![]() ![]() Red Rock is part of Nevada’s Mojave Desert, but holds a tremendous amount of water for desert geology. Red Rock, however, showcases amazing colors - intense greens, reds, yellows, blues and blacks - due to the rocks, sand, water and flowers - and the skies reveal ever-changing light and clouds. The desert conjures up images of dry, simple landscapes. Known for some of the best rock climbing in the United States, Red Rock is a mecca for climbers and a gorgeous 196,000-acre desert oasis with opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts of all ages. But instead of stopping at one of the many hotels or casinos on Las Vegas Boulevard, I head toward Red Rock. Like most visitors to Vegas, I fly into McCarran International Airport, pick up my rental car and drive down Interstate 15 to my final destination. My visits always include climbing in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The Vegas I gravitate toward is the wilder side of the city – the one that features vast, craggy desert scenery and solitude in the wilderness. I’ve been making annual trips to Las Vegas for well over a decade, but I’ve only visited the Las Vegas Strip and the old downtown area a couple of times. Few places in the United States offer such contrasting realities so close to one another. Looking at both the surrounding wilderness and the lights of Sin City is surreal. The Las Vegas Strip shone brightly as nighttime neared, and we began to rappel down again. We felt confident with a little work and a lot of luck we could figure out a way to retrieve the rope and continue rappelling, but we likely would do so in darkness. Our lifeline to the safety of terra firma got jammed in a small crack. We are tired, thirsty and hungry.Īnd that’s when it happened - our rope became stuck. As we rappel down the route we just climbed, we marvel at the sunset and try to beat the impending darkness. It’s 7 p.m., and we’ve been climbing since 6 a.m. My wife, Tonya, and I dangle several hundred feet off the ground on Crimson Chrysalis, a famed rock climb in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area just outside of Las Vegas. A day trip to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area provides a welcome contrast to the glitz of the Strip.
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