Hour 1: We have arrived in Vegas, 12:30 AM, April 12. An hour later than our "scheduled" arrival, but we sorta expected that, flying Alaska and all. We get the rental tincan and go.

Hour 2: Groceries purchased. We are now attempting to buy a cannister of propane. Following the sage advice of rec.climbing I have brought a small stove that hooks onto one of those little propane cannisters. Propane is easy to buy and the stove alone won't upset the airlines. Unfortunately, here in Vegas, they don't appear to sell the little propane buggers as commonly as in Washington. Finally, we get a tip from a helpful minimart guy, and visit Home Depot. Open 24 hours! Look in the torch section.

Hour 3: There is room at the Inn (13 Mile Campround)! Campsite paid for and set up. Time for sleep. The weather is flawless.

Hour 6: 6am. Sun is up. I can't sleep any longer. I've been looking forward to being here too long. I get up and start cooking the coffee. Over breakfast we get our gear packed into backpacks. Boy, the gear sure is noisy on these metal picnic tables. Sorry.

Hour 8: We're making our way into Icebox Canyon. Our original goal is to hit the Necromancer for some shorter climbs. I am angling to throw ourselves at the Frigid Air Buttress, "sure it's nine pitches and we're pretty green for the season, but three of the pitches are 4th class... "

Hour 9: We're climbing the first pitch of Frigid Air Buttress. It's great to be back at Red Rocks. Holds are everywhere! The first pitch is like a staircase, until the thin part anyway. No people to be seen.

Hour 16: I'm leading the intimidating crux pitch. It's a beautiful, steep varnished headwall, split up the center by a thin crack. The crack pinches down and it's a long reach to the next possible slot. I remember Mark's words of encouragement/reminder of necessity for speed, "When it gets hard, yard!" I reach up to the fixed TCU and grab the sling. No! I have to at least attempt the move first. Put my toe in the convenient pocket in the varnish. Stretch high, slot the finger crack. Pull up, quickly test then clip the fixed piece. Two more moves and it's handjams and varnished plates. Yes! The climb is in the bag.

Hour 17: We're topped out and searching for the descent. Hobbling about in my uncomfy shoes, I discover a rap station tucked behind a huge chockstone. The single-rope rap drops right into a tight chimney. Don't pull the rope into the cactus!

Hour 20: Three more raps down Burlesque, some scary downclimbing, more hobbling and we're sitting in the dark at the confluence of the North and South Forks of Icebox Canyon. We commence post-climb festivities and congratulate ourselves on a pretty good day for 3 hours sleep. Tomorrow we will try harder to sleep in.

Hour 23: Bedded down for the night. The weather is so perfect that I sleep without the bag.

Hour 34: 10am, April 13. We are not as motivated today. After noodling around the visitor center, buying trinkets for the kids, we are headed to Dark Shadows. We catch up with two women. As they let us pass we find out that they are headed to the same place. We take a "scenic diversion" into the wash a bit early and the two women beat us there. When we take our place in line, there are two parties on the route and two at the base before us. Quite a change from the isolation we experienced in Icebox Canyon yesterday. No problem, this is our "rest day". You couldn't ask for a nicer place to hang out. It's shady, with a comfortable, flat rock to lie on, right next to Pine Creek.

Hour 39: I'm seconding the beautiful varnished dihedral of Dark Shadows, but surprisingly I'm not into it. Could it be the fatigue? Perhaps it's this cold that has turned my voice into a croak. I get a little more jazzed for the climbing after whimpering at, then pushing through, the crux on pitch 3.

Hour 41: We're down from the climb, hanging out. Checkin' out da damn frogs who is neeker-breekerin' in de pools. The weather appears to have turned; sporadic sprinkles, overcast and blustery. With only two more days before returning, I'm hoping that we don't get any major rain, which would end the climbing.

Hour 42: The stormy skies add a new and different beauty to the desert on the walk out.

Hour 53: We're up just after 5am, getting hammered by the wind. On the bright side, the sky is filled with stars. That damn stove I bought won't boil water in the high wind, so we're sorta slow getting out of camp.

