I survived the desert - again!

I'm wiped out. This morning, at 5 AM, I got back to civilization after spending a week in the Nevada desert just outside of Vegas, climbing 'til fingers bled and calves gave out. As it turned out, the destination became Red Rocks rather than Indian Creek, and long routes on good holds rather than short and desperate crack climbs. Nonetheless, absolutely fantastic. Summiting a spire in the late afternoon sun, delicate placement of feet on slick rock, cranking down on miniscule black holds to avoid career-ending falls: pretty much climbing at its very best. As soon as my partners upload their photos somewhere I can get at them, I'll be back with improbably tall tales -- meeting friendly Canadians and half-crazed rope-soloists, alpine starts, horrifying run-outs, desert hikes and a whole bunch of pretty pictures. For now, I can offer some nice views:







There's more stuff on my Flickr page, as usual.

(So why the "again"? This is the second time I spend any length of time in a desert climate, which quite frankly scares me a bit. My first run-in with that terrain was driving clear across Australia, which might've colored my perception of deserts in general)