I'm not sure what it is about Autumn leaves, but I'm always inspired by them.
Jacob standing in "Flash's Meadow." It's a really beautiful area this time of year, and you cross it to get to all of the following boulder problems. Some are at the edge of it, and others are an hour's hike past it.
There aren't established trails to boulder problems, but cow trails lead everywhere you want to go.
Jacob attempting a dyno problem we don't know the name off. It's definitely been done, but it's harder than it looks. I'd love to know the name. It's a great problem that I'll be going back to.
A Red Feather problem called "Desperado." Vedauwoo has a different problem called "Desperado." Both are great problems. This one is V7/8 and has four consistently difficult moves in a row. I'll probably post video of it soon.
Happy dog photos.
Happy dog in Aspen.
Happy Jacob in Aspen.
With so many spread out and rarely visited sectors of boulders, it's sometimes hard to tell if you're getting a first ascent. Some developers of Red Feather bouldering don't bother naming the easy and moderate problems. Jacob and I climbed and named a lot of problems during our last session. Some had been done before, some might have been first ascents, and a few are pictured below. Let me know if any of these have names already. I'm not trying to pull a "Horan" on the place.
Jacob climbing "Lady Moon Underlook" at the "Hidden Gym."
Jacob climbing "Porcelain God." A classic V4 on glass like patina.
Jacob climbing "The Glass Slab." A perfect V2. We also worked on "The Glass Arete" which is a much harder problem that climbs the right side of the arete in this photo. Jacob found them and Ben Scott got the first ascents.
Jacob climbing in a very cool pit on top of the saddle. It has a long wall on its west side covered with tall moderates on featured patina.
Hiking out.
Jacob thinking about where we should go next time.
Red Feather is a beautiful area that offers a unique bouldering experience. The good rock is very spread out and well hidden. Overhangs are rare and usually featureless. The majority of problems are moderate, but paradoxically much harder than they appear. Amazingly little of the rock is good for climbing, and because of this it hasn't, and probably won't, become a destination area. Yet I've had some of my most memorable and enjoyable sessions up there.
Thanks again Jacob.
5 comments:
David! Those pictures are beautiful. You know . . . I still have yet to be back to the Swoosh area; matter of fact, I have yet to see a lot of Red Feather. You should get a hold of me before you go visit Jacob again!
that clean face looks NICE! jacob's been doing a good job of hunting out ze rokks!
i won't be up for a bit, but would you cats show chorvat around sometime? he's been keen on climbing in the feather for a while and i've come up shy on beta requests since i'm always led to the climbs there w/o much mental investment on my own part.
if yes, i'll bust an email out to you w/ his contact info. word.
I'm happy to give directions, but it's difficult at Red Feather. You park at the Mt. Margaret trailhead or the parking area a mile further on the left before Parvin Lake, and hike south into the meadow. To describe how to get to specific boulders is really difficult without photos and maps. The problems are really spread out, up many different gullies. Send me an e-mail, and I'll try to set something up.
davlloyd3@yahoo.com
I will always be disappointed that I did not spend more time at Red Feather during my time in CO.
Hey David,
I'm skyler and im a local here in Fort Collins. I would love to get up to Red Feather and try some of the moderate problems. If you know the locations of any classic routes in the v9-v11 range I would love to hear! Red Feather looks like amazing bouldering and I can't wait to head up there and check it out!
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