Mountain Project Logo

j-tree, red rocks, or t wall

Original Post
mike526 · · schaumburg · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 0

Newer trad climber looking for a good winter climbing area for some time In January or February. Have been to J-tree before but used a guide so not sure about the easier routes there.

Red rocks looks interesting but camping seems to be hard to come by.

Have no idea about t-wall but was suggested by a friend.

open to other suggestions also

csproul · · Pittsboro...sort of, NC · Joined Dec 2009 · Points: 330

They are all good in winter. T-wall is probably your best bet for reliable weather. Not to say it can't be awesome at JT or RR, but it could also be snowing. If you can go spur of the moment and see the forecast, they can all re great winter places. If you have to fly and plan in advance IMO the order of weather reliability would be T-wall, JT, RR.

Lots of easier climbs at all three. T-wall is a sandstone crack area with mostly cracks and corner routes. It is pretty awesome and stays really warm as long as it is dry out. There are some hunting closures at T-wall so make sure that they do not coincide with you planned dates.

The camping at RR kind of sucks, but there are good cheap places to stay. You can camp right at T-wall but there are no services, it is primitive camping and there have been theft problems in the past. There are some nearby (20 minutes?) private campgrounds. There is also a very good bouldering area near Chattanooga if you want a change from T-wall (Little Rock City).

CraigS. · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2012 · Points: 10

The downside to climbing at T-Wall is that the camping in the area around here isn't the best. Close is free, but primitive only. Anything fancier is further away and will cost a little. I can't comment on J-Tree or Red Rocks.

Seth Derr · · harrisburg, pa · Joined Apr 2010 · Points: 2,260

FWIW have camped on the other side of town at Raccoon Mountain a couple times. probably 25 mins from T-Wall. Showers, bathrooms, etc. 20.00 per night. Not a bad deal if you don't mind the price and commute. The climbing at Sunset is also close by.

Chris Norwood · · San Diego, CA · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 80
Locker wrote:If you don't mind eating at Santanas and getting ripped off by meth heads, JTree is a GREAT winter destination...
but I like Santanas! :P
Will S · · Joshua Tree · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 1,061

T Wall really comes into it's own at the 5.10-5.12 level and I wouldn't call the weather there any more reliable than the other two. Yeah, it faces mostly south, but it's also in the SE, which is basically a temperate rain forest. I grew up down there and started climbing down there, but there's a reason I call JT home these days.

Red rock and Joshua Tree have a ton of moderates, crags that face all directions to chase sun, shade or wind protection. Have much better scenery. The rock itself is miles better at T-wall than the other two, but

If it were me, I'd take the last week of Feb, go to Red Rock, screw the camping and just stay in a cheaper hotel. Wake up in a bed with a warm shitter nearby, grab some free grub from the continental breakfast spread on your way out, pick one of the countlesss classic moderate multi-pitch routes, then finish off the day in the hottub and/or casino. Repeat until time to go home. No brainer.

Will S · · Joshua Tree · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 1,061
John Wilder wrote:The campground is what it is- a campground in the Mojave desert. Everyone hates it, but I mean, what do you expect?
Well, I expect something like the campground inside the loop that they closed (Pine Creek?)...some trees/shade and other vegetation, camp hosts that aren't insane badgering nazis, and no constant speed trap being run at the bottom of a steep ass hill with an absurdly low posted speed limit. That would be a nice start.
Will S · · Joshua Tree · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 1,061

John, I think you are missing the point. Inside/outside the loop is irrelevant. Have you ever been in the old camground? It's quite a nice setting.

I live in the Mojave, so yeah I get what grows here. And wonder of wonders, the old campground had...trees. My yard has...wait for it...trees. New Jack City doesn't have trees so it has shade structures. Good to hear that they actually added some shade stuff to that shithole.

I don't expect as a resident of LV that you actually spend much time in the sun-baked dustbowl hellhole of the current campground, why would you? So trust me when I say they run speed trap down that little road into the campground all the time. Every single time I've been there. One of the many reasons I stopped staying there.

It's amazing that the BLM can shell out a couple million bucks for some BS visitor center complex but can't establish a borderline habitable campground.

Ryan Hill · · Denver, CO · Joined Dec 2009 · Points: 30
Will S wrote: Well, I expect something like the campground inside the loop that they closed (Pine Creek?)...some trees/shade and other vegetation, camp hosts that aren't insane badgering nazis, and no constant speed trap being run at the bottom of a steep ass hill with an absurdly low posted speed limit. That would be a nice start.
The shitty camping is extra motivation for climbing. Camp hosts have changed and are much easier to get along with these days (though the old ones were only a pain if you hadn't paid fees or tried to park too many cars in a site...as that was there job and I've never heard of them using a gas chamber on anyone I feel the term Nazi is a bit harsh). The speed trap is complete BS, but it seems to be happening less and less these days and it really isn't hard to go the posted speed limit, even if it is absurd.

I actually like the outside of the loop camping, it makes for a fun morning commute/rally to the crags.

If you have a car then RR is a great winter option. If the weather craps on you the hotels are cheap and Mesquite and St. George are near by. If it all truly goes to hell then J-Tree and San Diego are close enough to save the vacation. The moderate multi-pitch in RR is amazing and a hell of a lot of fun. I spent a month down in J-Tree and I enjoyed myself, but I got in better and more climbing while in RR. The camping is much nicer down there though.
Andy S. · · Los Angelas · Joined Jan 2012 · Points: 0

I'd suggest T-wall on the basis that its like 18 hours closer to Schaumburg than Jtree/Red Rocks are. Also if you're just getting into trad climbing Jtree can be kind of unforgiving if you dont know what you're doing and Red Rocks can be really unforgiving if you dont know how to retrieve a stuck rope.

I was living in Chicago when I was learning how to trad climb last winter and did trips to both Jtree and Twall so feel free to PM me if you want some more insight.

Tom Fralich · · Fort Collins, CO · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 0

Red Rock is the best of the three IMO, but if you don't already have a some experience on multi-pitch trad, probably not the best choice. T-Wall is awesome and I'm sitting at the airport in Fresno right now on my way to T-Wall for the third year in a row. If your trad leading experience is limited, this is probably the best choice. J-Tree is fun and has the best camping, but you've been there already and the nights are long and cold. If you go to Vegas, stay at a hotel Sun-Thur and camp on the weekend if you need to save some money. You can get a basic room for about $20/night Sun-Thur.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

General Climbing
Post a Reply to "j-tree, red rocks, or t wall"

Log In to Reply
Welcome

Join the Community

Create your FREE account today!
Already have an account? Login to close this notice.

Get Started