Red Rocks HMC Spring Break!!!

Welcome to Spring Break 2K18!!

The Mountaineering Club is going to Red Rock National Conservation area in Nevada. There is camping, running water, pit toilets, and more climbing in one place than you'll be able to believe. There are also all the amenities of Vegas, which is only about a half hour's drive away. 

Alright, here's the nitty gritty of what the trip will look like. The club has arranged a group campsite, and will also be providing some optional clinics as well as some club gear. Much of the rest is on your own, but do not fear! It is easy to make friends to share rental cars, food plans, etc with! (In fact, we'll be creating a FaceBook group just for this purpose after sign ups are completed.)

Camping: 

The group campsite can hold a max of 20 people and 7 cars. It's located at the Red Rocks campgrounds, and reserved Saturday 3/24-Sunday 4/1. More information on location, etc, will be sent out to participants after sign ups are complete.

If you don't make it into the first 20 spots of the campsite (ie: signing up on this page), put your name on the waitlist so we can still add you to the FaceBook group for the trip. There are first-come first-serve non-group sites available across the road, which can be obtained at first sunlight when people start to pack up and head home. You will be able to find accomodations for the first night until you can snag your own site, even if that means you are crashing at someone's site who doesn't have the max camper limit filled (people out there are nice, don't worry). 

If you notice that there's only 18 spots available for sign up, two have been reserved for leaders for the clinics in case they don't make it onto the campsite sign up. Those spots will be opened to the waitlist if they're not filled with leaders.

Clinics: 

There will be three optional clinics offered for an additional cost, if you would like to sign up for these. They'll be offered at the beginning of the trip, and then you are free to climb with others with your newfound skills. The clinics will have an emphasis on skill development but also include time on the wall (because no one wants to stand next to a gorgeous cliff and learn about how to climb it but not actually climb it). Despite the fact that these clinics are offered, we are not waving a magic wand to make you a good climber. You are still expected to be a responsible climber and belayer, manage your own risk, and 

Getting Comfortable with Sport Climbing Clinic:

• half-day, $15. Sunday 3/25 morning (~9am-1pm)
• This is NOT an introduction to sport climbing or instruction for someone who has no experience with sport climbing. This clinic is geared towards people who have experience sport climbing, whether that be recent or slightly aged experience. It's a ideal for the climber who has exposure to sport leading but doesn't have the confidence or experience to go out and sport lead independently yet. We will not be teaching the fundamentals of sport leading, as the assumption is that you are already familiar with those, though we will be happy to help brush up on them. You will have the chance to mock lead and then do for real leads on easier grades, with an instructor watching you. The instructors will help coach you through clipping stances, watching out for clipping errors, and keeping your head if you get mentally stressed. You'll also get to watch others climb and learn from them. The clinic will also include practice cleaning and rapelling/lowering. If you don't already have your sport leading rating, you will have this by the end of the clinic.
• Prereqs: Previous experience sport leading. HMC Top Rope Rating
• Signup Spots: 5 to begin with, with more added in increments of ~5 (we'll add more instructors as there are enough people to warrant it)

Intro to Gear Placement: 

• half-day, $15. Monday 3/26 (~9am-1pm)
• This is an introduction to the world of trad climbing and is intended to teach you how to be a good second. This clinic is geared towards people who have very little experience with placing protection and need to learn how to place gear and equalize anchors before moving into the world of trad leading. This will help you be a competent and conscious second, as you should always know how to check gear placements and anchors as you clean so you aren't blindly trusting your leader. Additionally, trad leaders need to be competent in placing gear and building trad anchors in case you get stressed and have to plug gear, have to build an emergency anchor part-way up a route, or get to the top and realize the anchor bolts aren't trustworthy. We will cover mechanics of gear placements, how to recognize good vs bad placements, and considerations while choosing gear and avoiding complications like rope drag. We'll try to get you some practice learning how to top-belay, too. This isn't an anchors course and you should already have some exposure to placing or at least equalizing trad anchors, but if you need us to brush up on those skills we may be able to do that. This is a good stepping stone towards being able to lead trad.
• Prereqs: HMC Sport Leading Rating
• Signup Spots: 5 to begin with, with more added in increments of ~5 (we'll add more instructors as there are enough people to warrant it)

