated in quality - nice but there are many better routes in Vegas. Lots of 5.7 - 5.8. A couple of big nuts might help but are not strictly needed. Hanging belays, rapellers coming through. About 1.5 hour approach, mostly trail. Descend by rapping the route. Use the EDK (Euro Death Knot) to avoid rap epics. Climbing time about 6 hours.
• Black Dagger: (5.7+, ***). Moderately sunny. About 1.5 - 2hr approach. No rap anchors on route, descent is fairly quick (1 short rap). Climbing time: 4 hrs. Trip report.
• Geronimo: (5.6, *) Sunny. About 3/4 hour approach. Mostly easy. Rock often not that great. Descent a pain in the ass. Don't get your rope stuck in the chimney! Climbing time: 2.5 hours. Trip report.
• Olive Oil: (5.7, ***) Sunny. About 3/4 hour approach. Lots of good climbing at the 5.7 level. Some hanging belays (unless you simulclimb). Descent not too bad. Climbing time about 6 hours (4 hours when we eliminated extra belays). Trip report (97). Trip report (02).
• Community Pillar: (5.9-, **) Shady. About 1/2 hour approach. Basicly a good route - fantastic hand crack pitch - but some less stellar pitches. Descent is to the west; 2 ropes advised.
• Cat in the Hat: (5.6+, ***) Semi-sunny. Very crowded. About 3/4 hour approach. Rap route. Climbing time about 2 hours (hauling ass ...). Trip report.
• Dark Shadows: (5.8-, ***) Shady. Crowded. 3/4 hour approach. Rap route. Climbing time about 3 hours. Most parties rap after pitch 4 but 5 isn't too bad.
• Tunnel Vision: (5.7, **) Semi-sunny. 1/2 hour approach. Walk down left - not too bad. Not that much really good climbing but some interesting situations. The tunnel is quite easy but may be hard to protect if you're paranoid.

• Sensous Mortician: (5.9, ***) One of the better one pitch 9's. Worth the hike.
• Nadia's Nine: (5.9, **) I'm not sure we found the first pitch but it was good climbing. Much less crowded than Ragged Edges. 2 pitches. Worth finding.
• Ragged Edges: (5.8, **) A big nut helps the second pitch.
• Great Red Book: (5.8, ***) Very nice - worth the walk (farther than it looks from the pullout).