Openhand Press

Red Rocks 2025-2026

Black Velvet Canyon

In December 2025, after spending the winter holidays with family in Oregon, I reconnected with my friend Adam—who I had met during my first climbing trip to Bishop—and drove down from Las Vegas. This time around, we set our sights on a week of bouldering in Red Rock Canyon.

I arrived carrying a quiet concern: between Bishop and this trip, I had started to feel like I was plateauing.

Three Things That Defined the Trip

Black Velvet Canyon

This trip was my first experience climbing on sandstone. Back home in Nova Scotia, granite limits attempts—after a few serious burns, your skin decides when the session ends. Bishop’s granite, while friendlier, still punishes imprecision.

In Red Rock, I could fall, brush, and pull back on without budgeting my fingertips. By midweek, my tips were still intact. That had never happened on a trip before. The rock allowed volume, and volume allowed learning.

Oak Creek

On my second day, a solo “rest day” in Black Velvet Canyon turned into something else. I had planned to wait for a crew attempting the three iconic V12s and spend the morning watching. Instead, I stood under Natasha’s Highball with two crashpads and too much time.

The previous spring in Bishop, tall boulders felt spooky. My foot would skate and my headgame just wasn’t there. Here, the opening moves felt measured. I moved through the low crux without rushing. When I rocked onto the slab, my breathing stayed steady.

At the top, I downclimbed carefully.

Then I pulled back on.

Three laps confirmed it was the best boulder I had ever climbed.

The next day at Gateway, a large pad stack had formed under Fear of a Black Hat. I had wanted to try the arete since first seeing a photo of it. The right-hand holds were subtler than they looked. Each attempt crept a little higher until the crux unlocked.

Mid-ascent, I asked the crowd for top-out beta before committing.

Standing on the Cube Boulder felt earned.

Downclimbing Perfect Poser felt harder.

At the end of my first day, with zero expectations, I walked over to The Red Wave. It was on my list, but I treated it like a visit rather than an objective.

The start felt awkward. The catch hold looked far enough to be theoretical. After a few attempts refining body position, I committed. The incut stuck. My left hand began to slide. I held the swing anyway.

Three hand moves and a mantle later, I stood on top of my first V10.

Two days later, I pulled onto Americana Exotica, the problem I had quietly built the trip around. The crux came down to two small underclings—positive, but technical. On my second attempt, I found the hip position that let my feet carry their share of the load. The move locked in cleanly.

A few moves later, I topped out again.

Two double-digit problems in one week.

Neither required a siege.

Two Things This Trip Reaffirmed

Me Standing In Front of Oak Creek

I mentioned this in my Bishop trip report, and Red Rock reinforced it.

When I replay the week, the V10s aren’t what surface first. I think of the morning light in Black Velvet. The rhythm of Natasha’s Highball. Playing with Adam’s dog, Shadow, at the base of The Porkchop. Conversations with locals about lines I hadn’t tried yet.

Between Bishop and Red Rock, I felt stalled. No measurable progress on rock, gym sets, or system boards.

In the months leading into this trip, my habits shifted quietly—less alcohol, more consistent sleep, more deliberate training, fewer skipped warm-ups, better recovery.

In Red Rock, no problem I sent took more than an hour or two of focused effort.

The plateau wasn’t physiological.

It was mental.

What’s Next?

This trip didn’t feel like a peak. It felt like confirmation.

There were harder lines I walked past without touching. Others I’d approach differently now. I have barely scratched the surface of what is my limit, but now that belief is grounded in something tangible, I can see the impossible becoming possible.

I’ll be back with more abitious goals and the same discipline that made this week possible.

Five Favourite Climbs

Five Climbs to Return For

Standing On Top of Red Wave