5.8+,
Trad, 1200 ft (364 m), 8 pitches, Grade IV,
Avg: 3.1 from 106
votes
FA: Joe Herbst and Joe Frani, 1975
Nevada
> Southern Nevada
> Red Rocks
> (12) Oak Creek…
> Eagle Wall
Access Issue: Red Rock RAIN AND WET ROCK: The sandstone is fragile and is very easily damaged when wet.
Details
Holds rip off and climbs have been and will continue to be permanently damaged due to climbers not respecting this phenomenon. After a heavy storm, the rock will remain wet, sometimes for several days. PLEASE DO NOT CLIMB IN RED ROCKS during or after rain. A good rule of thumb is that if the ground near your climb is at all damp (and not powdery dry sand), then do not climb. There are many alternatives (limestone, granite, basalt, and plastic) nearby.
HUMAN WASTE Human waste is one of the major issues plaguing Red Rocks. The Las Vegas Climbers Liaison Council and the AAC provides free "wag bags" in several locations (Black Velvet, First Pullout, Kraft Mtn/Bouldering, The Gallery, and The Black Corridor). These bags are designed so that you can pack your waste out - consider bringing one to be part of your kit (just like your rope and shoes and lunch) no matter where you go. Once used, please dispose of them properly (do not throw them in the toilets at the parking area).
This is the easiest way up the Eagle Wall. Given the length of the approach and descent, it's a long day. Due to lack of fixed anchors, you cannot rap this route so plan on going over the top (leave extra water, etc in the creek bed before heading up the the base of the wall).
I found the crux pitch a bit scary for 5.8, there is pro but some 15' runouts, but a 5.9 leader should have no problem with it (except for this one pitch, the rest didn't even seem 5.8). The final pitch used to be very runout but there is now a bolted alternative.
I've heard several negative opinions on this route from people who would give it one or even zero stars. The rock is not as good as it is on other routes to the left. I enjoyed the length and position of the route, so I give it 1.5 stars rounded up. If you are up for the challenge, Eagle Dance or Leviation 29 are much more highly regarded.
Follow the approach ramp up and right, past the start of Eagle Dance and Levitation 29, until you reach a sort of a col where you can look down into the Painted Bowl. The route begins at the col. We found the route fairly easy to follow using Swain's description, just follow the easiest line up cracks to the right of a buttress leading up. We thought we would be able to chat with friends on Lev 29 but this is around the corner and no communication was possible.
After about five pitches there are two alternatives: (1) head up and then angle left as in this
, or (2) traverse right to an obvious left facing corner (easy), belay and then climb the corner (crux). The second alternative seems to be slightly harder but is followed by many parties (including us) because it is such an obvious corner.
Eventually you will reach a final slab, the original 8th pitch went up and left 5.5X to the summit. However now there are a bunch of bolts leading straight up at about 5.7 for a much less terrifying finish.
Swain claims the descent can be done in an hour, but this is speedy. We followed his descent description and made no wrong turns; we were not in a hurry as we were hoping our friends on Lev 29 would catch up so it took us at least 2 hours from the top all the way to the car.
There is an entire chapter about this route in
Red Rock Odyssey
Continue with onX Maps
Sign in with Facebook
Boulder, CO
Also, do not confuse this route with the more well known Rainbow Wall, the steep wall up Juniper Canyon. Feb 23, 2004
Boulder, CO
Unfortunately I didn't bring a camera during my ascent, and don't have a great memory of where exactly we went. However I do remember traversing right into the base of a corner that looks a whole lot like the one in the photo. The question remains of whether this is the Rainbow Buttress route or some variation ...
Swain calls the crux pitch "an obvious, left facing corner" which looks exactly like the dihedral in the photo, but he also mentions "extra #3.5 and #4 friends" for this pitch, which doesn't make sense to me as I don't remember it being wide at all, in fact the crack was often pinched off at the crux of this corner. Apr 12, 2004
The descent is spectacular. Apr 21, 2004
Las Vegas, NV
The route finding was straight forward. Pitches 1 and 2 featured nice dihedrals and large belay ledges. Pitch 3 had an awkward off-width. In the DeAngelo guide, he refers to the variations at the top of pitch 4 (the top of the Black Tower) as the Original Route that goes straight up, and the Dihedral Variation to the right. When presented with this decision, our choice was obvious, we headed for the striking dihedral and we were not disappointed. This is how the route goes in the Swain guide. As a matter of fact we were able to link pitches 4 and 5, bypassing the belay station on top of the Black Tower completely. The long 5.8 dihedral was tricky climbing - the central crack closes down to a thin seam. Some sections could only be protected by thin RPs quite some distance apart. The final, eighth pitch goes up rotten rock on a pink face. I don't condone retrobolting, but to consider going up this 5.7 face on rotten rock without the sporty bolts would have been crazy, and would have ruined an otherwise great day.
