Crimson Chrysalis Logistics

I'm planning to do Crimson Chrysalis this fall and am starting to think about gear and logistics. The early hike in from outside the loop road sounds like a good idea to me. Is it easier to follow the loop road back up to the driveway for Oak Creek? Or can you shortcut to the Oak Creek parking area via a trail? Here's what Google maps tells me: google.com/maps/dir/Lower+R…@36.1138407,-115.459648,1094m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x80c8bce80068d71f:0xbc9d3cf7eeefa729!2m2!1d-115.4494671!2d36.1117195!1m0!3e2

I'm not sure how well-marked that trail is between the Lower Red Rock Parking Area and the Oak Creek Parking area. Has anyone used this trail?

The second question involves the descent. There are numerous posts claiming that a single 70m will get you down just fine (Anyone use a 9.5mm Mammut Infinity for this?). However, I still get the heebie jeebies at the thought of coming up short. I do like the weight savings of not bringing a second rope, but in the interest of getting down quickly and minimizing the number of anchors we'd have to potentially share with ascending parties, I think I'd still bring a tag line. However, the longer rappels could mean more chances for a stuck rope which would also slow us down. Does anyone have experience with both methods? Which method did you like better?

You can park at the exit gate parking or the Oakcreek parking on the highway and follow the trail that leads to the climber's/approach trail, but the closest approach is to park at the Oakcreek pullout inside Scenic Loop , it's easier to find your way back to that parking lot than the other two IMHO. Pine Creek parking is a bit longer approach than Oakcreek but has easier to follow trails. Don't forget to call late exit permit just in case. As for decent I've only used my 80m rope or 2 60m , can't comment on the 70m. Crimson is a good route and Ginger Cracks nearby is even better, with more trad climbing feel than CC and a lot less crowded

Last November we found a user trail/stream bed on Google Earth that took us from the parking lot at the exit to the Scenic Loop to the Oak creek parking lot. We were able to follow it in the dark with minimal difficulty, and I think it got us to the Oak Creek lot faster than walking the road. I'm pretty sure that's the path you have marked out on your link. Another party parked some distance from the exit gate and followed a marked trail in to the climb, but I think our line was faster.

We used a single 70 meter (9.8 mm Edelweiss) for the climb and descent, and had no trouble reaching the rap stations. The 70 also let us do the climb in 6 pitches (we could have done it in 5), which saved a good bit of time. I was watching the rope ends pretty carefully when I rapped the 7th pitch, but even that rappel was no problem.

I've carried a tag line on other long routes, and I much prefer a single long rope if I can do it. The ability to link all those pitches and the reduced weight on the long walk in and out, to say nothing of on the climb, more than compensated for the extra rappels. Not having to worry quite as much about the rope getting stuck was a bonus.

Get an early start and try to be on the route at sunrise. This is a very popular/crowded route, and the parties on it show a wide range of skill levels when it comes to rope management, changeovers at belays, etc. We were the first party on the route that day, the first party to the top, and we probably rapped through 4 parties on the way down, including a team of 3. The belay stations are pretty user friendly, but you will definitely have to be managing your rope and gear carefully to avoid a cluster*ck on the way down. Have fun!

I just realized that the starting point of that Google map is a parking lot that appears to have traffic spikes at its entrance and cannot be accessed before 6am, right? Is this where you would park if parking at the exit gate before 6am?

Potential Exit Gate Parking

Bob Johnson wrote:I just realized that the starting point of that Google map is a parking lot that appears to have traffic spikes at its entrance and cannot be accessed before 6am, right? Is this where you would park if parking at the exit gate before 6am? Potential Exit Gate Parking

I'm quite sure there is a parking lot just outside the exit for the loop road.

What you see in the aerial is likely a cattle guard, not spikes. The spikes are as you exit the scenic loop road.

I'm planning to do Crimson Chrysalis this fall and am starting to think about gear and logistics. The early hike in from outside the loop road sounds like a good idea to me. Is it easier to follow the loop road back up to the driveway for Oak Creek? Or can you shortcut to the Oak Creek parking area via a trail? Here's what Google maps tells me.