Hour 55: We are alone in the Pine Creek parking lot, vacillating in the rental tincan, being battered by the high wind. After a few shenanigans, including searching the brush for wind tossed hat, that turned out to be on the front seat of the car, we take the plunge and start toward Black Dagger at the head of Juniper Canyon. The minute we drop down into the desert from the parking area we are free of the wind! The morning is beautiful, sunny, cool and still.

Hour 58: Climbing the first pitch of Black Dagger. We have yet to be revisited by the wind, nor have we come across another person.

Hour 61: Four pitches up Black Dagger and it is turning out to be a classic. Every pitch is interesting. Solid cracks and plates on pitch one. A wiggy (for 5.7) traverse under and then back over the top of a roof on pitch two. The steep varnished corner of pitch three leads to a fun chimney tunneling inside and through the formation. The only check to our euphoria is the continual worry of when and if we will get hit by the wind and the rain that we can see falling on Vegas. Though no one is with us at the head of Juniper Canyon, all day long we can look out from the belays and watch the silhouettes of climbers on the vertical horizon of Crimson Chrysalis.

Hour 63: We're at the top. Stupendous views of wild canyons and no wind! We have really lucked out on the weather. The descent down the Gunsight is fun, easy and interesting. Soon we are at our packs.

Hour 66: Back at the car after a scenic hike out and some easy bouldering on crazy orange-and-white-striped rocks.

Hour 77: Another 5am wake-up. We want to get one more good day in before our "scheduled" 10:45 pm departure. We've chosen Catwalk, a climb deep inside Oak Creek Canyon. One reason we decide on this one is we want to visit another canyon. Another is that this will complete our grade "degression" for the trip: 5.9, 5.8, 5.7, 5.6.

Hour 80: We're entering the mouth of Oak Creek Canyon. I am worried that the quality of Catwalk will pale compared to our previous climbs and am angling to switch course and head up Solar Slab. Mark is having none of it this time. He appears pretty beat and does not want to head up 12 pitches of something called Solar Slab on a day as hot as today. He's hoping Catwalk will be a bit shadier.

Hour 83: At the base of Catwalk. We're tired after a long hike. The top looks way up there and I now read the guide carefully and see it is 8 pitches instead of the 6 I had previously thought. The guide says the descent is very easy (15 minutes!) but that's hard to believe from this viewpoint. Mark is bathed in sweat and I'm thinking the climbing for this trip may be over.

Hour 84: We're on the second pitch of Catwalk. Mark has sucked it up and we're heading up the climb! So far the climb is pretty uninteresting but at least it is going by quickly. The first 3 pitches diagonal up a prominent water groove [pic from Krawarik site] that is basically 4th class with the exception of an easy 5th class move once or twice a pitch.

Hour 87: Summit of Catwalk. One and half pitches near the top were quite cool (varnished chimney [pic from Krawarik site] and steep crack up plated headwall); but on the whole, a fairly unsatisfying climb relative to the classics we've done earlier. Nice hike in though, and no people, if that floats yer boat.

Hour 88: The walkoff really is as easy as Swain describes. I probably could have made it to the packs in 15 minutes if I hadn't slowed my pace to enjoy the fantastic dayglo-striped slabs I was padding down. I wore the comfy shoes today!

Hour 92: Shower and shave at the Rock Gym. Somehow we've lost the rental car key. We turn our packs and everything in them inside out. No key! I keep mentally pinching myself to see if this is one of those nightmares where you just can't seem to complete some simple task. We make the call to the rental company (Payless) and they're sending someone out with a spare (minimal charge, $25). While waiting on the curb I pick up my pack to paw through everything for the fifth time and I hear the key clunk on the pavement. Apparently it got lodged in the ski-slots on the side of the pack! We call back Payless and they don't charge us.

Hour 94: Surprise, surprise! The Alaska flight is delayed. We'll be here an extra 2 hours. We spend the time doing all the things Dingus enjoys so much: drinking beer in the Cheers bar, eating Taco Bell burritos, and dumping quarters into the Elvis slot machines.

Hour 97: The plane has left the building. Thankyouverymuch...