I have attended Red Rock Rendezvous every year since 2003. This year was the ten year anniversary of the event and there is no doubt in my mind that it was the best. Mountain Gear, the event organizer, pulled out all of the stops and put together an absolutely perfect climbing festival.
There are two aspects to the Red Rock Rendezvous. The first is the educational aspect. Mountain Gear brings in nearly sixty climbing instructors, guides and professional climbing athletes to teach clinics in Red Rock Canyon at a highly reduced rate. These programs include everything from multi-pitch climbing with an AAI guide, to learning big wall climbing from someone like Conrad Anker, to learning how to belay from the likes of Beth Rodden. This is a place to not only learn things, but also to come into contact with America’s climbing royalty.
The second aspect is the front-country party aspect. A great deal of the event takes place at Spring Mountain State Park, a state park inholding within the Conservation Area. The space that we use at Spring Mountain Ranch is perfect for camping in the grass and partying at night.
Following are some photos from climbing around Red Rock during the event:
AAI Red Rock Rendezvous Staff – From Left to Right (Click to Enlarge)
Cliff Palmer, Andrew Yasso, Chad Cochran, Mike Pond, James Pierson,
Ian McEleneyMike Powers, Richard Riquelme, Tad McCrea, Paul Rosser, Mark Cionek,
Ben Traxler, Alasdair Turner,Ben Gardner, Dustin Byrne, Erin Smart, Dustin Byrne,
AAI Guides Doug Foust, Andrew Yasso, Ben Traxler, Cliff Palmer, Richard Riquelme,
The author (Jason Martin) on AAI Guide Tad McCrea’s
shoulders moments after victory
Another innovative aspect of the Saturday party was the photo booth. The North Face set up a photo booth on site where people could come and get their pictures taken together. The following is a group shot of some of our guides taken at the booth. To see more of these photos, click here.
Attempted to describe from left to right:
Ian McEleney, Dustin Byrne (top left), Jason Martin (big head), Mike Powers (above big head),
Andrew Yasso (middle), Erin Smart(bottom middle), Doug Fous (above Andrew),
James Pierson(Andrew’s right), Ben Traxler(top right), Ben Gardner(bottom right)
Red Rock Rendezvous has already been planned for 2013, the dates will be March 28-30. And as always, I can’t wait to go back next year…!
–Jason D. Martin