As an unremarkable multi pitch trad climber, Red Rocks blew me away! It’s quickly become my favorite trad climbing destination due the long moderate multi pitch climbs that line the entire mountain range.
As someone who had only ever been overwhelmed trad climbing in nearby Joshua Tree, I was ecstatic when I found this place! 5.7 climbs that actually feel 5.7, imagine that! Cookie Monster and Cat in the Hat were my introduction to a different + more chill way of trad climbing.
For the same reasons I love it, a lot of other climbers love it too, so the most popular routes can get quite busy, despite bolted anchors and efficient rap stations. Cat in the Hat might be the busiest 5.6 in the park on an average day!
That’s one major reason the Cookie Monster + Cat in the Hat link-up is one of my favorites: Cookie Monster (5.7) bypasses much of the waiting on Cat in the Hat while spitting you out at the base of pitch 6 (the best pitch of the climb)! Unfortunately, the beta surrounding how to link it up is rather confusing, so I had to climb it a few times to get it dialed!
The first time, we got shut down by a thunderstorm and bailed. The second and third times we made it to the top, so I’m quite familiar with the route now!
Bailing off Pitch 2..
Full Climb!
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My Trad Rack for Cookie Monster + CitH
80m Rope (preferred)
The following beta is for climbers with an 80m rope (though I’ll throw in alternatives for other lengths). Although you can climb this route with a single 60m rope, I personally climb it with an 80m rope to cut out intermediate raps. I can get up in 4 pitches and down in 4 raps with my 80m rope.
I avoid double rope raps at ALL COSTS at Red Rocks and advise you to do the same because of all the features and chicken heads in the patina. Luckily, I’ve yet to get a rope stuck on a pull.
Single Trad Rack with Lots of Alpines
I use a full single rack of BD cams to #4, including a set of regular nuts, a set of offset nuts, and some hexes thrown in because I love them. I’m pretty liberal with gear placements and try to stay safe, but definitely don’t sew it up like a sport climb unless I see a challenging move ahead.
I feel totally fine with this rack since there are a lot of places for nuts and other natural pro like wrapping chicken heads or threading the hole on the 2nd pitch! I’d recommend bringing lots of alpine slings of different lengths because most placements require extension until the final finger crack pitch.
It also helps that the 1st pitch is the longest and that anchor is bolted so I don’t have to worry about saving gear for the anchor. I bring two cordalettes pre-set as quad anchors but available to string out for the subsequent gear anchors.
The last thing I add is an auto block of some sort to back up my rappel. There are always so many snags to deal with on the way down!
Additionally, I make sure my pack is as low profile as possible. I LOVE my current multi pitch pack for this reason. The hip belt and lots of pockets are a huge plus too! For the first pitch in particular, a fat pack really gets in the way while I’m leading, especially if it impedes the movement of my head.
Approach: East Face of Mescalito
Take the obvious trail from the parking lot on the right side of Pine Creek straight towards Mescalito. This is the same as the Cat in the Hat approach.
When you get to the creek bed, instead of crossing, follow the creek for a short ways until you see small climber trails heading up the hill on the right of the creek towards the right side of the vegetated cliff band at the base of Mescalito. Traverse left to the base of Cookie Monster.
It usually takes me about an hour, but could take 40 minutes if you know exactly where to go and hike really quickly.
I’d recommend leaving any extra gear/packs in the creek bed, otherwise you’ll have a 15-20min round-trip hike/scramble back to the base of the East Face to retrieve any gear. The rap route brings you down Cat in the Hat on the South Face, but the trails meet in the creek. Personally, I only bring what I plan to climb with to avoid leaving anything.
Pitch 1: Cookie Monster (5.7)
Follow the blocky corner up. This is the crux pitch for me, but it looks like it’s tougher than it is from below. Shortly after you pass the midpoint of your 80m rope, you’ll see the belay ledge up and to the right with obvious bolted anchors. In May, you’ll find a small shady oasis to belay from (same with pitch 2). In December, Cookie Monster is all cold and shady.
Pitch 2: Cookie Monster (5.6)
Keep following the corner until it widens into a chimney, then turn right and head up a crack on the right wall. Aim for a small scrub oak tree which marks the top of the pitch. I like to back up the small tree with a BD #1 cam.
From here, I can bail if I need to (and I have). I feel totally comfortable unroping and scrambling out onto this SICK terrace on the south face. Here, it’s possible to meet up with the base of the 4th pitch of Cat in the Hat, scramble down to a small tree and rappel in 2 raps with an 80m rope (see rap beta below), or just enjoy lunch with a view before continuing on up!
Pitch 3: Link-Up (5.6)
Instead of linking up with Cat in the Hat at pitch 4, I prefer to skip the weird pitch 5 traverse shenanigans and the time spent waiting in line at belays, and instead climb a link-up pitch directly to the base of Cat in the Hat pitch 6.