Intro to Trad Leading: 

• full-day, $25. Monday 3/26 (~9am-4pm)
• We will be giving the overview of what it takes to trad lead, including considerations while choosing gear/clipping, mental strategies, how to get down without leaving gear, top-belaying, and minimizing complications such as rope drag. You aren't expected to have experience trad leading, but you should be comfortable with sport leading and know how to clean and rap/lower on bolted anchors, as many trad routes in RR will still have bolted anchors. You should have previous experience placing gear and be confident in your ability to efficiently place a trad anchor. You will get practice placing gear, learn how belaying and leading trad can present new challenges, and run laps on mock lead on trad. If you're feeling confident at the end, there may be an opportunity to do a real trad lead on an easier graded climb which you've already practiced on, depending on your and the instructors' comfort levels throughout the first parts of the clinic. You will not receive Trad Leading rating by the end, but you will have the skills needed to go pursue mock trad leads throughout the rest of the trip, allowing to you to practice up towards real trad leads.
• If you do not know how to place trad anchors confidently, you are not ready for this clinic. Use your time in RR to get more practice with anchors to get better prepared to become a trad leader. Trad anchor confidence is crucial for trad leading even in areas where many anchors are bolted because you may find yourself in a situation where you have to place an emergency anchor part-way up the pitch or where the bolts are old and untrustworthy. 
• Prereqs: HMC Sport Leading Rating and TR Anchor Rating 
• Signup Spots: 4 to begin with, with more added in increments of ~4 (we'll add more instructors as there are enough people to warrant it)

Transportation: 

Transportation is on your own. There are two places in which you'll need transportation. The first is getting there. Many people fly, and others will drive out in a group in cars. Many people buy their flights several weeks to months in advance, and people who are planning on driving start assembling a group to drive with as much as a month out. A lot of these plans will materialize on the FaceBook page once the sign ups have been completed.

If you drive out with a car, those people often stick together to climb, often going to the same crag. People who fly usually get a group together to rent a car and then often climb together, agreeing on crags the night before. Either way, once you're out there, getting around is usually not a big issue. If the people you're sharing a car with want to go to a different area, you can always jump into an extra spot in someone else's car, and vice versa. 

Car Rentals: Turo (Airbnb for cars) and the Big10 Enterprise deal are two good options for car rentals. Turo.com is basically Airbnb for cars, and you rent someone's personal car for a week. You don't have to be 25 to use this service, which makes it a good option for college students. Insurance can be purchased at checkout. The Big10 Enterprise deal is a special deal that UW-Madison has negotiated with Enterprise, which we have access to by being part of Hoofers. Drivers must be 21+ and fleet certified. Rental rates are fair (generally less expensive than what is seen on the public search page). Contact one of the trip leaders or our advisor Jill Griffis if you are interested in making an Enterprise rental. You can rent a vehicle once you fly into Vegas, or you can rent an Enterprise vehicle in Madison if you prefer to drive.

Food and Water: 

Food is on your own. Similar to how the car situation works, people often make groups to eat together. Usually these are people who drive together (and buy groceries together), people who have similar eating habits, or people who are consistently climbing together (because they get back to the campsite around the same time every night for dinner). There are grocery stores all in Vegas; the nearest one is about 20 minutes away (next to the nearest gas station). It's a kinda ritzy grocery store, but it has all the essentials and useful things like firewood for a bonfire, charcoal if you want to grill (yes there's a grill at the group sites), and plastic dishware if you forgot to bring any eating utensils.

That being said, make sure to bring at least one plate/bowl to eat off of, and a fork. This is your responsibility, as no one else will be providing them. A sharp knife (ie: pocket knife or kitchen knife) is useful for cutting things. Sponge and soap are also always a good call. 

