December Ascent of Cloud Tower
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.
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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
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