String of Pearls - May 4, 2013

[LVRAY]

String of Pearls is another of the very nice canyons in the Red Rock Conservation Area outside just outside Las Vegas. It gets its name from the series of potholes in the upper section of the canyon. A group of 5 of us started the day off early by setting the car shuttle and then making the somewhat long, but very scenic, approach to the canyon. The potholes in the upper section still contained a fair amount of water, but not enough to jump into, so we ended up doing a lot of meat anchors and partner assisted downclimbs. This section of the canyon is quite fun. After the potholes, the character of the canyon changes dramatically as the canyon opens wide for a series of fairly long raps (150 to 200 feet) that really have an "open air" feel to them. Two of these raps are incredibly beautiful. The view down to the valley floor with Vegas in the distance (and still a few thousand feet below) is fantastic. A brushy boulder-hopping section with many downclimbs follows before the technical part of the canyon concudes with another series of nice raps, including a very nice one of 200'. But the fun then quickly ends and the only real drawback to the canyon remains - the long exit hike out. Car to car, it took the 5 of us approximately 11.5 hours.

Beta for the canyon can be found on Bluugnome. However, the middle and bottom sections of this canyon (starting with the series of longer "big air" raps) have now been bolted. A few bolted and constructed anchors have also been added to the downclimbs in the middle section.

Part of the approach.






The final part of the approach - through the "park".


The start of pothole series at the top of the canyon.












The canyon begins to open up.




One of the longer raps in the "open air" section of the canyon.








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[peakbaggers]

Wow! Looks like an interesting & challenging canyon. Great views & photos. Thanks for the report.

[ghawk]

looks fun. nice work!

[tjdowling]

Awesome. Love both of you recent Red Rocks TR's. If you ever have room for an extra person or are in need of a spot car, please let me know. I know exactly one person in Vegas into canyoneering and am dying to meet more so I don't have to drive to UT every time I want to do a canyon.


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[LVRAY]

Awesome. Love both of you recent Red Rocks TR's. If you ever have room for an extra person or are in need of a spot car, please let me know. I know exactly one person in Vegas into canyoneering and am dying to meet more so I don't have to drive to UT every time I want to do a canyon.

You should join the Las Vegas Canyoneering Meetup Group (I'm the current organizer ). We have a great core group of people who are very active and we actually have a good number of very good canyons in the area. We also offer numerous events and skill building workshops. Website = http://www.meetup.com/Las-Vegas-Cany...-Meetup-Group/

[canyonguru]

String of pearls is on my to do list for red rock. I have done the maze twice. Once the full meal deal and another time skipping the upper section and dropping in just before the crack climb on bridge mountain hike. Red rock is an amazing place. If u want to do a remote canyon but red rock is great the canyons get very little traffic.

[ilipichicuma]

Cool-looking canyon! Great report!

[jman]

What a cool canyon - I like the dynamics of it!

[tjdowling]

You should join the Las Vegas Canyoneering Meetup Group (I'm the current organizer ). We have a great core group of people who are very active and we actually have a good number of very good canyons in the area. We also offer numerous events and skill building workshops. Website = http://www.meetup.com/Las-Vegas-Cany...-Meetup-Group/

I am in fact a member. I haven't been able to make it to a meetup yet, but am signed up for the Keyhole and River Mtn night descents. Hopefully I'll meet you then.


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