Early Spring Climbing

Life and climbing haven't slowed down at all.  Lately only blogging has been put on the back burner.  Getting the guide as perfect as possible, and going over all the proofs took some time.  School has kept me busy, and we've been getting out climbing.  Late February and early March can be somewhat difficult for outdoor climbing, but we've been able to climb every weekend.  Some sessions were a little cold, but others were perfect.  I can't complain.  We spent one session up at the Dolomite Band with Ana and Devlin.  They're a climbing couple that moved to Lander a few months ago.  It's been really fun getting out bouldering with them, and our kids get along great together too.  Our session at the Dolomite band included some T-shirt weather, but it ended with snow.

Ana reaching the crux of the B1 traverse.

 Ashley and I had a really nice day of sport climbing on the Squaretop Boulder.  German Girl doesn't get any stars in the guidebook, but I think it's a worthy climb.  It isn't too sharp...if you make really big moves.

 And it's one of the steepest lines around.

 Sierra is getting good enough to get a workout on our climbs, even if she isn't quite able to finish them yet.  It's been fun watching her improve so quickly.

One crisp day I was able to send the extended B1 traverse at the Dolomite Band.  It felt good to finish off a long term project that definitely wasn't my style.  Somewhat pumpy climbing leads to a powerful finish.  It felt V8 to me, and I lost track of how many sessions included some work on it over the last couple years.  Somewhere between five and ten.  Here's the video if you're interested.

 Daylight savings time has allowed more exploration after school.  It's a little painful in the mornings, but definitely worth it.

I'm always checking the weather to catch as many good days in the desert as possible.  With a bit of snow and mud around, we decided against a trip to OZ last weekend.  No need to mess up roads that aren't messed up yet.  So we went to Sweetwater instead, where the roads were completely dry.  I was just hoping for a relatively pleasant, climbable day, but we hit perfect conditions.

Jesse working on a new dyno problem.

 Jesse getting set up again.

 Jesse getting the first ascent of "Tappin' the Rockies."

 Just when things would start to get too warm, a gentle breeze or a few clouds would come by.  It was so nice.  And I just can't get over the wide open spaces out there.

 The rock is great too!  Solid, but with very little friction.  You need to have good technique, and grip pretty hard to stay on.  Even short problems can pump you out, and get your heart rate up.

Devlin on "Old School."

 Ana, Devlin, and the Sweetwater ambiance.

It feels good to be blogging again.  Now that the book is truly finished and just waiting at the press, I should be able to blog more regularly.  It's a good time of year for climbing too.  If you check the weather, and think about micro-climates, you can get conditions that are almost as good as the Fall.  More news next week.