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John M
climber
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Mar 30, 2014 - 02:30am PT
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LOL.. whinings whinefest held in lee whining.
elcap.. you got a legitimate beef. In my opinion. but maybe you went too far in wanting all festivals to end. They don't even go climbing at the oakdale festival.
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JimT
climber
Munich
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Mar 30, 2014 - 12:13pm PT
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Curiously enough I was actually at RR during the rendevous, clearly unlike most posters here. Didnīt notice anything at all but there again anyone who goes to most of the venues listed and expects to enjoy themselves even on a normal day needs their brain examined.
I went to some canyon and climbed something wildly overgraded with huge holds to boost my ego, drank a fair amount of indifferent beer with some intelligent climbers and didnīt go near the campground.
Climbing festivals in Italy ARE cool, all the men can pull 8c, all the women are hot (and pull 8c as well) and the beer is generally better and free.
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JLP
Social climber
The internet
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Mar 30, 2014 - 01:11pm PT
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I find it difficult to overlook the vast sums of money and time Paul Fish gives to the Access Fund. Check out the financials sometime, they are online, click back a few years. He gives more than anyone - period - individual or corporate.
That fact clear, and given what a shithole I think RR sport climbing is, I really don't care if he levels the place. If a bunch of gumbies have been sucked out of other crags in NA in the process, all the better.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Mar 30, 2014 - 04:51pm PT
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I've never waited in line for Throobbing Gristle, modern warfare, kamikaze, castaways, morongo man, maneater, emotional rescue, comfortably numb, or even GBU.
Gotta pick your poison....
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LilaBiene
Trad climber
Technically...the spawning grounds of Yosemite
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Mar 30, 2014 - 05:37pm PT
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I'm going to slap the word "n00b" on everything I use in climbing. That settles it. The world has the right to be forewarned that I'll be trespassing.
Or perhaps I should rather slap on the word "b00n"...for all of the hard - earned pennies I've squirreled away and then spent on gear, books, courses, etc.
Terrible quandry, either way, I'd say!
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thedogfather
Trad climber
Somewhere near Red Rocks
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Mar 30, 2014 - 10:01pm PT
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For what it's worth, none of the RRR clinics are out in the canyons so most multi-pitch trad areas are open. But, don't overlook the fact that the RRR is the same week as spring break so most of the classic multi-pitch routes also will be crowded. The week before the Rendezvous is almost as congested on sport crags as during the RRR. College groups show up at all the popular moderate sport crags and drape them with top ropes. Even without the RRR, the last two weeks in March are not good times to expect to be able to get solitude on the popular sport crags or to be alone on a classic multi-pitch.
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10b4me
Sport climber
www.tenbeephotography.com
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Mar 31, 2014 - 12:01am PT
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Some festivals produce noteworthy results. Proceeds from the Ouray Ice Festival makes it possible to employ three people to got out nightly and turn on, adjust and maintain the sprinkler system.....and then go out again in the morning to turn the system off, all free of charge.
Thanks for mentioning that, Jim.
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rgold
Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
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Mar 31, 2014 - 12:09am PT
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Steve Molis and I were there during Spring Break in 2010; account with lots of photos at http://www.supertopo.com/tr/A-Week-in-Red-Rock-151-A-Photo-Essay/t371n.html.
We really weren't bothered by other spring-breakers at all. The one climb we would have had trouble on, the very popular and not at all out-of-the-way Birdland, we simply got on early (first ones in when the gate opened by getting there fifteen minutes before the 6 AM opening time) and were down on the trail and on our way out by the time the crowds took over:
We did have to rappel past some of them, but that went pretty smoothly.
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rmagner15
Trad climber
Cathedral city, ca
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Mar 31, 2014 - 01:49am PT
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Amen.
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rgold
Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
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Mar 31, 2014 - 09:09am PT
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Continuing on the spring break strategy theme, early starts on everything work really well. The campground is typically frigid and windy at 5 AM, and this keeps folks in their tents. After the campground experience one spring, I decided a room would make a big difference. Steve and I stayed in a hotel, got a mini-fridge for our room so we could scarf down a breakfast without hardly even getting out of bed, and beat everyone to the climbs (when there was anyone to beat) every day we went out.
Special trick for East Coasters: don't change you watches, stay on EDT for your entire visit. You'll be running three hours behind of local time which makes your 7 AM local 4 AM. Sleep in until 9 AM and you're still gettin' up at 6 AM local time. Of course, this doesn't help with the early-morning campground hypothermia, but it works really well from a hotel room.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Mar 31, 2014 - 10:03am PT
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Indian Creek is easier.....get to any climb by 9:00 and you'll be the first one there.
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Mike Friedrichs
Sport climber
City of Salt
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Mar 31, 2014 - 10:18am PT
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Not sure how you can say that Jim. Indian Creek is simply the most crowded area I know, including the areas I've been to in Europe. That place is being loved to death. It used to be that if you avoided Battle of the Bulge and the Cat Wall you could find some solitude. Not any more. It's worse than the gym.
