Triassic Sands

A classic crack climb! Many parties rap after the 2nd or 3rd pitch but the 4th pitch is great also and the descent is relatively quick and simple. From the parking lot, follow the road and then trail into Black Velvet Canyon. Soon the main NE wall of Whiskey peak will be prominent to your left, and this route is 150' right of the offwidth Ixtalan, which is the most obvious crack visible from below.P1: Climb a left facing corner to a big ledge (5.7, 50'). This pitch could conceivably be combined with the next, but rope drag might be an issue.P2 (crux): From the left side of the ledge climb the excellent finger crack (aliens work well to protect) over a roof (crux) then continue with 50' of 5.9 hand crack to a bolted belay (this is why you brought all those #2 Camalots). (5.10, 120'). Be sure to save some strength for the hand crack!P3: A long pitch continues up a steep wall via (mostly thin) cracks and face and ending at another 2 bolt belay (5.8, 160'). This pitch looks harder than 5.8 from below, and is excellent.P4: Follow a right facing corner past a pointy detached flake (Caution! Do not touch!) to another nice ledge (with a recently installed 2-bolt anchor) (5.10-, 105').Top Out: A few hundred feet of 5.6 or below to the top but recommended to break it into smaller chunks to help with communication, especially in windy conditions. There is not an obvious route. You'll (hopefully) end up on a flat section. Look for the "saddle" descent, forward and left. There's some easy downclimbing but you're about 500 feet from an obvious path with cairns. Then just follow the Epinephrine descent back to the car. Descent: From the summit head east, back towards the parking lot. Scramble down the rightmost of three gullies, and then countour back down to the base of the cliff. Alternatively, two 150' raps will take you from the top of pitch 3 to the ground.There is an entire chapter about this route in Red Rock Odyssey

Usual stoppers plus a generous selection of cams with extras in the hand crack range (three or even four #2 Camalots or #3-#3.5 Friends are ideal).