We're camping on park land, so there's no kitchen available. Similar to other climbing trips you might have taken (ie: Red River Gorge), most cooking will take place over a portable camp stove. The club also has a double burner stove which can be brought out, and stoves can be rented from OUW. If you're bringing a stove, you'll need pots/pans too. If you're planning on borrowing someone's stove (ask around on the FB page), it's always nice to chip in for fuel and help with cleanup. 

There is running water at the site. There is no running water in the park near the climbing, so make sure to stock up on water before you leave camp each morning. You'll want capacity for at least 2L of water, but 3L is better. It's a desert and it can get really hot and sunny!

Gear: 

Gear is on your own. If you want to bring club gear, contact the gear manager about checking it out beforehand. You'll be responsible for transportation there and back. The club may pay for a checked bag to get out to the campsite (ie: ropes, cams, draws), which will then be available for everyone's use. Whether you're checking out gear or planning to use the stuff there, make sure you have the appropriate ratings. You will not be allowed to use any club gear for which you don't have a rating. The club won't be bringing out any personal gear such as helmets, harnesses, shoes, belay devices, etc, so make sure to checkout that out from the locker beforehand if you need that. 

You must have a personal anchor. These will not be provided by the club. Personal anchors are needed for cleaning sport routes. Ideally you will have two anchors for redundancy. You can buy a Metolius PAS, or you can purchase two double-length slings. You will also need two locking biners (one for each anchor). Although it's best to get one while still in Madison, there is an REI in Vegas if you absolutely need. If you need help attaching it to your harness and figuring out how to use it, we can help with that at the campsite on the first day, but make sure you at least have one. As always, if you're not sure how to use any gear, just ask! Better safe than sorry! 

Bathroom Facilities/Sanitation: 

There are pit toilets near the campsite. Bring your own hand sanitizer, towel, soap, etc, as none of that will be available. Running water is available at the site's pump. It can be used to wash your hands, face, etc. There are no showers. If you want one that bad, you'll have to go into town to an Airbnb/hotel/climbing gym.

Climbing Areas: 

First pullout, second pullout, and Calico Basin are the most popular. The approach is relatively easy and straightforward and there is a large variety of bouldering and single pitch sport and trad in these places. There are also some sport/trad multipitches too. More multipitch (mostly trad) is available off the beaten path and into the canyons, though the approaches are often much more physically demanding and require more honed trail finding.

Check Mountain Project or read the Club's guidebook before you get out there to get an idea of some climbing objectives you'd like to go after.

https://www.mountainproject.com/area/105731932/red-rock

Weather, and In Case of Rain: 

Weather is usually mild and can get windy, especially at night. As it's a desert, temperatures fluctuate a lot. Short sleeve shirts and maybe even shorts are good for hot afternoons. Sweatshirts are good for chilly nights. A rain coat and a puffy are good things to bring just in case. Bring sunglasses. Put rocks in your tent so that it doesn't blow away when you're not at camp. 

In case of rain, we can't climb at RR for risk of injuring the rock. The sandstone is very soft and becomes easily breakable when wet. If it lightly rains, we may have to take a day off of climbing. There is also a sharp limestone cliff within an hour that can be climbed on in the rain. If it heavily rains and climbing at RR becomes impossible, Moab and Joshua Tree are alternative destinations and are only about a 4 hour drive away. Either way, we'll find a way to climb.

Medical Information: 

There are Park Rangers in the park, but there is no closer opportunity for medical attention until Vegas. Thus, if you need to visit a doctor or drug store, you'll have to make the 30 min drive into Vegas. Despite this, 30 mins is relatively close and medical attention is fairly accessible from the park/campsite. In cases of emergency, ambulances and helicopters can access the park. Be sure to pack any allergy or other personal medicine you anticipate needing.

sunscreen

charging your phone

Park info

supply list, camp stoves, etc

phone reception

leave no trace