Sean and I were in Red Rocks trying to come up with a list of routes to climb—and somehow ended up with a list that would take years to finish. In the process, Sean mentioned he had never climbed on Black Velvet Wall in Black Velvet Canyon. That alone made the decision easy.

I’ve climbed a number of routes there over the years—Refried Brains, Prince of Darkness, Dream of Wild Turkeys, The Gobbler, Fiddler on the Roof, Sour Mash, Texas Hold'Em, Velvet Revolver, The Yellow Rose of Texas, and Epinephrine—and I think Black Velvet Wall has some of the best rock in all of Red Rocks. So when I heard Sean hadn’t been on it, I figured we had to fix that.

I hadn’t climbed Rock Warrior (5.10b R, 6p), so that became one objective. Then we got the idea: could we climb three routes in a day?

We picked two classic 5.10a’s—Dream of Wild Turkeys (7 pitches) and Sour Mash (7 pitches)—and planned to finish with Rock Warrior. Twenty pitches total. It felt ambitious, but quite doable given our pace on routes of similar character.

Sean wanted to lead everything, and I was happy to follow and keep the efficiency of a single system of fix and follow, knowing we would go a bit faster if we weren't switching blocks and Sean a bit faster leader than I am. The upside for Sean is that as a leader in fix and follow, you get the reward of hanging out at the top of every pitch snacking, enjoying the view, reading about the route, and watching other climbers; whereas as a follower there isn't much downtime as you are always either belaying or climbing.

Dream of Wild Turkeys and Sour Mash went quickly—just over two hours each, averaging about 18–19 minutes per guidebook pitch for both of us combined. We linked pitches where it made sense, climbing Dream of Wild Turkeys in five pitches and Sour Mash in four.

We slowed down on Rock Warrior—not from fatigue, but because the climbing demanded more care. It’s harder, more delicate, and runout in places, which kept us thoughtful and measured. Still, we made up time on the descent, cruising seven rappels in just 16 minutes—about 2 minutes 17 seconds per rappel.

We completed the linkup in just under 10 hours, base-to-base-to-base-to-base. No falls, no hangs, no takes.

The weather couldn’t have been better: a sunny morning, warming slightly toward midday, then full shade on the wall by noon. No wind—just a light breeze now and then. Several other parties were scattered across the wall, all enjoying the same perfect day.

It was a phenomenally fun outing.

This page includes a route overlay, time stats, and pitch-by-pitch photos.