Cookie Monster is a high quality 300 foot 5.7 on the East Face of Mescalito Dome that links seamlessly into the final and best two pitches of the Red Rocks easy classic Cat In The Hat (5.6, II).
After a two week sabbatical of limit crack climbing between Idyllwild and Joshua Tree, taunting old injuries and splitting tips, Bobbi Clemmer and I shipped north to Las Vegas, the perfect stopover on our ultimate journey home to Idaho. The goal was simple: to close our season with a few longer multi-pitch outings. We spent ten November days in Red Rocks ticking off season projects, waking early to pull as hard as humanely possible, and strategizing around campfire by evening. This shorter five day stay would be different. Lighthearted fun was the motto.
Nursing a sobriety hangover from a late night on the Vegas strip watching comedy and eating ice cream, Bobbi and I panned the front country cliffs of the Scenic Drive Road with weary eyes. Our original plan was something longer in the 5.8 realm, Crimson Chrysalis or Birdland, but even 5.8 felt daunting for my splitting headache. Furthermore, we got a late start – the time was just after noon. Motivation was low and we both knew it. Right on cue, the gentle Southeast Buttress of Mescalito Dome came in to view. I immediately pulled over.
Cat In The Hat may be the most popular route in Red Rocks, owed to a short approach, streamlined rappel descent, and five scenic pitches up to 5.6 on excellent rock. We hoped to find the route empty given our late start on one of the shortest days of the year. Unfortunately, we were wrong. We met two other parties at the base, one inching up pitch one with a bulging rack and a second foursome in cue. Only five hours from sunset, we had no time to wait. We alternated to Cookie Monster, a well reputed 300 foot 5.7 on the east face, which intersects Cat In The Hat on the upper Southeast Buttress. Donning a light single rack and critical motivation to outclimb our fellow parties around the corner, we zoomed up Cookie Monster in a short block of free-soloing and two rope stretching pitches. The route was pure fun, with a dizzying splay of varnished huecos and edges like I’ve never seen before. Typical for Red Rocks, we thought the grade was quite soft. Save for a few thin entry moves into the main corner and a juggy roof pull near the top, Cookie Monster was no harder than jug studded 5.5, and as such I placed about three pieces per pitch. We succeeded in surpassing the Cat In The Hat parties, finding the upper pitches empty. A beautiful varnished corner east of the standard Cat route led to the best moves of the day, a splitter black hand and finger crack high on the ridgecrest, followed by an airy one bolt friction slab. This particular day reminded me of high alpine adventures in the Tetons, where spectacular scenery and fluid motion with a special partner quenches my otherwise insatiable thirst for hard climbing. Within five hours we were cozy in the Tacoma, headed for our first of five nights in the Red Rocks Campground.
Should you find yourself in a traffic jam at the base of Cat In The Hat, or desiring a slightly more engaging outing, this linkup with Cookie Monster features pleasant and unique climbing for the grade on spectacular stone. From below the corner looks dirty and imposing, but up close its neither. And the final pitches of Cat are rad.
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DISCLAIMER
Ski mountaineering, rock climbing, ice climbing and all other forms of mountain recreation are inherently dangerous. Should you decide to attempt anything you read about in this article, you are doing so at your own risk! This article is written to the best possible level of accuracy and detail, but I am only human – information could be presented wrong. Furthermore, conditions in the mountains are subject to change at any time. Ten Thousand Too Far and Brandon Wanthal are not liable for any actions or repercussions acted upon or suffered from the result of this article’s reading.
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