Avg: 3.3 from 174
votes
Access Issue: Red Rock RAIN AND WET ROCK: The sandstone is fragile and is very easily damaged when wet.
Details
This route is on the far left side of the Brownstone Wall and the approach takes about 2 hours. The route is in the sun most of the day so can be quite warm, although the 3rd and 4th pitch are in a recessed chimney and are shady except in the early morning.
We had some difficulty locating the start of this route. If you head up slabs which lead to the center of the Brownstone Wall, you will have to traverse left quite a ways to get to the route, even going down a bit. You are nearly back to the creek bed when you reach the base. The white overhang in Swain's topo on pitch 1 was not obvious to us. The best way to find the route is to locate the the overhang on the second pitch and the crack system above it.
P1: Climb a crack us through some soft rock to a block that is below a white roof (5.6, 120'). P2: Traverse left, then up to a crack at the far left side of the roof. Sock in some good gear (on long slings), then head up and back right on varnished plates to the crack which forms the right side of the roof (now below you). Continue up this crack to a belay ledge (5.7+, 140'). Swain calls this pitch PG but the runouts did did not seem bad to me. There is a runout above the roof but it is not as bad as that on the next pitch.
P3: Here is where you look up and say "Oh yeah, Swain did say to bring 'large gear' for this pitch ...". Above you is a fantastic black corner, but the back necks down into a fairly fat crack. I don't exactly recall the width of the crack, I just recall we didn't have anything big enough to fit in it (I'd guess it's 5-6 inches). You need a #5 Camalot or #3 Big Bro, and the crack might be too flared to fit the Big Bro (I don't think a #4 Camalot fits either). Stem and face climb up the corner, with or without pro, until you reach the base of a chimney (5.7, 130'). If you don't have any 5-6 inch gear, you will have to run it out at least 20', this is the S section. If you take big gear you may be able to walk it up and remove the S rating, please add comments below on this.
P4: Wander up into the darkness of a deep slot, exit left through a wild hole onto a huge ledge which faces south and (if it is late enough) into full sunshine (5.2, 100'). Two more pitches go more or less straight up from here, on softer rock. Great views of the Rainbow Wall to your south.
Descent: Head south into the Gunsight Gully and scramble back down to the start of the route. Pretty quick and easy descent.
Standard rack to #3 Camalot with maybe a 5-6" piece (see description). Make sure you have some longer slings for the wandering pitches. Only one rope is needed.
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We did make one highly critical error: we didn't look at the condition of the descent gully before we started and wound up coming down lots of snow in rock shoes. The descent gets a lot hairier when covered in snow. Mar 8, 2004
Boulder, CO
nyc
the ramp/chimney is not 4th class, per swain guide. i remember thinking it was more like 5.4 R, as if you fell out of the exit you'd fall a ways and then tumble on the ramp. however, i didnt look too hard for pro so maybe it sews up.
there are two bolts, slings, and rings midway up the second pitch if you decide to bail. didnt see any bail gear above that, although there was a new looking 7mm cord wrapped around the huge block on the ledge left of the p2 belay.
the rock quality of the roof you traverse left of (before pulling around and going back right) on p2 is not my favorite. i thought this section here was the spiciest part of the route, not the beautiful varnished dihedral up a couple pitches.
my favorite 5.7 in the park. this or olive oil, anyways. Mar 7, 2006
Fayetteville, NC
We tried to pull the crack on the right side of the roof for pitch 2 directly. I couldn't manage it with my pack on, but it felt like it would go if I was packless at about low 10s. Instead we placed a piece in this crack and traversed right a short distance, moving up a thin face back to the crack. I'd say it goes at about 5.9ish, and you definitely avoid any rope drag problems with wandering way out left.
The descent is straightforward and Gunsight Notch is a wonderful little area to explore. The only thing that sucked was hacking our way through the scrub oak trying to get back to the Rainbow Wall trail.
