[Hide Comment] Historical note: What's in a name?

On page 45 of the Supertopo Red Rock guidebook supertopo.com/packs/redrock… is a dramatic photo of this route by Greg Epperson. The caption reads, "Peter Kohl on the fabulous 8th Wave, Calico Basin." Where did THAT name come from? Here is the story:

The route was climbed in 1970 by local high-schoolers John Williamson and Bob Logerquist. "It was pretty intimidating," recalls John. "We did it a few times on top rope before we got up the courage to lead the thing." John and Bob named it "The Fox," which was in keeping with several other route names that referred to children's stories. The nearby "Riding Hood" and "Over the Hill to Grandmother's House" shared a similar reference to children's books. Soon afterward, John left Las Vegas to attend college. At the time there was almost no other climbing activity in the area, so the ascent was essentially unknown to climbers who were not personal friends of John or Bob. Over the next few years climbing activity picked up considerably as Joe Herbst began to make a more systematic exploration of the area. Interestingly, Joe's early activity started mainly in the south part of the range, while John was working from the north end, and the two climbers never met. One of Joe's apprentices was the later-to-be-famous Red Rock guide, Randal Grandstaff. A young Randal accompanied Joe on the first ascent of Tunnel Vision in 1974, and soon emerged as an accomplished climber in his own right. At this point the story becomes a little muddy. In the middle 1970's, Randal claimed a first ascent of the Fox dihedral, and apparently named it the "7th Wave." This was the first name that Joanne Urioste heard when she arrived in Las Vegas at about that time. Some other climbers who were active then also recalled the "7th Wave" name. In the 1990's, Randal was still claiming a first ascent when he was talking with author Todd Swain. Randal made his claim with such vehemence that Todd recorded the route as "first ascent: unknown" in order to not step on Randal's toes. The thing that makes the situation sticky is that, even in the 1970's, Randal had developed a reputation for exaggeration about his exploits, so many local climbers simply did not believe him. His case was not helped by the evolution of the name: was it still 7th Wave, or was he now calling it the 8th Wave, or something else? Some of the locals expressed their doubt by putting up a route that was facetiously named "No Wave," (this was the first couple of pitches of the route that was later expanded to become the Bighorn Buttress in Willow Springs).

In the late 1970's, John Williamson returned to Las Vegas. By chance, he met up with the Uriostes and did a few climbs with them. It was, coincidentally, on this trip that they teamed up to climb the now popular Olive Oil. John told them of his early climbs, and pointed out the Fox dihedral. Since John's ascent predated any possible Grandstaff ascent by several years, Joanne credited him with the first ascent and used his name, "The Fox," when she authored the 1984 guidebook. Before the 1984 guide gave the Fox name any kind of official status, there was a period where both names were circulating, and the one you heard was dependent on whom you heard it from. Since the Epperson photograph in the Supertopo guidebook dates back to early 1980's, it is probably safe to conclude that the route name came from someone on the Randal Grandstaff side of the story. Feb 2, 2005

[Hide Comment] That's a nice piece of history, Larry. Thanks for putting this together.

I haven't tried the route, but from your description it would have been quite something to lead back in 1970, mostly with pitons I presume -- even hexentrics and tube chocks were a year or two away. Bong-bongs take much energy to place, but they never gave me much confidence for free climbing on sandstone. Feb 3, 2005

[Hide Comment] Bring 2 4 camalots if you got'em and a 3.5 for the top. As mentioned, a 5 or 4.5 wouldn't hurt the cause either if your a bit sketch on the wide stuff. Sweet pitch, right on at 10 plus (and no easier). Feb 28, 2005

[Hide Comment] A truly amazing climb! One of my favorite single pitch routes. I liebacked most of the route (on T.R.), which tore some of the skin off my upper palms, and fingers. Ouch! I suggest taping up. A worthwhile climb, with a short approach (by Red Rock standards),and an easy walk-off/descent. You won't be disappointed! Hell of a work-out, for me anyway!
This route is shaded in the afternoon, which makes it doable in the summer. Jul 29, 2006

[Hide Comment] Never thought I'd get this one but it went down yesterday:)
I climbed it in sections utilizing three semi-rest spots with good foot placements. Bring one 5.0 or a 6.0 so won't have to run the last part of OW out.
There was no fixed anchor at the top. Someone chopped the sling. Plenty of options for a natural anchor. Nov 26, 2008

[Hide Comment] I did quite a bit of free climbing in this area and knew John Williamson until about 1972. Any climbing here is sure to be awesome if the park has been preserved.
Does anyone know where John is or what became of him? He was a true nature lover, last time I saw him was North Shore Lake Tahoe and he was living in an eloquent Tee Pee. starke49@pacbell.net Mar 13, 2010

