Managing the Desert Heat

Rick and I started the WTF 5.7 tour in the depths of a Nevada summer. Some of you, including Rick, may be wondering why would we climb in such heat? The reason is, I’m impatient.

When I decided to do this WTF 5.7 thing a MONSTER-sized “on switch” flipped in my brain. Waiting to begin the climbing until cooler temps would have been torture – yes, more torture than melting in the desert sun.

In fact, if Rick would go along with it, I’d probably would have knocked out climbs even more frequently than we did. But, in order to preserve my marriage and keep Rick on the “yes, this is actually fun” side of the stoke-line, we limit the WTF 5.7 summer climbing to about once a week.

Well, we are finally dipping below the triple digit temps! And, in such timely fashion, I’m just now getting to this post - “Managing the Desert Heat.” Perhaps it’s a little too late for those of us north of the equator, but the post will be here next year, and maybe it'll help out some Aussies until we hit the triple digit temps again.

Certainly much of this list seems obvious, but hopefully the details will provide some utility. And, yes, you will be carrying A LOT of extra weight in liquids.

Bring water - duh. Bring ENOUGH water – double duh. So how much is enough?

We carry 5 liters of water for two people for ~5-6 hours of climbing and approaches.
The water is split into one 3-liter and one 2-liter camelback style container. Rick carries one camelback, I carry the other (who ever has the lighter pack carries the larger water to even out the weight between us… yes, I carry the same weight as Rick).
For multi-pitch routes we bring the 2-liter camelback on the climb.

Bring ice cold electrolytes.

In addition to the regular water, bring a separate container with 2-liters of frozen electrolytes. Yep, it’s even more weight, but it's cold and has critical salts to replace what you sweat out. At the very least, have it in the car for you when you return. But I can tell you, we've been happy to have it with us and we drink it all.
The ice-cold liquid cools the core (heaven!) and the electrolytes prevent cramping.

Avoid approaches longer than 45 minutes, climb in early mornings or evenings only, and follow the shade.

For morning climbs we arrive at the parking lot no later than 5 a.m. and try to return to the car by 10 a.m., although that rarely happened for us. We were often back by 11 – 11:30 a.m. and it was painful.
A 45-minute approach is the maximum approach time to get us on the wall climbing by 6 a.m.
For evening climbs we arrived at around 4 p.m. and made sure to hit an area with an approach that got us in the shade as quickly as possible (because it was often in the triple digits when we arrived).
Finding and following the shade, both while on the climb and when returning, is critical. The rock (especially the dark patina rock) gets really hot really fast.
- On the walk back to the car, it helped when there was a boulder or cliff we could sit under, get a drink, and rest. This allowed us to cool down and it made a HUGE difference. One might think that it would be more important to get back to the car ASAP if it's already hot. Although logical, based on my experience, I would have to disagree with that sentiment. Stopping and cooling down along the way helps keep your body temps down - that is super important. Do NOT push it in the heat.
  - The one time we went on a non-shaded path on a long hike back was the one “type 3” day we had. It was hell.

Use cooling rags

There are these awesome rags that you get wet and they evaporate the water onto you slowly (see the blue rag photo).
Use them around your neck and to wet your face and chest.

Eat refreshing snacks

It’s easy to lose your appetite in the heat, but with climbing we need to keep ingesting the calories. I will still bring and eat my favorite stand-by foods like protein bars, but fruit squeezes (like apple sauce with mango or strawberry) are particularly uplifting on a hot day. They not only provide fast energy, they provide more liquids and a refreshing taste. It truly lifts the spirits.

Other people have additional desert heat tips and tricks they use and they tend to be a matter of personal preference. Some wear protective sun clothes (I don’t – I get too hot) and hats (I don’t usually wear a hat because I feel like it traps heat too, but Rick, who is bald, wears a hat because it protects his skin from the direct sun.)

The WTF 5.7 TOUR: Red Rock Canyon