Old Bill - April 6, 2013

[LVRAY]

Old Bill is one of several very nice canyons in the Red Rock Conservation Area outside just outside Las Vegas. While The Maze (i.e., Ice Cube) is often considered to be the "best" local canyon, Old Bill is longer, more technical, and perhaps more scenic. The views from both the top and from within the canyon are often spectacular. Periodically, you catch glimpses of Las Vegas in the distance, which makes you laugh when you think of a million people on the concrete while you are in a spot very few of them have ever seen, nor probably ever will.

We started setting up the shuttle vehicles before dawn and it took 8 of us approximately 14 hours to complete the canyon, not including retrieving our shuttle vehicle. The approach is from Lovell Canyon on the back side of Red Rock. It is relatively easy, but exposed approach and I would not want to do it in the summer heat. The upper portion of the canyon is on the north side of the main drainage and is quite slotty with several raps and numerous downclimbs and potholes of cold water. It is really is a very entertaining section, but slow going with a larger group. This section ends with a beatiful 260' drop into the main drainage. There are a few more raps in the main drainage and many, many boulders to downclimb. While not nearly as slotty as the upper portion, there are still a few potholes of water, including at least one swimmer. Once in the main canyon, you don't see much sun, so the canyon feels pleasantly cool and relatively moist, rare for a day in the desert. This section has a different vibe compared to the upper portion, but it is still very scenic & interesting. Overall, it is a very fun canyon that just keeps giving and giving as you go. The biggest drawback is the exit hike, which is a bit long. We exited in the dark with headlamps without incident, but if you could time your trip with the full moon, the exit would probably be quite beautiful.

The canyon has been extensively bolted, including many of the downclimbs. Thus, the description on Bluugnome is out of date and the sequence of raps will not always correspond to what you see in the canyon. The big drop has also been bolted part way down, although we did not use them. These bolts are in a very odd location as they are not located near any sort of outcropping or anything that would aid in transferring from one rope to the next. It is almost as if the bolters rappelled down the length of their longest rope and then just bolted in a new anchor.

In sum, Old Bill is a beautiful, challenging canyon that sees far less activity than most of the well-known routes in the Red Rocks area.


At the head of the canyon, views of Las Vegas in the distance.


After the initial drop in, the canyon begins to slot up.




Part of the upper slotty section. Plenty of fun downclimbing in this section.














After the slotty section, the canyon begins to open up with a series of drops into the main drainage.




Waiting to take our turns on the big drop into the main canyon.












The main canyon drainage opens up with a series of boulder hopping, downclimbs and potholes.

[accadacca]

Good times! Tks for sharing.

[Pubalz]

Where can i find some bata on that canyon. Ive done other canyons in Red Rock a Number of times each but have never heard of this one

[jman]

That looks like a lot of fun, especially the pothole section.

Thanks for the write-up! Bookmarked this for later.

[LVRAY]

Where can i find some bata on that canyon. Ive done other canyons in Red Rock a Number of times each but have never heard of this one

As I mentioned above, Bluugnome.com has beta, but it is a bit out of date due to the more recent bolting (note, however, that Vegas area canyons do not always stay bolted - be prepared for anything when it comes to anchors).

[LVRAY]

That looks like a lot of fun, especially the pothole section.

Thanks for the write-up! Bookmarked this for later.

The slotty section is a blast! But the views on some of the big raps are great too.

[Homeslice]

Great report! Thx for sharing!

[rickinlo]

Those bolts are illegal and may not be around terribly long. Just sayin'

Also, rapping to the end of their rope is exactly what the bolting fairies did. It was not intentional, but they told me this story (before I knew they were the bolting fairies) where apparently the first person in their group rappelled straight past the anchor on the ledge 190 feet down, and ended up stuck without ascenders. They then embellished it with a tale of the bolting fairy's advanced technical skills in setting up a haul system to bring him back up. Turns out they just rapped down to that point and threw in some bolts.

Anyway, glad you guys enjoyed the route.

[Summit2Sea]

I would have to say, "Old Bill" is probably our best canyon in Vegas right now!!! Definitely, different than the Maze & more epic... The lower section has an awesome hallway (my favorite part). It is amazing canyons like these exist in Vegas. Thanks again, Rick (rickinlo), for finding & sharing this canyon. It was an awesome descent!!! :0)

[canyonguru]

I do know that it is illegal to bolt in red rock have any of you done the maze recently. Are there any added bolts. LVRAY I have followed bluegnome for a long time that is how I found out about the maze in the first place great website lots of beta.

[LVRAY]

I do know that it is illegal to bolt in red rock have any of you done the maze recently. Are there any added bolts. LVRAY I have followed bluegnome for a long time that is how I found out about the maze in the first place great website lots of beta.

The last time I did the maze was in September of last year and it was bolted (someone bolted it last summer - it had been essentially bolt free for a decade). I have since been told that it was debolted last November. There is a someone on here who could elaborate more. As you may have gathered from above, the anchor situation in several of the canyons around Vegas is currently in a "tug of war" (to be diplomatic). So regarding anchors, don't rely on the usuall beta sources such as bluugnome - ask one us locals as to what you might currently find.

[canyonguru]

I know that the Last rap in The Maze is bolted and i don't mind that one due to the fact that it has been there a while and there aren't two many achor choices there. Being that Red Rock is not regulated like Zion i do always prepare to replace every anchor just in case.

[LVRAY]

I know that the Last rap in The Maze is bolted and i don't mind that one due to the fact that it has been there a while and there aren't two many achor choices there. Being that Red Rock is not regulated like Zion i do always prepare to replace every anchor just in case.

It is my understanding that the last rap, and one other, are still bolted.