[Hide Comment] sweet pitch, could use a bolted anchor though Apr 25, 2010

[Hide Comment] Almost half the route is bigger than #4 camalot size. I took one 4 and one 5 and felt quite runout, though the top 20 feet is lower angle and easy. Rack accordingly. No need for bolted anchor. Easy walkoff and belay takes bomber #1 and #2 camalots. Indian creek quality May 20, 2010

[Hide Comment] But if there were bolts up top we could all TR it into submission without having to think about setting up an anchor... then it would get as grooved up as anything in IC since most folks would be too lazy to properly extend their anchor. No Thanks. Great gear anchor, great walkoff. If a few more cams on the harness cause you to blow the send, train harder. Aug 30, 2010

[Hide Comment] A #3 Camalot was the biggest I brought...and the top, while easy and low-angle, was pretty runout. A big cam would have made it more comfortable. Jun 22, 2011

[Hide Comment] I placed a #5 and a #6. I brought a second #5 but never managed to unload it. Great climb--like an offwidth version of Indian Creek's Black Uhuru. Nov 29, 2011

[Hide Comment] My first Red Rock climb.

WOW. Feb 19, 2012

[Hide Comment] Phenomenal! From fingers to chicken-winging in an OW, and I lost the skin on my elbows to prove it! Can be top-roped with a 70m (barely), but without extending the anchor there will be some solid rope drag. Decent semi-rests whenever it switches from fingers to hands, or hands to fists, or fists to "lets see what we can shove in there". Dec 8, 2012

[Hide Comment] Beautiful lead. A creek trip is in order for thin hands training. The OW is secure. The top OW is even more secure + leaving the #5 at your feet for a 10 foot runout isn't intimidating. I used 2 #1's and a #2 for the anchor directly in line with climb. No laybackng required but could be fun on TR for the pump. Friendly folks to chat with at the base. Also it was blowing from the SW 40 plus gusts at the parking area and the Fox alcove was completely protected. Will return for another lap :-) Apr 17, 2013

[Hide Comment] Would have lines at the base even at indian creek.

green alien (can be backed up with a blue alien) to protect the bouldery crack at the start. 1 .5 1.75 2 1s 1 #2, 2 4s 2 3s 1 #5, No 6 if you are comfortable on lower angle easy but awkward slanting OW Apr 1, 2014

[Hide Comment] Another vote for gear to 5". Also save some 0.5-2 camalot gear for the anchor. Apr 22, 2014

[Hide Comment] Did this the other day. Classic crack. Someone slung the boulder at the top with a rope for an easy way to anchor. Left some blood on the wall halfway up. Also you can TR it with 70 with easy with plenty of rope left over. May 26, 2014

[Hide Comment] Great climb. Perhaps over graded if you are accustomed to Indian Creek Corners already. Hard part is #3 camalots. Top part is wide but not so hard. Don't let the grade intimidate you. The climb is worth the try. May 29, 2015

[Hide Comment] felt like a second 5 would be more useful than a 6. evidently there're now bolted rap chains on top. led with a 54m rope and did the easy walkoff Nov 21, 2015

[Hide Comment] There's a bolted rap anchor at the top now and you can rap to the base with a single 60m. Jan 17, 2016

[Hide Comment] Didn't unload my #6 but could have unloaded more than one #5 and #4.
One of the anchor bolts is loose, possibly a spinner. I didn't have anything to try and tighten it. Other than that, the hardware looks good. Aug 22, 2016

[Hide Comment] On sighted this with a suboptimal rack, here's what i wish i had in BD sizes.

1x .2, .5 - 1
2x 2 - 4
3x 5

Could skip the second #3 too, i only used 1

I jammed a #6 in place of having a third 5 and almost got it stuck. 60m rope works but care must be taken because it only reaches the very top of the easily scramblable area above the comfortable belay stance, knots highly advised. Nov 28, 2016

[Hide Comment] The bolted anchor is gone:( unfortunate considering that this is an amazing single pitch and the anchor was in a great place. Also, you can lower off of the top with a 70m. Just knot your end! Feb 25, 2017

[Hide Comment] Yep, anchor is gone -- found it easy to build one though with approximately a BD #1 & #2, and little yellow metolious. Great climb! Feb 26, 2017

[Hide Comment] Absolutely stellar climb. We were expecting a bolted anchor per previous posts, but found the bolts had been chopped. Mar 26, 2017

[Hide Comment] Whoever chopped the anchor bolts on this thing did a very poor job. Why bother chopping if you aren't going to patch and fill? Aug 17, 2017

