Red Rocks - Crimson Chrysalis

After a long hiatus, I recently got a fresh dose (or two) of adventure. Robert and I left Salt Lake early on the morning of Monday, March 16 for a five-day climbing trip in the desert. We rolled into Red Rocks State Park around 1pm and did a little cragging in preparation for the first of two long, committing climbs that we'd complete on our trip. We woke up early on Tuesday for the approach and managed to beat everyone else to the base of Crimson Chrysalis. "CC" covers 1000 fairly steep feet on the Cloud Tower. It's a little intimidating during the day, so it's a good thing that we approached it in the dark.

CC climbs the pillar directly above my head. The base of the route is hidden, but you get the idea.





















Thankfully, we didn't have too much difficulty with the route. The consistent steepness was mentally taxing, but the climbing itself wasn't all that hard. Even the first pitch is only slightly less than vertical.
















We ended up linking pitches together, which made for some long leads. If you squint, you can see Robert at the end of pitch six (just right of center and just left of the orange buttress in a blue jacket). In the foreground is one of the most enjoyable sections of climbing on the entire route - a 100 foot finger crack. I liked this section so much that I passed the belay chains at the end of my pitch and continued up the crack until I ran out of rope! A dumb mistake to make, but testament to how fun this section was.





















I found myself wishing there was more than just one belay ledge. Hanging belays get tiring after awhile. We topped out about seven hours after starting, ate food, and posed for some pictures. Robert makes the Rainbow Wall look slightly less intimidating. He doesn't look scared at all, which is saying something when that's right behind you.














My hair ranged from comically bad to downright offensive during the trip. I'm not sure which category this falls under. I blame my fleece with the damned ninja hood. It's really useful, but still...













Getting back down the route wasn't as bad as we feared, since most of the parties we rappelled over were laid back. We made it back to Edna ~13 hours after leaving. From the parking lot, it was around a 3 hour drive to Zion - home of sandstone walls both big and small. Here's a parting shot of CC on The Cloud Tower.