Weekend Whipper: Awesome, Airy Fall on Famous Red Rock Crack

Readers, please send your Weekend Whipper videos, information, and any lessons learned to Anthony Walsh, awalsh@outsideinc.com. 

If only all whippers could be this airy! Michelle Voss recently had a great one while projecting Red Rock Canyon’s famous The Great Red Roof (5.13-), a striking sandstone splitter that has repelled some of the world’s strongest crack climbers.

“I came to Red Rock with one goal in mind,” Voss wrote to Climbing, “The Great Red Roof. I’ve become inspired by roof cracks over the last few years as they are just downright aesthetic and intimidating. I love the moment of walking up to this type of challenge for the first time. The exhilaration is intoxicating and it promises adventure.”

This video is Voss’s first time trying the crux section of the roof. Voss said that crack does not lend itself to easy foot jamming, and it is quicker to simply campus the final few feet of the roof. “I didn’t know exactly what to expect…so I fumbled my way through, trying different foot placements and wrong cam sizing,” Voss said. “I pushed it until absolute failure and ended up taking the whip mid cam placement!”

Voss said it’s important for her to find her true limit while climbing. “It’s easy to get into the ‘projecting mindset’ and fall when things aren’t going perfectly,” she said, but by pushing through that mental doubt—especially when the falls are as clean as on The Great Red Roof—she often surpasses her perceived physical abilities.

That’s a great mindset to take into this weekend. Happy Friday, and be safe out there.

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