Dream of Wild Turkeys, Black Velvet Canyon 5.10a

  
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Red Rocks, Nevada USA

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A map of the general Red Rocks, Nevada USA area is shown below. No GPS coordinates for this specific route are available at this time.

Approach
Black Velvet Canyon is at the southern end of the escarpment and thus the approach road is not off the gated Loop Road, so you can start in the middle of the night if desired. The approach trail is straightforward until almost at Black Velvet Wall and takes about 45 minutes. Just before the wall, climb a 100-foot 4th class cliff to the left of the wash bottom. It is steep and some may want a toprope from an experienced leader.

The routes along the main wall all start from a huge brushy slope/ledge system. Prince of Darkness, Dream of Wild Turkeys, Yellow Brick Road and The Gobbler start about 60 feet left from the bottom left of the huge arch. Sour Mash climbs up to the right end of the gigantic roof. For Epinephrine, from the top of the 4th class, walk down back into the canyon bottom, then about 100 yards up the wash to a point below the right side of the huge tower (Black Tower). Look for bolts up the gray wall straight below the ominous chimney above. The left line of bolts is 5.8, and the bolts have all been replaced by the ASCA. The right line has bad bolts and crumbly rock. While this first 50 feet of 5.8 is fun, linking it to the next part of the pitch creates a lot of rope drag, and many parties skip it by ascending the unprotected 5.4 ramp to the right.

Descent
From the base of Black Velvet Wall, retrace the approach trail. Some may wish to rappel the 4th class, or to have a more experienced climber downclimb the 4th class several times to ferry less experienced climber(s) pack(s) down the wall.

Dream of Wild Turkeys Rappel
Yellow Brick Road and The Gobbler are variations of Dream of Wild Turkeys and use the same rappel. Almost everyone rappels from these climbs, and while SuperTopo includes upper pitches not included in other guides, we have not done the walk-off from the top. If you choose to walk off, be competent and prepared.

There are many rappel stations on the various routes, and your choice of rap route largely depends on climbers below. Since there are so many choices, we do not attempt to give all the possible rap lengths. Use knots or other backups to avoid rappelling off the end of your ropes!

Black Velvet Canyon - Dream of Wild Turkeys 5.10a - Red Rocks, Nevada USA. Click to Enlarge
Over 1000 feet of amazing climbing on Black Velvet Wall.
Photo: Greg Barnes