[Hide Comment] Perhaps the obvious bolt holes were left as some sort of old trad geezer's warning? Fantastic route nonetheless. Walk off is easy. Nov 8, 2018

[Hide Comment] You can climb this thing with a triple rack or no rope, its up to the climber. This climb was at around my onsight limit and I would reccomend this gear:
Climb:
1x .3, .5, 1, 2, 3, 5
2x .75 (use one in horizontal), 4
Anchor:
1x 1, 2, (optional additonal 1) Feb 12, 2019

[Hide Comment] This route has become highly popular in the afternoons. It took me three weeks of returning before I could get a lap. Parties on this route often are slow. Due to its short approach and classic nature, it’s common to find a line of people. Have a backup plan. If you see 4-6 people from the bottom of the canyon, best to probably move on unless your not in a hurry. Nov 16, 2019

[Hide Comment] There are anchor bolts at the top of the route as of 12/6/20. Dec 9, 2020

[Hide Comment] The saga of the top bolts continues. There were bolts a week ago, there are not now, 12/25/20, with very obvious new holes where they were. I’m not local so I’ll stay out of the argument, just reporting the news.

• edited to add date

Dec 25, 2020

[Hide Comment] life's cheap on toprope. May 12, 2021

[Hide Comment] Can anyone confirm if the anchors are up or still gone?

Thanks,
D Jan 17, 2022

[Hide Comment] No top anchors as of 10 January 2022. Jan 26, 2022

[Hide Comment] A perfect 5.10 testpiece, meant to challenge the budding 10+ trad leader. Perfectly protected, taking gear from 0.3 to 6, sew this baby up for the best crack climb of the grade in Red Rocks. One of my favorite routes to date, this route will test your technique from finger jams to chicken wings, from lie backs to hand stacks. I highly recommend anyone who has even the faintest hunch they can lead the route to get on it and challenge themselves on one of the more perfect splitters in the canyon.

With a 70m, you can make a gear anchor (I used 3 BD Z4s: 0.75, 0.5, and 0.4) in some suspect rock in a horizontal slot at the top to lower and clean the route if your belayer can't follow the grade. After you're on the ground, you can hike up the back side (climber's left) and retrieve your gear. Apparently there is some what of a bolted anchor war on this route, so don't climb it expecting to find a bolted anchor though there is a slight chance you may come across one. If you do find a bolted anchor, you may need an 80m rope to lower. Nov 14, 2022

[Hide Comment] There were anchor chains at the top this week, though the route's too long to lower off or rap with a 70m, you have to walk off. I'd say the #5 cam is mandatory, it's a scary runout at the top otherwise. Jan 26, 2023

[Hide Comment] You can definitely toprope the route with a 70 meter. We did it several times throughout the day and saw other groups do the same. There's no way this climb is 150 feet. Feb 21, 2023

[Hide Comment] Great route! The offwidth crux felt reasonable for me with a couple stacks. Mar 20, 2023

[Hide Comment] Fantastic route. The bottom boulder problem was the technical crux for me, but I have fairly large hands and could turn the dogleg (seems to be the crux for many) on bomber fists. The OW pod is my favorite part, and I think facing climber's right is the way to go, despite passing up the face holds on the left by doing so.

Anchors were up there as of June 3rd. Jul 18, 2023

[Hide Comment] Anchors still present as of 10/21/23.

For as long as the route is, surprisingly, it doesn't need much gear. Goes through all the sizes. If you're interested:
1x green alien (little smaller than a 0.3)
2x 0.75
1x 1 (optional)
1x 2
2x 3
1x 4 (with room for a 2nd optional one or just bump)
1x 6 for top of the pod (people say optional but I was glad to have it)
1x 3
1x 5 to pull the final lip and keep bumping.

Made it to the ground with a 70m with a couple feet to spare. Oct 21, 2023

[Hide Comment] Anchors still present at the top as of late March, 2025. They are climbers left on a large boulder on the big, comfy ledge, up out of the way.

Personally, I don't see the benefit of TR-ing the route from the ground and/or rapping off. These anchors are in a super comfy spot to set up a nice top-belay, sit down and enjoy the views (and grunts of your partner below). The walk off from the top is very straightforward and fast. I see no reason why to bother with loads of rope drag, wear on these somewhat ephemeral anchors (lol), and the potential to create rope grooves on this classic, beautiful route. Apr 2, 2025

[Hide Comment] April 2025,

There is chain anchor on top behind a rock, for repelling or lowering 70m is barely reach,
Please have a knot. Apr 23, 2025