This past March, I had the good fortune of joining Jannine Witte, owner of womenspecific.com, on the companies first sponsored outing. Thanks to the generosity and trust of Exum Mountain Guides, we had the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas to check out the second annual Red Rock Rendezvous advertised as “Not your typical climbing festival?. Jannine and I had high hopes of spreading the good word about womenspecific.com and Exum Mountain Guides and having ourselves a good old time in the warmth of the sun…

Despite forty-degree temperatures and lingering rain clouds, the 2005 Red Rock Rendezvous turned up about 500 hardy climbers from around the country, who would not be phased by the weather.

The event was based out of the Spring Mountain Ranch in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and was incredibly well organized. When I arrived I received a personalized itinerary for the weekend, with my clinic details, bus times and other important activities listed, like when there would be free breakfast and dinner. There were a variety of activities all day long at the base. There were sponsor tents, competitions, slide shows and movies to keep you busy when you weren’t climbing. My favorite was a film of Indian Creek climbing called “Parallelojams”, by Timmy O’Neil, that kept the crowd mesmerized. In the morning, there was free coffee and at night free beer (does it get much better than that?). Camping was available either at the event site, seven miles up the road at the Red Rocks camping facility or out of the rain in the parking lot, warm and snug in the back of a vehicle, just like the official womenspecific.com Astro van.

Participants had the opportunity to attend one clinic each day, taught by accomplished climbers. I got a mix of reviews about how beneficial attendees felt the clinics really were. Some people were enlightened and inspired by their instructors and felt that they gained valuable information to help them be better climbers. Many were simply psyched to be climbing in the presence of some very well known climbers. Others felt that the clinic they attended lacked structure. A friend said that her instructor started with, “So, what do you want to learn.” To me it seems like when you have only three hours to teach a skill, you need to have a specific goal. But I guess just because someone is an amazing climber, it doesn’t necessarily make them a good teacher. Nobody’s perfect.

My personal experience with the clinics falls somewhere in the middle. My first clinic was with Lisa Hathaway, who is both a bad ass climber and an excellent teacher. She hosted a clinic on Leading and Falling, which is a very good concept. Learning how to fall safely as well as getting a big fall under your belt while on top belay makes the fear factor a little less when actually leading. The only problem with the clinic was that the climbs were so difficult that the participants were struggling just to get to a place where we could fall. Nonetheless, I picked up some excellent general climbing tips, got a few falls in and at least our wall was sheltered from the rain.

My second clinic was “Intro to Trad”, with Nathalie Challulau. This clinic started as what seemed like an advertisement for Metolius products. After we got through the long-winded presentation of gear and trad concepts, we got to work on individual projects. I was particularly interested in working on anchor building and since Nathalie had several people to help her teach the clinic, I got all the attention I needed. If you were clear about what you wanted to learn, there was much to be gained from the clinic. One element I did feel was missing from the clinic was the opportunity to lead trad while on a top rope for safety. But I guess three hours is a short time to learn everything you ever wanted to learn about climbing.

Overall, I give the festival a thumbs-up. It was good opportunity to meet and mingle with other like-minded climbing souls. I was impressed with the folks who participated in the service project of removing graffiti from the gorgeous red rocks. The clinics, even with the mixed reviews, were an important part of the event. It is rewarding to be humbled and to put yourself in the position of a learner. We all have a lot to learn. Next year, I predict the Red Rock Rendezvous will be bigger and better, as long as the sun is shining. And next year, people we don’t know will be asking us if we’ve checked out womenspecific.com yet.

Now that I’m back in Jackson, WY, after a weekend in Red Rock all I keep thinking is, “Enough of this snow, I’m ready to do some climbing!” See you on the rock!