From my tree belay, I go out and right to a crack on the face roughly 5-10 feet right of the belay, then follow the crack up until it ends. I continue on the right face with creative pro for a few moves until I mantle onto this big ledge.
Then, I continue up the most obvious chunky crack system immediately to my right. Getting into it is a bit awkward. I follow the leftmost chunky crack until I get to the top of the red and white striped rock and end up in an alcove with mostly black varnished rock above me.
Here, I can see the nice varnished hand crack above me a little ways, but this is the most comfortable belay ledge I’ve found for the final pitch! Be extra aware of loose or hollow rock on this pitch. It doesn’t see nearly as much traffic as the others.
Pitch 4: Pitch 6 of Cat in the Hat (5.6)
This pitch has a little bit of everything and most of the route-finding is very straightforward. First, you follow the obvious crack until it disappears. Since the nice varnished crack is so fun, I usually forget about the rest of the pitch until I get there.
After you place your last piece of protection in the crack, traverse right on little slabby bumps for a few moves. Look up and aim for the big flake above you, meanwhile searching for a lone bolt between you and the flake, and connect the dots. Prepare for a 15-20ft runout before you clip the bolt. The exposure is SO GOOD!
From there, you just follow the crack features and massive hollow-sounding flake up and over to the anchors on top! The anchor is a bit awkward to belay from, but you can’t beat the view across the valley!
Rappelling Cat in the Hat with an 80m Rope (preferred)
I personally prefer to bring a single 80m rope to rappel with. I’ve been lucky in avoiding rope snags thus far, and with an 80m, I can get down in only four mindful raps. For this rap beta, MAKE SURE TO TIE STOPPER KNOTS. Almost every rap is a rope-stretcher.
How I rappel:
- From the top anchors to a massive slung pancake horn (almost exactly 40m).
- From the slung pancake to a slung tree at the base of a large terrace (top of Cookie Monster). It’s very reasonable to untie at the terrace and scramble down, but my rope reached exactly to the tree.
- From the tree to a bolted anchor on a huge boulder on a large ledge. I remember there being multiple rap stations here, so I pick the best looking (I think climbers left).
- From the bolted anchor to the ground. TREND CLIMBERS LEFT. Your rope won’t reach if you rap straight down, but you land on a hill, so left is the uphill side.
Rappelling Cat in the Hat with a 70m Rope
tI have never done it, but I believe you add an intermediate bolted station on the first rap (angle left) and another intermediate bolted station on the final rap (angle right), making 6 rappels total.
How you’d rap with a single 70m rope (in theory):
- From the top anchors to an intermediate bolted anchor (aim left).
- From the intermediate bolted anchor to the slung pancake.
- From the slung pancake to a large terrace where you’ll scramble down to a slung tree at the base of the terrace (rope stretcher).
- From the tree to a bolted anchor on a huge boulder on a large ledge. I remember there being multiple rap stations here, so I pick the best looking (I think climbers left). You might have to scramble a bit to get to the anchor, but I felt comfortable untying here.
- From the bolted boulder to an intermediate bolted anchor (aim right) (~50ft).
- From the intermediate bolted anchor to the ground.
Rappelling Cat in the Hat with a 60m Rope
Based off the Mountain Project consensus, it seems you could get down in 7 raps with a single 60m rope using the same beta as the 70m rope, only adding a slung pinch/block as an intermediate between the slung pancake and large ledge + tree combo. Personally, I’ve never tried this rap beta.
How you’d rap with a single 60m rope (in theory):
- From the top anchors to an intermediate bolted anchor (aim left).
- From the intermediate bolted anchor to the slung pancake.
- From the slung pancake to a slung pinch/block (aim right).
- From the slung pinch to a large terrace where you’ll scramble down to a slung tree at the base of the terrace.
- From the tree to a bolted anchor on a huge boulder on a large ledge. I remember there being multiple rap stations here, so I pick the best looking (I think climbers left). You might have to scramble a bit to get to the anchor, but I felt comfortable untying here.
- From the bolted boulder to an intermediate bolted anchor (aim right) (~50ft).
- From the intermediate bolted anchor to the ground.
Hiking out from the Base of Cat in the Hat
I swear I end up on a different climber’s trail every time. Ironically, the best route I found was the time I hiked out in the dark. Basically, follow the most obvious trail down from the base until it meets up with the creek bed, then follow the trail you came in on.
Best Time of Year to Climb Cookie Monster
The best time of year to climb Cookie Monster + Cat in the Hat would probably be shoulder season (October/March). I’ve climbed it in May (very hot), and November (very cold).
In early May, the base and all the climbing was in the 85° sun, though there was some shade to hide in at the top of the first and second pitches. Perhaps a later start would help, but we got rained out by a thunderstorm and had to bail by 1pm.
In November, the entire route was in the 45° shade and we froze. Perhaps a fast group with an early start could climb pitch 3 and 4 in the sun before it dips behind the mountains, but we were not that quick. I will say though, this climb is worth freezing for!
