Cloud tower (5.11d) sent, another adventure complete with the
bruises, muscle aches and frostbite to prove it. Damn vegas is cold
in December!

There has not been a beam of sunlight on the north face
of cloud tower in many months, but that did not disuade us. Halfway
through each pitch our fingers regained enough sensation to actually
feel the rock and the sense of accomplishment was considerable enough
that the following day we went craging and actually clipped bolts!

We discovered that when Josh suggests a rack for a specific climb
listen to him. Three (3) blue alien size for the crux and Two (2)
number four camalots for the wide section were placed, dropping our
pulses by at least 30 bpm.

Shay cranked the final 11c indian-creek-
esque splitter with style and we made it back to the car prior to
receiving a hefty fine from the rangers for being in the loop road
after 5pm. Nightly temperatures in the teens made us vow to seek
alternate sleeping arrangements for the next trip, I have to suggest
the same for the big January trip… We cranked yin yang (11a/b/c?)
the next day, and if you’ve seen the picture of the hot chick
climbing it (see link below) she is actually about 6 feet off the
ground, and placed a piece way too early. Personally I don’t
mind. Red rocks is king. Work hard, pull harder.

Alex & Shay

Christina on Yin and Yang