We bypassed the first 60 feet of slab by scrambling up a ledge on the right, as drawn on the topo, and I started up, clipping a couple of bolts before getting to a small belay ledge. I was feeling great at that point - as soon as I was paddling up the sandstone, the nervousness and anxiety were gone and I was able to relax.

Joe took over the next lead, which was supposed to be a 5.6 chimney that would get us to the base of the real chimneys higher up. As I was belaying him, I heard some grunting and scraping sounds, which meant the chimney climbing had begun. Sure enough, once it was my turn I found tight going, and had to take my pack off. I kept thinking, if this is 5.6, what are the 5.9's above going to be like? In reality, this pitch is 5.8 according to another topo, which is more accurate.

Next were the 5.9 chimney pitches that characterize the route. We decided to split them in 3, and I started off the first, which wasn't too bad (probably not even 5.9). It would be a major pain to climb these chimneys with a pack, either as a leader or second, so we hauled our bags (thanks Dow for the beta and duffel we used). The next (2nd) chimney pitch was probably the hardest (crux of the climb), as it had a flaring section that was difficult to protect - Joe scampered up it like a hero though. The final chimney is described as "runout" and "airy", and it took me a while to commit to starting, but once I started it was fairly easy and there was nothing too hard like on the previous pitch. I went all the way to the big ledge, and thought I had ran out of rope just as I hit the anchor. Unfortunately, instead the rope got wedged between the lobes of our #4 camalot I had placed at the lip of the chimney, despite my attempt to keep the rope running outside. I won't describe the next 40 mins (which felt like 2 hours) because it was ugly, but I was using my Tibloc and using my leg muscles to pull up the slack in the rope. Hauling of course was impossible, so Joe had to manhandle the bag. Fun stuff... my biceps were cramping and I got several blisters on my fingers from pulling the rope: by the time Joe reached the belay, I was wiped and we had wasted a bunch of time, but such is life.

At last, we were at the big ledge: 11am. We knew it got dark at 4:30pm, so let's keep motoring! The next section of the climb is much easier, and goes by quicker. There are a couple of 5.9 face pitches, but they are well protected and a bit soft - it's just that everyone is tired by that point, so they seem harder. It's nice and steep though, and the exposure is awesome! It really feels like you are a ways up there, with a great view of Vegas to boot. Quality climbing high off the deck!

After the 11th pitch, we unroped and scrambled diagonally up and right to gain the ridge. This is actually longer than it may seem, and is where a lot of people end up bivying: if it gets dark on you there, it's safest to just spend the night as opposed to trying to figure it out in the dark (it's 4th class and very exposed). Once on the ridge, it's only another 10 minutes to the summit - we made it there at 3:30pm and enjoyed the sunshine while we ate a quick lunch.

The descent is fairly straightforward when there is light, but it would be a complete nightmare in the dark, so we hurried down to use the remaining light. Our first objective was to hit the Frogland descent before dark, which we managed. Then we kept motoring down the trail as it gradually got darker, and actually managed to make it to the truck at 5:20pm without headlamps, nearly 12 hours after starting. We lost the main trail several times in the last half an hour, but it doesn't really make a difference. Overall, the climbing portion took us 9 hours, and the approach/descent 3 hours.

Now of course, the day wouldn't be complete without some food, so we headed off to a Mexican restaurant. Next, Joe dropped me off at the Las Vegas airport, where I waited for my 10pm flight to San Francisco. Eventually I got home to Mountain View around 1:30am, making it a very full day. Joe had a 3 hour drive back to Utah, which I'm sure was plenty challenging as well.

On Monday I intended to sleep in, but somehow I woke up early and went to work at 9am... my body was there, but it took a while for my mind to drift back to real life. Ahhh, adventure!

	It's starting to get light: time to start climbing!	Joe coming to the first belay	Looking up pitch two: a 5.8 chimney, a warm-up for what's about to come

	Joe in the first of the 5.9 chimney pitches	We hauled our bags on the green rope (thanks Dow for the bag!)

	Looking up the 2nd chimney pitch, the crux of the climb	Joe starting up the chimney	Me on the final 5.9 chimney pitch that gains the big ledge

	Relaxing in the chimney on Epinephrine	Joe starting us up the 2nd half of the climb: the dihedral pitches	Me looking down a 5.9 face with great exposure

	Joe cruising	This pitch has big holds everywhere, but is exposed and steep	Joe tackling the next 5.9 pitch

		Since we were on a north facing wall, that's all we got to see of the sun. Temperatures were great though!	On belay!

	Joe coming up a long 5.8 dihedral pitch	Happy to be here!	Joe dispatching a roof, the last difficulty before easier ground

	View of Las Vegas from the climb

	Joe scrambling after the roped portion of the climb ended

	Quite exposed scrambling	The last foot-ledge traverse is quite exposed too, but leads to easy ground	Joe almost at the summit of Black Velvet Peak!

		On the summit with Las Vegas in the background: it's a long way down from here!	Yay - back at the truck! We didn't even need headlamps.