Frogland (5.8)

Location of Climb: Black Velvet Canyon
Aspect of Face: North
Time Category: All Day

Intro

A Red Rocks classic, and very popular. Come early and be prepared to have company on the climb. The approach is steep but short, and the descent is a walk. The climb itself is easy enough to be mostly free of "epic" potential, but difficult enough to be rewarding. Prepare to wait in line. I'm not sure how early you have to arrive to be first on this climb, but it's probably around dawn.

Climb

The first pitch follows an obvious line, but is harder than it looks. The second pitch follows a sweet handcrack up to a point where you have a choice between a chimney to the right or face to the left. The chimney is a more direct route with less opportunity for rope drag to occur.

The crux traverse, shown at right, is short and well-protected. The crack to the left of it, however, will take only very small pro, and good pro is sparse up to the next belay. The next belay is not obvious, either. Look for the spot where the vertical crack opens up a little to take good pro, and a couple of small horizontal cracks meet it. There may be some sparse vegetation there, but not really a bush. Alternatively, if you've got a 60-meter rope, you can continue up and belay in the chimney above. With a 60-meter rope, pitches 4, 5, and 6 can be split into two pitches, or pitches 6 and 7 can be done as one.

Gear

Most of the gear is in the .5 - 2 inch range. Passive pro works well for many of the placements, and is lighter than cams, although some small to medium cams will be useful. Chimney-size pro is not necessary for either of the chimneys on the route. A 60-meter rope allows linking of pitches, and shortens climb time significantly. Two ropes aren't necessary unless you plan to bail short of the top.