The walk-off took four hours to get back to the car at the Oak Creek trailhead. Finding the way down was no problem, we just headed for the castle of dark rock to the east (George Washington Tower) and stayed on the north side of it until we reached the saddle and then headed south. The scenery was unworldly, especially the marble-like water trough with colorful swirls that took us down to the North Fork and our packs. Oct 18, 2005
Scotia, New York
san mateo
Berkeley, CA
leeds, ut
Oroville, WA
VANCOUVER
Combine pitches 1 & 2 and 4 & 5 with a 60m rope and some long slings (easy). Top of P5 does indeed need a #3 and #4 camalot for belay. great view from summit and beautiful, easy walk off-- about one hour back to where you walked up into Painted Bowl. Nov 13, 2011
Crux moves take #4 BD wire, gold (#3?) ballnut (very good), and a #5 BD wire. Pitch is full-on, in-your face 5.9+, reminded me of some Sierras 5.9+++'s I've done recently. The rest of the route is less intense, I brought single to 5" and doubles from .4 to 3" and used pretty much all of that on the crux pitch except the extra 1+2 camalot, which came in handy at the anchor. Linking pitches is doable but annoying considering all the good ledges.
A worthy adventure, kudos to those that like running it out with a SR, personally I'm really glad that I had all the pro I wanted on a long, fixed-hardware-less route like this that has a bunch of crunchy rock, including on several tough, physical moves on the crux pitch. My buddy took multiple lead falls on this thing and is a solid 5.9 leader, I took over on the crux pitch and wished I wore a better pair of shoes when my foot slipped+nearly took the ride onto the tiny gear. Edging shoes helpful. Nov 16, 2011
I got a good wire and blue Alien in at the crux - nothing micro-micro. On the large end, it's nice to have a #4 Camalot, or at the very least a #3, for that flare at the start of the 3rd pitch. Dec 8, 2011
Portland, OR
The walk-off descent was easy to sort, mellow, and a really scenic hike. From the summit to our car took 3:39 with a stop in the canyon to retrieve our packs, no rests.
More of a "backcountry" (more hiking than climbing) Grade IV. Feb 1, 2012
Las Vegas, NV
I tried to create an anchor at the top of the black tower that I could belay directly off of, and had one of the more awkward belays of my life. In retrospect, I should have kept climbing about 30 feet into the next pitch, where there is a decent ledge with a #2 camalot sized belay. This would have kept the rope running straight above the black tower/previous pitch, and allow for some cool photos to be taken of your follower on the tower stepping across. The tower itself is a pretty cool place to hang if you would like though.
As other people said, I recommend the Chicken Lips descent. The descent is descriptive enough on that page. I found the bolts at the top of the waterstreak to be less than desirable, and would happily offer to replace them when I learn how to do it. Jan 11, 2013
Las Vegas, nv
Salt Lake City, UT
Bridgton, ME
I've done two long .10a routes on Back Velvet and the crux pitch on RB was harder than any of those pitches. I'm not necessarily suggesting that the rating for RB (5.8+) is wrong, but that the route (and especially p.6) is just SO MUCH WORK. The day after we did Sour Mash, we went out and did Dream of Wild Turkeys; the day after RB we slept until 8:30, got up to eat breakfast, then slept again until after lunch. And yes, the last bolted pitch is indeed crispy and hollow: be very careful! Bad place to break an ankle. Like someone said, it's a 5.8 pitch that you climb as if it were 5.10.
In terms of stars, I waffled back and forth, finally settling on three, just because of the overall adventure of the thing. While actually doing it you may find yourself bereft of stars; and in the moments after topping out you may find four stars in your pocket out of the sheer joy of surviving it. Glad my partner dragged me up it? Yes. Do it again? Probably not.
By the way, on the way in we used the middle approach as described in Jerry's book, reversing the Painted Bowl descent by going up the slick slab that intersects the wash and following easy ground to the IBM boulder, and then up and slightly left to the climb. It's very clean and straightforward and we found no 4th class terrain at all. We were joined in our approach up the canyon by two climbers headed for Levitation 29, and they chose the traditional (and farthest) approach up the wash to the two big ponderosa pines and then back right on the ramp. We got to the base of RB about 15 minutes before they got to the base of L29. Car-to-base took 2.5 hours, and we were going at a moderate pace. May 2, 2016
Grand Junction
Black Rock City
Pretty chill throughout and the crux protected well with small offset nuts.
Def link 1/2 & 4/5. Dec 19, 2020
Sierras
If climbing the mountain beast finish, lead belay away from the wall as its quite loose. Jan 5, 2023
Snow at high elevations and on north faces made the descent from the top much harder and slower. Mar 10, 2023
Homer, AK