A Rainy Day Diversion

A few weeks ago, when I posted The Best of Horsetooth Reservoir Bouldering to YouTube.  A DVD extras section I'd made wound up on my computer with it.  Stuck at home on this rainy day, I decided to post it.

Before I started blogging, I recorded bouldering ascents on my video camera.  This video includes some favorite lines from Vedauwoo, RMNP, Carter Lake, The Flatirons, Morrison, Red Feather, Arthurs Rock, Poudre Canyon, Eldorado Canyon, and Horsetooth climbed by people much younger than they are today.  Most ascents are by Ashley and me when we were still in our twenties.  The soundtrack is composed of my favorite alternative music from the late nineties and early aughts.
Enjoy!

Or just skip it if you aren't in the mood for thirty-five minutes of Front Range bouldering from over a decade ago.

A Visit from LT11, and Another Trip to Sweetwater

Trying to teach well, and climb well, is cutting into my sleep, so I'm not planning to write much tonight. Let's see what I can put together in twenty minutes.

Jon came out to do some filming for LT11 the weekend before last.  I gave him a tour of Oz on Saturday.  It was a quiet day.  Just my family, Jon, and a couple bow hunters in the area.  They were looking for elk that I'm not sure are out there.

Jon warming up on The Walrus V6 (or possibly Wicked Witch?).

 Ashley and I warmed up on this unknown V4 lower in the gully.

 I didn't get many photos that day.  Just like when I went out with Kyle, while filming "Wind and Rattlesnakes," when I boulder with film makers,  I tend to leave the documentation to the professionals.

Jon sent "A Tribe Called Lander" very quickly and I used his sticky rubber knee pad for a few attempts.  Just one move is giving me trouble.  If I get a kneepad, and put in a session or two, I think the line might be within my reach.

My favorite send of the day was this unknown V6 on the campground boulder that climbs really well.

 We also added a few easy warmups "The Wonderful Warmups of Oz" V1-3 and Jon did the first ascent of the highball just to the right.

 On Sunday, I gave Jon a tour of lines, done and undone, at the Rock Shop.  Then Ashley and I put a little bit of time into "Grave Wave."  Neither of us sent it, but I'd like to work on it some more.

 Jon stayed here for about a week with a couple other friends who came up from Boulder.  It looks like they spent most of their time putting up first ascents at the Rock Shop.  It was fun to climb with Jon, and I'm looking forward to checking out the many new lines they did at the Rock Shop, and seeing the LT11 film!  Thanks Jon!

I'm always somewhat torn in September.  Should we take advantage of sending temps at the higher areas like the Roaring Fork?  Or should we take full advantage of warm sunny weather before the inevitable winter hits.  Lately we've been doing the latter.

Last Saturday we spent a beautiful (but somewhat warm) day bouldering at Sweetwater with Ana and Devlin.

Ana warming up on the Ivory Traverse V2.

 We repeated a few lines like Hunny Pot Roof V3.

And I did the first ascent of "Sunshine" a V3 SDS that ends up a somewhat committing slab just right of "Thunderbird."

Ana climbing "Sunshine."

From there we went up to the Ocean boulder, which was still in the shade.  We all put a bit of work into "Another Toe in the Ocean", but it didn't get any ascents from its SDS.  Incredibly psyched, and in very crisp conditions, I did the first ascent quickly last year.   That day, I thought it was a solid V4.  But now I think that I was way off.  It's probably a V6.

We added a new line that traverses into slippery features to an obvious top out to the left of "Debaser."  Devlin came so close to getting the first ascent, but had trouble with the committing top out.  I tried next, got scared, but shut off my brain and just rolled over the top as quickly as I could.

Devlin on "Rock and Ice" V4.

 We ended the day in a cool cave that will have some fun drop off problems (or highballs/free solos) some day.

Ashley looking at the project we spent our time puzzling out.

I think it will go when we visit it again with fresh fingers.

Well that took thirty-five minutes, and I need to get some sleep.  I've got class, and another weekend of climbing to rest up for...

New Problems and Projects From Sweetwater

We had a beautiful day at Sweetwater on Saturday.  And Ashley has started naming all her first ascents with a Winnie the Pooh theme.  Here's her best new line.

"The Hunny Pot Traverse" V4  

 Finishing the traverse.

 I did a sit start below the roof, and decided to stick with the theme.  "Honey Pot Roof" is a V3.

The view from the top out.

 Facing the roof is another new line.

"Thunderbird" V3

 Sierra working on "The Ivory Warm Up Traverse" V1/2.

 Following just the lower crack with hands is "The Ivory Traverse Project."

 In the distance are a couple more boulder covered domes that I haven't even had the chance to hike yet.

 A couple weeks ago the weather wasn't as nice.  We dropped our plans for the Ocean Boulder sector, and returned to the more sheltered Easter boulders.  Ashley got the first ascent of this low boulder with really nice stone.

"Very Blustery Day" V4

 I worked on the "Easter Boulders Project" but it's going to be difficult.  I'll probably need to leave it for someone else, and estimate that it's in the V10/11 range.

 We ended the day at the Tick Tock boulder.  I added the "Tick Tock Arete" V4.

 Lankin as seen from the Easter boulders.

Still got a lot to do out there.  Hope I can find the time to rap a few things...

The Way Things Were at Horsetooth Reservoir (Circa the Year 2000)

Back in the year 2000 it was much more difficult to make a bouldering video.  Digital camcorders cost $850, and the resolution wasn't even close to HD.  The Apple laptop I made this on, using the original Imovie software, cost $5000, and it only had 5GB of memory.  To put together this 38 minute long video required editing it, and exporting it, in three separate sections.  I had no experience, or training, with filmmaking.  And I bought the video camera specifically so I could make this movie.  So this was literally the first thing I ever filmed!  I didn't even own a tripod during most of the process.  Which is painfully obvious as soon as the film gets started.

Once the movie was finished, there wasn't a viable internet video site to post it to.  This was recorded to about 200 VHS tapes in my apartment.  Labels were glued on, plastic cases were fitted with covers, it was stocked in a few climbing shops, and it ended up being sent as far away as Japan and Australia.  It's hard to comprehend just how little bouldering footage existed back then.  Just a couple bouldering films would be commercially produced nationwide in a year.  Today a couple professionally produced bouldering films seem to come out every day, and almost all of them are free.

The grades weren't as high, the pads weren't as thick, but it's obvious to see that we were having a good time at the boulders!  And I miss climbing with a lot of my friends from this film.  We had a great crew back then!

So the film lacks polish, it's got too much camera shake, and some of the top outs take way too long.  That's why I wasn't in any great hurry to get this uploaded to the internet.  But it is fun to look back at how things were fourteen years ago, and John Gill's insights still ring true.  The film shows what we were climbing, and also who was climbing, at Horsetooth in the year 2000.  And if you don't like it, just remember that it's free.  You don't even have to rewind the tape when you're done.