One of Red Rock's lesser-known classic climbs! Apr 8, 2006
Calgary, AB
Personally, I thought the runout section was on the second pitch right off the belay when you have to make delicate moves on marginal gear. I took a standard rack with double 1 and 2 BD's, plus a 4. There was never any time on the corner pitch where I had to run out my gear more than 15 feet, I do think though that the 3rd pitch is pretty stout at 5.8 compared to other Red Rock 5.8's like Frogland.
We approached via the pine trail that continues up towards gunsight notch from the Rainbow approach slab. This involved a few minutes of bushwacking, but was fast and straightforward. Dec 4, 2006
Vegas
Much thanks to Herbst, and Wheeler for going first! Sep 13, 2007
Washington, DC
1) the chimney/tunnel section can be exited up and right with quality 5.9 liebacking on perfect varnish, instead of the 5.2 left exit. Recommended for extra fun.
2) pitches 3 and 4 can be linked with a 60m, although communication is difficult. Sep 17, 2007
Delta, CO
The only fly in the ointment was that I wasn't expecting those convenience belay-bolts. I was frankly a bit disappointed to see them on such a grand old route (kind of like the bolts on Ginger Cracks). What's more, the first pair of bolts puts you too high under the roof, and makes your first piece of gear on p2 much more likely to pop. Better/safer/less rope drag to stop lower and build your own anchor. The second pair of bolts comes much too soon after the traverse, and your partners will thank you for not stopping there. You should carry on to the ledge above the bottleneck and below the stemming.
Coming down the Gunsight could be tricky if the first time you "see" it is in the dark. But in daylight, its a hoot. There is one rappel station most of the way down that can be bypassed by finding a little tunnel down through the boulders ... as long as its not too wet. Mar 26, 2008
Las Vegas
Also, we skipped the slabs and hiked up the trail along the base of the Rainbow Wall. You only have to traverse in around 50 yds off of this trail to get to the base. It took us 1hr15m from Oak Creek to the base at a comfortable pace.
It should also be noted that there is several hundred feet of class 4 above the last pitch. Apr 6, 2009
Sequim, WA
On P2, I used a bomber #4 cam placement beside where the roof connects to the wall which totally mitigated the freak factor of pulling onto that roof from the main wall on the left with thin pro. When you get to that position, the loose white flake wedged in there looks like your only option for pro, but look just slightly above and in back of it for the solid crack.
I was glad I brought big gear(#3.5, #4, and a #5), though I can see where you could get by with less ammunition if you know what to expect. Mar 30, 2011
harrisburg, pa
SLC, UT
NJ
Belayed well below the bolts at the roof making the first pitch about 100' and pitch 2 almost 200'. Should have used double rope technique. Had considerable rope drag even with long slings for the roof and extending every placement.
Linked the beautiful corner and the chimney making another full length pitch. Had a 4 and felt secure through the runout.
Two more easy rope stretchers got us on top. The summit and descent were awesome!
One of my favorite climbs of the trip. May 19, 2015
CA
There was water running down the Gunsight Notch and it was nearly impossible to keep the rope dry during the rappel. Even if you tunnel under the blocks and avoid the rappel, you and your gear will most likely get wet this time of year. Feb 22, 2016
Las Vegas, NV
Reno, NV
The Gunsight Gully is quite easy to descend except for one section that cliffs out. There is a sling on a small tree, but if you find yourself there without a rope, you can down-climb the face at 5.6 for about 20 feet. Nov 30, 2016
Seattle, Washington
some notes:
1) there are bolt anchors for the first pitch, and in the middle of the second pitch if you need to rappel. didn't see any other easy to bail points.