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overwatch
climber
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Mar 31, 2014 - 10:48am PT
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Or it is something in the middle
I don't go anywhere during holidays...not worth the aggravation
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JLP
Social climber
The internet
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Mar 31, 2014 - 11:31am PT
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They're both right.
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granite_girl
Trad climber
Oakland
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Mar 31, 2014 - 01:28pm PT
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I don't like festivals in general, of any kind, but I happened to be in Vegas at the same time Red Rock Rendezvous was happening this year, so I decided to check it out.
1. Ammon's Big Wall clinic was superb. Well worth the price of admission alone.
2. I watched a wee little boulderer girl try an off-width for the first time at a clinic. She had never even climbed a crack before. She kicked ass. Her plan, when she gets home, is to seek out all the off-widths she can find, and kick their asses.
In terms of corporate sponsorship, Smartwool let me "win" a pair of their socks. The Petzl reps sold me on their jumars, and Osprey sold me on a new pack (yes, I really do need jumars, a new pack, and high quality socks). I can't really think of a better way to pick a product than through demo and by talking directly to the manufacturer and experienced users.
Make of my experience what you will.
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couchmaster
climber
pdx
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Mar 31, 2014 - 02:30pm PT
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Crap, I just realized that I was at Red Rocks last spring break or the year before with my kid when that was all occurring. Pretty cool to go out climbing with your boy.
We headed to City of Rocks for his spring break and we got a few warm ups in when the wind whipped up and the snow started in on us. It was raining in Zion but dry in Vegas so we drove right there. Booked a casino room for $22 a night, which was a blessing not so much that we had hat showers and cold beer but that the campsite was overflowingly full. ($15 a night to put up with that windy camping BS). But here's the good part, my noobish lad and his buddy (another noob) never really noticed any crowds except for the first climb we tried. (Olive Oil), and we just wandered up the canyon a bit to the first free line and didn't see a soul for 5 or so pitches until when we topped out. Like R.Gold says (first post, his last one on whining still has me cracking up), lot of multipitch routes to do and available and it was more crowded that normal with all the college kids. Yet we didn't feel crowded.
The weather was perfect. So warm that we even got a day of limestone up on Mt Clark where the kids could do harder lines clipping bolts per their custom and hearts content. Damned good times, both of my shoulders were wrecked from playing too hard, so it was nice to not be climbing hard stuff. Here's my sons first gear lead:
Most of the time we were lapping long routes, and if there was a party ahead moving slow we moved to the next line. Damn. good. times. Yowza. Never saw the roadshow but it looks like on paper that they are clogging up the toilet. In actuality, that wasn't the case at all. This post upthread clued me in that I was there " But, don't overlook the fact that the RRR is the same week as spring break so most of the classic multi-pitch routes also will be crowded. The week before the Rendezvous is almost as congested on sport crags as during the RRR."
Plenty of classics were free...but I'm not naming them publicly so that I can still get on them next go round:-)
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couchmaster
climber
pdx
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What's this? A climbing picture shuts down all conversation? I can delete it, sorry to have offended.
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Sanskara
climber
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Haha,
I spend much of my time climbing at the Gunks. It is so busy it is much worse than even a climbing festival most weeks.
So many complain of this or that instead if just enjoying what is for what it is. I say just move left or move right. Keep walking and just climb something else. It's all climbing its all fun!
And I don't much like people so I am really lost when one if my social butterfly type partners gets annoyed by a crowds. Wait isn't this what you like, being social, people. I'm confused?
I do hate hacked out ice post ice fest but again just keep moving and you will find something to your liking. Most of the hacked out sh#t is the easy stuff I already climbed early season anyway.
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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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Couchmaster, yeah you big jerk, whats the idea of posting photos of climbing? It should be controversial and obnoxious, like me!! hey, heard you should have got a ticket yesterday but you narrowly averted it...
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Vegasclimber
Trad climber
Las Vegas, NV.
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The RRR can be good or bad, depending on the person I guess.
I went for several years and had a good time, but the last couple years weren't very good for a number of reasons that aren't worth getting in to as they are my issues and don't reflect the whole.
I think they have a fairly good balance between the mass amount of people they put on the crags, and what they give back in conservation projects, introducing new people to the sport, and dollars into the local economy. For myself, I just wasn't getting enough out of it to justify the cost.
As many have said, you generally know where the clinics are, and it's not too hard to find places to climb. We spent Saturday climbing with Harrison out at Moderate Mecca, had a great time, and had no crowding issues with the few people that were there. For that matter, I've never had problems finding a place to climb during Spring Break or the RRR. If you head out this way during that time, just shoot me an email, I can send you to a few places where you can climb all you want.
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