Lake Mead Buttress conditions tomorrow

A partner and I had planned to do one of the new routes posted on the Lake Mead Buttress tomorrow.  With the amount of rain we got the past two days and the continued clouds today we are wondering if the wall will still be too wet tomorrow.  I've climbed Contagion twice after rain and had good conditions, but both times were just after a single day of rain and not 2-3 days of continual rain/clouds like this.  

Does anyone with more experience on the wall have any insight if the wall should be dry enough to climb?  I was thinking that since the wall is mainly vertical that it should probably be okay barring any seepage, but I don't have any experience with how much the wall seeps, if at all, and how quick it sheds water off the faces.

Bryan Kwrote:

A partner and I had planned to do one of the new routes posted on the Lake Mead Buttress tomorrow.  With the amount of rain we got the past two days and the continued clouds today we are wondering if the wall will still be too wet tomorrow.  I've climbed Contagion twice after rain and had good conditions, but both times were just after a single day of rain and not 2-3 days of continual rain/clouds like this.  

Does anyone with more experience on the wall have any insight if the wall should be dry enough to climb?  I was thinking that since the wall is mainly vertical that it should probably be okay barring any seepage, but I don't have any experience with how much the wall seeps, if at all, and how quick it sheds water off the faces.

You should go check it out and let us know. The rock is pretty high friction up there, so I'd guess it'll be fine, but I'm not a limestoneologist. 

EMFR Iwrote:

You should go check it out and let us know. The rock is pretty high friction up there, so I'd guess it'll be fine, but I'm not a limestoneologist. 

Will do.   That's what we were planning unless someone with more experience on the wall said there would be no chance it's dry.

If the rain has stopped it'll be dry by the morning definitely. Looks a little chilly in the morning but if the sun comes out you'll be psyched. Low wind. Bring a jacket just in case and you're gonna have a blast. 

Edit to add: I've never seen any of the routes seep and the wall drys almost instantly. But even if it is wet there's enough friction that it doesn't matter ;)

Thomas Gilmorewrote:

If the rain has stopped it'll be dry by the morning definitely. Looks a little chilly in the morning but if the sun comes out you'll be psyched. Low wind. Bring a jacket just in case and you're gonna have a blast. 

Edit to add: I've never seen any of the routes seep and the wall drys almost instantly. But even if it is wet there's enough friction that it doesn't matter ;)

Thanks a bunch Thomas!  That was exactly what I was looking for and just what I was thinking the wall would be like.  Psyched to try out all of the new routes and get out to Crustacean crag as well!

Conditions were great today.  Rock was totally dry and no water anywhere on the descent either.  Some sections of the soil between the rock and on some ledges still had moisture from the rain, but it caused no issues at all.