There are numerous posts claiming that a single 70m will get you down just fine (Anyone use a 9.5mm Mammut Infinity for this?).

You can definitely park in that lot outside the loop, no spikes. And I definitely recommend it. Getting that extra start time is real nice. From the parking area, there are numerous game/hiker/climber trails braiding through the desert there going the way you want to go. We found it useful to go check it out in the daylight the afternoon before just to get our bearings for the pre-dawn start.

Re: 70m rope, we used a 70m and I'd definitely do that again. Since you rap down the route it's typically a cluster of people and ropes at every belay. Using a single rope does mean more raps but less potential for stuck ropes and spaghetti messes with the other ropes at the belays. Tie knots in the ends (for sure while rapping P7 and P1). Also, remember it's a well-bolted sport route so bolts are aplenty on each pitch so worst case you go in direct to a bolt, pull the rope and rap off/leave leaver biners on a couple sequential bolts. But I don't expect it to come to that.

We also had good success lowering one person down and then the other person rapping down. Less time spent coiling, tossing and untangling two ends of the rope and if your rope is middle marked, you can verify the lowered person reaches the anchor before the middle.

Also, though, remember not all ropes are cut exactly to the same length. Some are long and likely some are a bit short. Before you go, if you have access to a couple of other 70m ropes (friends, etc.) trying sizing yours up to theirs to see if yours is longer/shorter/on par [insert TWSS joke here].

Oh, in case it's of interest, here's my photo album with descriptions from our Crimson climb going in from outside the loop and using a single 70m rope.

A few thoughts:

1) Yes there is a (perpetually semi-broken) spike strip at the exit of the loop road. Yes you can park there and hike in from there. And yes it is longer and more confusing.

2) Starting early from outside the loop road will not guarantee that you'll beat other parties to the route. I would bet money on most getting lost at least once the first time no matter which approach they take.

3) The "numerous posts claiming that a single 70m rope will get you down" are not there as a practical joke.

4) The brand and diameter of your rope will not influence whether or not you will make it on the rappels.

5) Yes, logic would dictate that bringing more rope(s) will increase the chance that you'll reach on rappels and will also increase the likelihood of the ropes getting stuck.

6) Bring a headlamp,

Good luck!

Josh Janes wrote:2) Starting early from outside the loop road will not guarantee that you'll beat other parties to the route. I would bet money on most getting lost at least once the first time no matter which approach they take.

Haha, I don't think you can say you've climbed at red rocks without getting lost at least once. That oak creek parking lot is hard to find in the dark, as I found out. There is something eerie about being lost in the desert and seeing the lights of vegas twinkling on the horizon.

Josh Janes wrote:4) The brand and diameter of your rope will not influence whether or not you will make it on the rappels.

Well, all else equal, the static elongation of ropes decreases as the diameter increases. Sure, it's only a few percent different, but 1% of 115ft (230ft/2) is 1.15ft. From reading the comments on the CC page about just barely making it to the next rappel anchor, a few feet could actually matter.

I liked Jason's comment about possibly using the bolts if it looks like we're going to come up short.

Bob, if this stuff really worries you, you might consider hiring a guide. You'd have a blast, you won't come up short on rappels, and you'd be back in time for happy hour at the Yardhouse.

The only time I've tried to climb this route I was at the gate as it opened and we were the 4th team on the route... What a freaking disaster. 4 pitches in we decided we did in fact not want to spend the night waiting for everyone to take their turns heading down..

It is an amazing route. And the hand crack pitch is simply awesome. But expect the worst and hope for the best.

Here's an idea! go right now! No one will be on it in the 105F heat!

ray

Bragg and I did it on a miserable overcast blustery day in March with temps in the low 50's, and no one---I repeat, no one---was on the route. We had it to ourselves, up and down. The winds were so strong we both nearly got blown off the rock at one point. We had to hide at the base of the summit block and sprint up the last few feet between gusts.

We used 60m half ropes and had no problem getting down in spite of the wind. My memory, which I wouldn't trust, is that we skipped some rap stations but not all of them.

The conditions gave the climb something of an alpine feel---we had a lot of clothes on and were still a bit chilly, but having the climb to ourselves more than made up for it.