Left Parking Lot: 6:45 a.m.
Arrived at Climb: 7:30 a.m. (There was one party in front of us, who hadn't started climbing yet, so we had to wait)
Began Climbing: 8:15 a.m.
Began Rappelling: 11:45 a.m.
Back at Base: 1:00 p.m.
Back at Car: 2:00 p.m.

Rick following on Pitch 1 of Johnny Vegas.

Conclusion WTF? What the FUN!

Johnny Vegas is another Red Rock classic on the WTF 5.7 Tour. Where does it stand on the WTF 5.7 scale? What the FUN!

This is a pretty easy, straight forward, juggy face climb without a whole lot of variation between pitches. Most of the Mountain Project conversations about this climb are around whether to rap the route or go down Solar Slab gully. We share our thoughts on this below and provide beta on how we descended. 

GENERAL TIPS:

• We recommend using twin 60s (or two ropes) to take advantage of the quickest descent option (which we describe below under the heading "Descent." Two ropes will also help you if you have to retreat on the route (i.e. rappelling down the anchors on the route). But, rappelling down the route as your primary means of descent is NOT recommended.

​Pitch 1

Stef, Johnny Vegas, pitch 1

Holds and pro galore... not a whole lot to say about this pitch as it's pretty straight forward. As you near the top, angle up and left towards the anchors. Pro is a little more creative in the upper section, but not really an issue.  

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Pitch 2

Although you do a little bit of stemming here, it's really still mostly featured face climbing. Keep going straight up through a tiny scoop in the rock (which looks bulgy but isn't really). The anchors are easy to spot.

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​Pitch 3

Pitch 3 is the "run-out" pitch - if you chose to go right from the belay onto the easy terrain (the other option is to go left, which is protectable and has a bolt but is rated 5.9.)

I chose to go right to follow the original route. Although there is about 20 feet of runout, it's true that the terrain is easy. As the runout, head-game goes, this one is not bad. I was able to find protection pretty quickly in featured terrain below and right of the roof. 

People talk about overshooting the anchors at the top of this pitch but I found them quite easily. I basically went up the featured terrain just to the right of the roof then climbed above/around the roof. Once I popped above the short headwall, I could see the anchors up and off to the left. 

Originally I want thinking I'd combine pitches 3 and 4, but rope drag nixed that idea pretty quickly. Although I used extra long slings to accommodate the zig-zag to get above the roof, there were so many cracks and features, the rope just got sucked in. By the time I got to the anchors, rope drag was terrible and I was ready to stop.  

Rick, pitch 2, Johnny Vegas

Stef on the "runout" pitch 3 (but as run out and head-game goes, it's really not bad).

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Pitch 4 & Descent 

Pitch 4 is the easiest of the pitches, moving from a 15-20 foot vertical section to lower angle. It has some fun "lotta balls" style nubbin's on it. 

At the top of this pitch is a large, squarish boulder. Belay from here and then go around the other side to find the anchors for the quickest descent option (if you have two ropes). If you only have one rope you will need to go to the top of the Solar Slab Gully for the smaller rappels.

From this anchor, do a double rope rappel into Solar Slab Gully (NOTE: There is very small tree with some tat on it to break this into two rappels, but the tree does not inspire much confidence, so not recommended.).

Scramble down the gully about 30-40 ft, looking for bolted anchors on the left wall. If it turns into a long 5th class drop off then you missed the anchors and need to climb back up. 

Do one single rope rappel (60m rope is fine). From here you can either continue with the single rope rappels (2) or do a two rope rappel to the bottom. We did the two rope rappel and had no issues with the rope catching (granted Rick is really good at timing the yank as soon as he feels the rope starting to fall on its own.)

Having the double rope rappels definitely speeds things up!

Thoughts on Rappelling Johnny Vegas

Unless there is a need to retreat from the climb before finishing the 4th pitch, we do not recommend rappeling down the Johnny Vegas climb for two reasons:

​(1) There is a lot of terrain where the rope can get stuck. I know people talk about ropes getting stuck in the Solar Slab Gully too, and I'm sure that happens, but the anchors in the Gully are pretty nicely positioned for clear, vertical pulling. 

(2) Johnny Vegas is a busy route and it could become a cluster fast. Solar Slab Gully is busy too, but there are lots of places to hang out and let people pass. The Gully is actually very pretty and has some good spots to chill. 

Tour Status to Date
​

DATE OF CLIMB: March 6, 2020
​WALLS HIT: 1 (Lower Solar Slab)
NUMBER OF CLIMBS HIT: 1
NUMBER OF PITCHES: 4
VERTICAL 5.7 FEET CLIMBED HERE: 480'
​NUMBER OF FALLS ON THIS CLIMB: 0
TAKES ON THIS CLIMB: 0
DIRTY UNDERWEAR ENCOUNTERED: 0

​TOTAL CLIMBS SO FAR: 97
TOTAL PITCHES SO FAR: 129
TOTAL 5.7 VERTICAL FEET ON THE TOUR SO FAR: 10,650'
NUMBER OF CLIMBS REMAINING: 140 (out of 237 - although we may redo Pre-Skool)
VERTICAL FEET REMAINING: ~39,647

​​DIRTY UNDERWEAR ENCOUNTERED TO DATE: 3

FALLS SO FAR: 0
TAKES ON LEAD SO FAR:

• Stef – On Lead
  • WTF'r Miniwanka
  • WTF'r Lean & Languid
  • WTF'r Pauligk Pillar
  • WT Freak Out: 5.7 Freak Out
  • WTF'r Unknown left start to Datura
  • As a second:
  • WTF'r Too Many Tantrums
  • WT Fail: Pre Skool
• Rick - On Lead
  • WTF'r Too Many Tantrums
  • WT Fork: The Ledger​ ​​​​​​​​​​​​​

WTF 5.7 Tour: Red Rock Canyon- Climbs By Area & Alphabetically