Pillar Talk 5.7+, Willow Springs South

Climbed on February 9, 2022 initially, many times since. 

Fun Rating: Quite Fun

Folks, it’s been rough the last couple months for us weekend climbers. I have some friends who have work schedules that are friendly to mid-week climbing, but I am very much a weekend warrior during the months with shorter days. Of late it seems to be raining nearly every Friday, which effectively bars me from climbing any Herbst Tour routes (or any other sandstone) on the days that are normally available to me. I mention this only to say that it is difficult to find inspiration to write on the nuances, motivations, and interesting moments in climbing when you’re not actually doing much climbing. 

A quick tangent, as this blog is not designed as a platform for me to complain, but gosh it would sure be nice for one of those big expensive megacorp gyms to open a location somewhere in Vegas, maybe on the northwest side of town, maybe by Lone Mountain. I am thankful that there are gyms in town, but anyone who’s climbed in a city with a modern and diverse gym scene knows what I’m talking about. Where are my 80 foot walls? Where are my sketchy 18 foot slab boulders with topout cruxes? WHERE IS MY YOGA STUDIO? Enough yuppie complaining, though, I suppose we should get on to the actual Herbst Tour stuff.

Megan in the OW pod. 10b roof variation visible above.

Pillar Talk is visible from the scenic loop road, a beige monolith surrounded by the gorgeous chocolate patina that makes up the majority of the Willow Springs area. The area is lush, wet by the standards of Red Rock, and absolutely chock full of 1-2 pitch moderates. The parking lot is absurdly close compared to much of the traditional climbing in the canyon, only a 5-10 minute walk depending on which of the many braided trails you end up following, and the area is home to classics like Ragged Edges, Left Out, and Chicken Eruptus. Even more exciting is that the aspect of the wall in summer leaves it in the shade for the entirety of the afternoon, allowing a great deal of climbing in summer temps with a minimum of effort and a very short hike in the sun.

Vibes at the top of the first pitch.

The route itself is 2 pitches, with all the money in the first. It starts to the right side of the pillar formation in a 3.5-4 inch splitter crack. The face to the right is mostly smooth varnish with an occasional divot for a foot, and the face to the left is poorly protected plates and edges. The most fun path, and certainly the Herbstiest, is to stay in the crack as it gently slants up and right, though an overlap pushes you farther into the smooth varnish wall than you’d necessarily like. About 30 feet up, the crack contorts itself into a pod/squeeze section, which I find to be an absolute delight. Offwidth, crack, face holds, there are so many options that you’re absolutely sure to find a way to proceed that you enjoy, or at least doesn’t frighten you much. Above that another 30 feet or so of hand crack await you and then you are left with a choice. To your left is the main route, a 5.7 hand traverse that is quite sporty for the grade. Not particularly hard, but very airy and with a feeling of commitment as there’s no reasonable gear until you finish the traverse of about 10 feet. The other choice is the 10b variation that takes you straight up through the imposing roof using a wide crack. I have not yet tried this so cannot speak to its difficulty, but it looks quite hard.

The hand traverse.

Once through the traverse, a bolted anchor awaits as you suffer through the rope drag belaying up your follower. Above you is a full pitch of reasonably protected white sandstone slab. Nothing to write home about, you’ve climbed this pitch on probably half of the multipitches you’ve done in red rock. You know exactly what this pitch is like and it’s fine. The 30 foot runout at the top is expected, understood, and easily surpassed without issue.

Above and to the left of Pillar Talk is a beautiful varnish face that contains a few climbs of very high quality that are easily linked and make for a lovely day out in the park. I highly recommend both Chocolate Tranquility Fountain and Above and Beyond, both are fantastic with bomber rock and great movement. There is another cliff above this with a couple of 5.9s of lesser quality, but still worthwhile for extra pitches or if you like awkward crack climbing.

The second pitch meanders up and right to the top of the pillar.

Descent is easy from any of the cliffs. The crags above the second tier have easy walkoffs back around left to return to the top of Pillar Talk, and a tree above Sleeper makes for a mellow and pretty rappel on a 70m rope. Combined with the easy walk back and great view, this makes for one of my favorite afternoons of climbing, which is part of the reason I’ve gone back to it so many times. A route worth climbing seasonally, and one that gives you access to another few really excellent pitches. I can’t recommend this one enough.

Nothing pithy to wrap with this time. I just really like this climb and think everyone comfortable at the very attainable grade of 5.7+ should go have a great time on this.

One of the Willow locals.