Family style in Vegas

By a scheduling coincidence I had the pleasure of joining my friend Evan on an old fashioned Red Rocks Airbnb vacation. It felt like a blast from the past - in 2022 Evan and I stayed in Red Rocks for a month with a different set of friends. At the time we were newly aquainted climbing buddies, in fact I had just started climbing. I came away from the trip very grateful for his friendship and that we are now Salt Lake City co-residents.

The climbing

Evan and Morgan invited 7 awesome friends and friends of friends and cousins of friends, ha! We enjoyed sport climbing and bouldering most days. It was unusually warm for December so we chased shade and did some night bouldering.

Canyon day with Evan

On Saturday (after a night of all you can eat sushi!) Evan and I woke up before the sun and hit the canyons just like we used to.

After a 1.5 hour approach we started up Armatron. With long pitches and a sea of varnished bricks it did not disappoint.

Armatron climb — Evan following the finishing arete of Armatron.

Armatron summit — Evan and I atop Armatron's summit.

After Armatron we hiked over to the base of the Nightcrawler. I had attempted the Nightcrawler in 2023 and backed off the lead to follow my partner. Armed with more experience and strength I wanted revenge! The climbing felt engaging and playful, it was very satisfying coming back to this one and sending it in style.

Nightcrawler gummy worm — Evan brought gummy worms to hype us up for the Nightcrawler.

Nightcrawler dihedral — Evan following the crux pitch of the Nightcrawler.

I came away from this trip grinning ear to ear and beaming with gratitude for the new friends and experiences I had enjoyed. I look forward to future adventures with them :)