CLIMB: Lotta Brews (Trad, 5.7+) - 4 pitches, 420' feet
WALL: Lotta Balls
GEAR: Pro to 4"
FOR A NEW TRAD LEADER? On the last pitch, not 1-3
Conclusion WTF? What the FULL VALUE!
WALL: Lotta Balls
GEAR: Pro to 4"
FOR A NEW TRAD LEADER? On the last pitch, not 1-3
Conclusion WTF? What the FULL VALUE!
Excerpts from Climb-On Maps (Red Rock Canyon)
Excerpt from Climb-On Maps. Trails are color-coded to show difficulty of the approach. Black lines show the wall locations. Circles show the wall name, number of climbs, and number of multi-pitch climbs. The orange inner circle is the type of climbs (on Lotta Balls Wall 100% of the climbs are trad - orange). The outer circle shows the distribution of grades (the majority of climbs on this wall are 5.9 and under, three are a couple 5.10s)
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Excerpt from Climb-On Maps for Red Rock Canyon. This is a close-up page showing the multiple walls near the Lotta Balls Wall.
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This is a pretty darn cool climb that is definitely full value. Every pitch is different and it has some pucker moments to keep you on your toes. If it weren't for some crispy rock and challenging pro in some key spots, this climb would rise to a level of "What the Fabulous!"
We would recommend doing this climb when the Lotta Balls Wall isn't busy - as it literally crosses the entire wall. Or, conversely, it's a great option if the Lotta Balls climb is busy and no on else is on the other climbs on the wall. We hit it on a hot day at the end of the summer when there were no other people.
We would recommend doing this climb when the Lotta Balls Wall isn't busy - as it literally crosses the entire wall. Or, conversely, it's a great option if the Lotta Balls climb is busy and no on else is on the other climbs on the wall. We hit it on a hot day at the end of the summer when there were no other people.
Warning! |
This video contains joking references to the male anatomy. We would recommend avoiding if this kind of content is upsetting to you.
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Pitch 1
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Start on the first pitch of Lotta Balls, going up the flake, to the double crack. Work your way to the Lotta Balls anchor, clip a draw to a bolt (if the anchor isn't occupied) then continue up, angling right to the bolted anchor of Bruja's Brew.
This is an amazing pitch. But there is a little bit of "crisp" between the Lotta Brews anchor and the Bruja's Brew anchor. |
Pitch 1 (Lotta Brews). Photo Credit: Stefani Dawn
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Pitch 2
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From the bolted anchor head straight up. Just before reaching the next set of anchors on Bruja's Brew, angle/traverse right to the bolted anchors for Black Magic. This sets you up better for the roof traverse to minimize rope drag.
Definitely bring tiny wires and gear for this pitch and protect where you can. There are occasional small vertical cracks for pro. There is a small continuous finger crack a few feet off to the right of where Rick was in the video for this pitch (where he was having trouble placing a wire.) That might offer more options for protection than what Rick encountered. On this pitch, the holds are there, but you sometimes have zig and zag. The rock is solid but can be mildly slick in spots. This is a heady pitch. |
Rick on pitch 2 - bring small wires! Photo credit: Stefani Dawn
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Pitch 3
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"The improbable roof."
Go straight up from the bolted anchors then begin traversing beneath the roof. There is an old 1/4 inch rusted bolt just off to the left. Tony placed gear in a crack off to the right before starting the traverse because we did not know the bolt was there. This caused a sharp right angle in the rope contributing to a lot of rope drag (which we were trying to avoid by going to the Black Magic anchors). Clip the bolt then try to place gear where you can to protect both the leader and the second (a fall by the second would result in dangling in free air and be difficult to get out of.) There aren't a lot of options for pro and the rock is not the best. Place where you can. Just to the left of where Tony is in the photo, go up over a bulge to finish the pitch. The rock isn't the best in this section either. Avoid stepping on the balls in the white rock, they may pop out. |
Tony finishing up the roof traverse on pitch 3. To the left, go up and over the bulge to the low angle crack. Build an anchor using gear. Photo credit: Rick Momsen
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The terrain becomes lower angle once you are above the roof line. Set up a gear belay (there are no bolted anchors) on a small ledge below an alcove. The alcove would be a comfortable belay but requires large gear. (The alcove is where Tony is located in the image below.)
Rick scrunched up under the upper roof. A fall anywhere along this traverse would result in dangling free in the air (because there is very little pro that can be placed to protect a fall). It would be difficult for a person seconding to get out of a fall. Make sure you have chord for prusicking just in case - it's easy but the rock is not the best. Photo credit: Stefani Dawn
Pitch 4
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Pitch four is low angle and may be suitable for a new trad leader - as long as they know how to build a gear anchor.
If you stick in the crack it is actually pretty fun and interesting. Get in a small chimney in the alcove where tony is in the photo and stem up the wide crack. There are horizontals and spots where you don't need large gear as you go up the wide crack. The other option for this pitch is to run it out on the undulating slab off to the right. At the top, belay using gear anchors. |
Tony and Rick at the anchors at the top of pitch 3/base of pitch 4. If you have large gear you can set up an anchor in the alcove above this spot (where Tony is in the "chimneying" photo for this pitch.) Photo credit: Stefani Dawn
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Tony doing some chimney moves in the small alcove on pitch 4. Photo Credit: Rick Momsen
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Descent
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From the top of pitch 4, head back and go through a slot - we called it the "trolls house" then veer left to a large alcove with a large pine tree with tat for rappelling.
You can do it in two rappels with double ropes (although you may not want to avoid the risk of a rope getting caught) or three rappels. As a party of three with two ropes, two of us did it in two rappels, and the last person used the set of bolted anchors for the final rappel to prevent the rope from getting stuck on the last pull (which is the worst.) The set of bolted anchors for the last rappel is more directly set up for the line of pulling the rope. Doing it in two rappels for two people and three rappels for one saved time with three people rappelling - and our ropes did not get stuck. Scramble down after the rappels. 
Rappelling Lotta Balls Descent. Photo Credit: Stefani Dawn
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Climb Stats to Date
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DATE OF CLIMB: September 27, 2022
WALLS HIT: 1 NUMBER OF 5.7 CLIMBS: 1 NUMBER OF 5.7 PITCHES: 4 NUMBER OF FALLS: 0 NUMBER OF TAKES: 0 VERTICAL FEET CLIMBED: 500' DIRTY UNDERWEAR ENCOUNTERED: 0 TOTAL CLIMBS SO FAR: 185 TOTAL PITCHES SO FAR: 251 TOTAL 5.7 VERTICAL FEET ON THE TOUR SO FAR: 22,365 NUMBER OF CLIMBS REMAINING: 54 (out of 238) VERTICAL FEET REMAINING: 28,057' DIRTY UNDERWEAR ENCOUNTERED TO DATE: 8 |
FALLS SO FAR:
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