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Starter Crag

Nevada > Southern Nevada > Mt Charleston > Route 158
Warning Access Issue: Closed due to flood damage DetailsDrop down

Description

East Facing wall right near the road. morning sun. no choss easy sport climbing. close bolts.

Getting There

Drive up Kyle Canyon Road. Take a right on Highway 158 toward Lee Canyon. The cliff is on the uphill side as the road bends around the corner. Don't park on the road you'll be ticketed. A good parking option is to park as for Mom's Cave.

Routes from Left to Right

5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
 75
● Relax and Stem
Sport
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b
 16
● Flake it till you Make it
Sport
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b
 28
● Group Effort
Sport
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b
 13
● Spiny Norman
Sport
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
 26
● First of the Year
Sport
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
 58
● Baby Steps
Sport
5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b
 42
● Outrageous
Sport
5.8+ 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
 44
● Egregious
Sport
5.4 4a 12 IV 10 VD 3c
 26
● Ridiculous
Sport
Route Name Location Star Rating Difficulty Date
● Relax and Stem
 75
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c Sport
● Flake it till you Make it
 16
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b Sport
● Group Effort
 28
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b Sport
● Spiny Norman
 13
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b Sport
● First of the Year
 26
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c Sport
● Baby Steps
 58
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a Sport
● Outrageous
 42
5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b Sport
● Egregious
 44
5.8+ 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c Sport
● Ridiculous
 26
5.4 4a 12 IV 10 VD 3c Sport

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

starter crag
[Hide Photo] starter crag
Parking pullout just up the road, appx 100 yards from base of approach
[Hide Photo] Parking pullout just up the road, appx 100 yards from base of approach
Nice easy low level climb. Great for starting out in Mt. Charleston. Don't expect the nice and roomy bases found in Red Rock though. Its a new wall and the veg is still pretty agro.
[Hide Photo] Nice easy low level climb. Great for starting out in Mt. Charleston. Don't expect the nice and roomy bases found in Red Rock though. Its a new wall and the veg is still pretty agro.
View of the crag prior to approach ascent
[Hide Photo] View of the crag prior to approach ascent
Can someone please tell me what route this is we climbed? I'm guessing Outrageous.
[Hide Photo] Can someone please tell me what route this is we climbed? I'm guessing Outrageous.
The beautiful view!
[Hide Photo] The beautiful view!
view from the routes
[Hide Photo] view from the routes
Looking east from the routes
[Hide Photo] Looking east from the routes
Cyn headin for the anchors
[Hide Photo] Cyn headin for the anchors
Small pine tree for shade in the A.M.
[Hide Photo] Small pine tree for shade in the A.M.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Mike Bond
Kentucky
[Hide Comment] Good fun. Thanks Andy and Chris for the work! Apr 19, 2012
E Johnson
Boulder, CO
[Hide Comment] The rock is clean but I found it to be the least featured limestone I've ever been on. Be prepared to smear a lot. Hands for a short person were non existant at times. But I also found the last route on the left, the 8, completely different and really good climbing. Nov 13, 2016
Travis Provin
Boulder CO
[Hide Comment] Someone went bolt crazy on this rock! The routes are short and over bolted but still fun as a moderate crag. A great place to take beginners or to do some first time lead climbing. Feb 15, 2017
John Hegyes
Las Vegas, NV
[Hide Comment] I can confirm what is written elsewhere. We climbed at Starter Crag on July 18, 2017. There is a large beehive that has taken up residence in a crack in the middle of the wall. They didn't seem too aggressive so we finished the pitch we were on and then we took off. Jul 19, 2017
Scott Gilmore
[Hide Comment] As recent as April 2020 the bees are still there. We started to the far right. Not long in to the morning there were 1 or two bugging us. As we moved on to the 2nd route they were becoming more present so we left. Jun 5, 2020
Adam W
TX/Nevada
[Hide Comment] The bees (September 2020) are in the crack at the top of Spiny Norman. We did all other routes on the wall with no issues just avoid the one route. No need to avoid the whole crag. Sep 10, 2020
Bryan Friesen
Las Vegas, NV
[Hide Comment] A fun area with some solid 5.10 climbs. The rock is surprisingly good quality. Gets shade mid-afternoon. Jun 29, 2021
Justin Streit
Las Vegas, NV
[Hide Comment] I'm with Adam G. Bees were still present on Spiny Norman on 10/2/2021, but we climbed Baby Steps and Group Effort without issue. Encountered a couple bees on the wall, but they were a non-issue and am certainly glad we visited this crag. . Oct 3, 2021
Jessica Vittorelli
Portland, ME
[Hide Comment] Climbing at Mt Charleston today at Starter Crag. Left our bags at the bottom of the crag like suggested on the forum and parked at the pull out 500 meters on the road below the climb. In the time it took up to walk up to the climb- both bags with all of our climbing equipment, shoes, harnesses, rope were stolen. First day climbing out here. Doubt we’ll see our stuff again, just leaving this here so others don’t make the same mistake. Oct 26, 2021
Ben Griffiths
[Hide Comment] There is a huge swarm of bees that are flying around most of the wall. Didn't feel comfortable giving it a go Jul 8, 2022
Tony Greenway
Las Vegas, NV
[Hide Comment] The bees are still there, but didn't cause us any trouble at all. Oct 1, 2022
Roger Li
[Hide Comment] Parked at the larger parking pull out slightly past the wall. The pictures of the approach were very helpful, super short approach. The mentioned beehive is in the crack of spiny norman. Best to avoid that route, but all others were fine. The area is aptly named starter crag, and the close bolting will definitely be appreciated by new sport climbers. That limestone slab/footwork might be a challenge though. Jul 29, 2023