Frogland 

This is a pretty good route description - I'll add a few tidbits to it. The second pitch is often divided into two halves - there is a good ledge atop the left facing layback. As described, there are two routes from this ledge - one to the left has a bolt just past this ledge and the pro is a little sketchy but not too bad.

The first pitch is possibly the crux of the climb - I'd call it 5.8 and it's more continuous than the other cruxes.

P4 and P5 are probably a bit shorter than described.

The move under the chockstone is the crux for tall climbers!

Stay left on the slabs when possible during the descent - you'll see cairns both on the left and in the main gully.

All if the belay ledges except the one atop P4 are pretty big.

Definitely the best 5.8 mutipitch in Vegas.

John

Why the bolts on the first pitch??? There is a bomber crack right there... I cannot remember if those bolts have been there for a long time... don't remember them back when I did the route many years ago. Have they been added recently? Why? There seems to be new unnecessary bolts appearing on existing routes throughout the area. Is it just me or is this really happening?

My first RR route. At the time I thought it was more like 7, but maybe 8 compared to other RR 8's

In any case a lot of fun. We traversed at lot lower on Pitch 4 than shown in the picture - to the base of the crack on the left and it seemed very reasonable.

The rap bolts had been removed from the hangers on all pitches.

Probably the greatest trad route I have ever led. The best way to do this is take one rope-that way you are committed to go all the way. To me the 4th pitch felt like the true crux of the climb. This was based on traversing under the roof up high. Very committing crossing that smooth slab.

Make certain to belay right after the chockstone. Continuing into the easy chimney brings on serious rope drag.

This route can be done in 4 pitches easily with a 60M rope--the face climbing on the last pitch felt harder than 5.6.

Yesterday we had a rather remarkable experience on this route. I have always seen it very crowded, and once tried to start at 2PM in the hope that it would have emptied out. This attempt only got up the first 2 pitches before we bumped into the conga-line and rapped off as we were unprepared to bivy.

Yesterday morning we drove into the Black Velvet parking lot at the relatively tardy hour of 7AM to see not a single vehicle. We spooked a herd of bighorn sheep on the approach. I was leading the second pitch, and the canyon was still very quiet although we had noticed the arrival of a few cars. My partner Todd Pett heard a strange sound down below, and eventually realized it was frogs. It is my understanding that this sound was the reason for the name of this route. I regret that I was too focussed on the climbing to hear them.

We found the route a lot of fun, and not entirely obvious. There are a lot of options, especially around pitches 2-3, and we wandered around a bit in this area. The temps were chilly for this time of year, but nothing a few layers couldn't solve. There was another party 2-3 pitches behind us, but other than that we had the route to ourselves. Nice route!

Climbed this on 4/17 (my partner Gina led all of the pitches). I thought it was a great route...lots of different options especially up high. We started around 1 PM and had the route to ourselves on a rather cool and windy day (except for Alex and Greg, another party of two with us who climbed just ahead of us). I thought the crux was the face climbing to the bolt on the 5th (chockstone) pitch. I wasn't too much of a fan climbing above this pitch...but the rest of it was spectacular. By the way, I dropped my camera at the chockstone...check the forums for contact info if you found it.

As my first 5.8 lead, I agree the short face climb on tiny smooth nubs to the bolt on the 5th pitch was the crux. But my partner led the delicate traverse below the roof on the 4th pitch, so I really don't know which of the two is truly the harder lead. I could not get past the chockstone without removing my day pack and hanging it from my harness. That added to the thrill of leading the 5th pitch. Belaying on top of the chockstone seemed a good idea. Since all of the hangers on the rappel bolts have been removed, rapping off the route will require leaving some gear. This route was very crowded on Saturday, 29 Apr 06. Lots of waiting involved. Plan to be patient and courteous on this route anytime there are more than three or four parties.

After the 5.8 crux traverse, there is an option to take an insecure finger crack with poor, sandy feet to the left instead of the large main crack to the right. I felt this variation was solid 5.10, and the party below me, after climbing it, thought 10c seemed to fit the bill. I'd go with at least 10b. It's pretty fun, and a nice challenge, especially if you are like me and slipped off the 5.8 slab and are looking to patch your tattered honor...

We also traversed off to the left before continuing up on pitch 3 (I think?). I believe this follows the route of the first ascent, which is different from what is described in most guidebooks. This made for a slightly more adventurous climb, with a cool belay in a cave.

Further on the thin crack leading to the chockstone: I had the opportunity to ask George Urioste why they drilled the bolt on the face when the crack was right there. They had climbed the crack, of course, and figured it was good solid old-school 5.9 (no sandbag, there-- I agree). But George always had a thought for the community. He figured that a knucklebuster 5.9 fingercrack was out of place on what was otherwise a pretty relaxed 5.8 route. By adding the bolt-protected balance moves to the right of the corner he thought the route would appeal to a very broad cross-section of climbers. History has proved him correct, and the route is one of the most popular at Red Rock.

I LOVE this route. If I had to choose only one route to do for the rest of my life, this would be it. Totally belay on top of the chockstone, it is a great belay.