Climbing After It Rains

First, check to see if it’s rained! Avoid sandstone after heavy rains. Instead, climb granite, limestone, and metamorphic rock! These are hard, erosion-resistant, and generally impermeable to water, so rain runs off and the surface dries quickly, even on cloudy days.

Great alternatives to Red Rock after rain are:

Climbing areas around the world have seen a large increase in use following the global success of films like Free Solo and Dawn Wall. Southern Nevada is one of those areas that has been impacted by rise in popularity of the sport, bringing thousands of new climbers to the area. These new climbers may not be be familiar with local ethics, so it’s up to us to educate educate them on how to be responsible stewards of Southern Nevada and be mindful of our impact on the environment.

Please help us protect our climbing resource!

Before you go rock climbing after it rains, you need to ask yourself some questions to determine if the rock is dry so that you won’t damage or destroy routes and boulder problems.

  • When can you go climbing if it has been raining?

  • How can you tell if the rock surface of sandstone formations is dry enough so climbing will not damage, degrade or destroy routes and boulder problems?

Porous sedimentary rocks like sandstone remain wet after rain.

They are porous and absorb water, leaving the rock surface and even the subsurface wet after heavy rains. It’s a judgment call as to when to climb and how deep the moisture has permeated the different types of aztec sandstone we encounter at Red Rocks. A quick but heavy thunderstorm will usually just wet the outer surface layer of sandstone since most of the water runs off the rock. After prolonged rains, however, the rock surface will be wet below the surface, sometimes as much as two or three inches, especially in the softer rock, so it is important to let sandstone dry completely before climbing on it.

Sandstone loses a lot of its strength when wet.

Sandstone and other sedimentary rocks like conglomerate soak up moisture like like a sponge. The water, soaking the rock surface, dissolves cementing agents like clay, silica, and salt between sand grains, allowing the sandstone to lose as much as 75% of its dry strength. Another by-product of wet rock is sand. As the cementing agents dissolve, the individual sand grains are released from the rock matrix. That’s why the surface of sandstone cliffs accumulates sand on handholds and footholds after the rock dries.

6 Guidelines to Assess Wet Rock before Climbing:

If you climb on wet sandstone, you will easily damage the rock surface by breaking off flakes and edges, sometimes completely changing the character and grade of a climbing route or boulder problem. Follow these guidelines to assess wet rock and decide when you can climb without damaging the sandstone.