Red Rock Day 2: The Black Corridor

Day 2 put us in Type 2 Fun territory right off the bat.  As is often the case, the most dangerous part of the trip wasn't the climbing, but the approach tot he cliff.  Getting a wobbly 6 year old and a toddler over rocky terrain is rarely fun.  

We got a little turned around and wound up having to coax Leo across steep slabs that ended in short falls into pools of chilly water.  He was completely terrified until we gave up and switched from street shoes into our climbing shoes, at which point the slick slabs were a whole lot less slippery.  

We were rewarded with a spectacular corridor of rock unlike anything you'll find in the East:

We started with Burros Don't Gamble, which felt pretty solid at 5.10c with a couple long moves and without much experience on this type of rock.  Sam was the only one to get it without a take or a fall. 

Next up was Bonaire, a delightful 5.9 on thin holds with nice technical/balance-y moves.  

After that, we had a choice of three overhung routes in the 5.10c-5.11a range.  They all looked about the same, so I went with the 5.11a Foe, thinking I'd get it on the first go and get my 5.11 OS tick for the trip. Almost, but not quite.  Still, was an absolutely fantastic jungle gym of a climb.   I think Sam managed to get it without a fall on top rope.

Finally, we got on the 5.7 747 2x4, which only gets 2/5 stars in the guide but which all of us loved.  Fun, easy climbing that required a bit of thought to work out which sequence of moves made up the sweet spot of the climbing line.  Important lesson: always ignore stars in the guide book.