2) chimney pitch was mostly 4th class. the squeeze through the tunnel/opening was fun! but if you aren't super experienced with chimneys it might feel a little more than fourth class--just go for it :)
3) biggest we brought was a #4. bigger gear would be nice but the wide section is pretty secure stemming with many hand holds and even a .4 in the middle. save #1-#3 for most of the gear belays. i did not and had some less than ideal anchors
4) as stated above there's a section of gunsight where it "cliffs out" and here's a sling on a tree. before you commit to a rappel, we found a tunnel below the tree--it's narrow but saved us from having to rap
5) books says easy 3rd to the top? we did not find this and had to climb another pitch through trees. anyone have different beta of reaching the top? Dec 14, 2016
Boulder, CO
P1 is a forgettable approach pitch. P2 and P3 are cool - esp the zig zag traverse on P2. P4 is a novelty but not something you'd want to do over and over. The rest is a scramble. All in all, a lot of hiking for what amounts to 200-ish feet of good climbing. In my book a 4 or 5 star climb is one that you'd do over and over. Not the case here. Nov 21, 2017
Keystone
Northwest "Where climbers g…
Golden, CO
P3 is pretty runout at the crux, we brought a #5 and it didn't help at all, the wide section at the crux is bigger than even a #6 except at the very bottom. Expect to be about 20 feet above gear on 5.8 stemming. It's relatively secure but the runout section felt like the crux of the pitch to me. Super high quality movement though, like an easier version of The Nightcrawler. Also, the tunnel-through section of the chimney adds at least one star to this climb for shenanigans. Two thumbs up. Nov 13, 2020
Mammoth Lakes, CA
-Do not belay at the P1 bolts. A small stance ~15' below allows for a much better line up P2 on varnish rather than crappy white rock.
-Stopping short at the intermediate anchors may improve communication and minimize rope drag.
-The crux climbing on P3 involves thin wires, not big gear. A single #4 felt completely reasonable. Nov 22, 2020
Las Vegas, NV
Mazama, WA
North Kansas City, MO
Lower Hutt, NZ
Boulder, CO
The last 2 pitches:
P5: 100 feet up to a nice ledge
P6: The book calls this 120 feet of 5.5, which seems about right, but you still have 120 feet or so of low fifth/fourth class to the top (you can unrope and do this from the big ledge at 120 feet, or, with a 70m rope and 10 feet of simul climbing, just to the little tree and the top of the route).
I thought the bottom of P3 was 5.8 stemming, but very well protected with small gear and the occasionaly hand jam/jug. The wide part is run out but very secure (5.6 or 7 maybe offwidth).
I doubt a 5 would do much. A 6 or 7 can be walked, but personally I would just bring a double rack through 3s. (I found I could place multiple 3s... a 4 won't do anything in the wide part). Feb 19, 2023
Seattle
Las Vegas, NV
We found this to be a fun, old-school adventurous outing with moderate climbing in a very gorgeous setting. Highly recommend for anyone looking to get away from crowds and willing to make the trek. We parked at Oak Creek and did the approach in 1.5 hours via the slabs. Descent was 2.5 hours. 9 hrs total car-to-car.
We brought a double rack of cams and a single #4. I only used the #4 once on pitch 6. If you're worried about the runout on pitch 3, I don't think a #4 would help too much (or anything bigger). I thought the harder part was stemming through the slick varnish below the runout.
Also, agree with others to avoid the bolts on top of pitch 1 and build a belay 15 - 20 feet below. Pitch 4 tunnel was so much fun.
A 60M rope barely reaches the left tree at the top of pitch 6. Afterward, we roped up for the final stretch but stayed too far right and had to pull some real climbing moves. I'd recommend staying left in the right facing corner.
The descent into the gunsight notch was wild. It looks like a sheer cliff until you drop into the slot. Also, there was one section of that descent that looked impossible to downclimb, only for us to realize there was a tiny hole to squeeze through behind us. Incredible. Nov 10, 2024
A #6 reduced the run-out on P3 by about 5 feet, which I was personally happy for. I would not bring two #6s since most of the wide section remains too wide for a #6. Feb 10, 2025
Recommend not using any of the bolted anchors Nov 5, 2025
Las Vegas, NV