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 Long Post About a Trip, Some First Ascents, and a Rediscovered Boulder

Ashley on a traverse variation into the topout of "Undercling Roof."

 Our summer break is almost over, but we've been taking good advantage of the time off.  We spent a week in Estes Park on a family vacation with two days of bouldering.  The first bouldering day was at Moraine Park.  My favorite new ascent of the day was "Hanging Arete."  An exciting V6 with big moves and a bad landing.

We repeated some lines we hadn't done in many years, and Ashley did this nice problem north of the trail, that isn't listed in the guide.  It has a sloping landing, but Ashley committed to it.

 Our second day of bouldering was spent at Emerald Lake.  We have many fond memories of bouldering at this beautiful area during our years in Colorado.

Ashley warming up on "Warm Up."

 I thought we had some fresh lines to do west of the Kind boulder.  A lot of problems are listed in the guide, and I was excited to check them out.  It turned out that all the new lines looked familiar once we were standing in front of them again.  We just didn't know the names and grades when we had climbed on them years ago.

Part of my excitement in getting back to RMNP was getting to climb on some established, graded problems again.  We've been climbing first ascents for so long now, I worried my ratings might be getting off base.  While working on the guide, I'm coming up with a lot of ratings, and re-rating some established problems that feel incorrect to me.  When I  give a higher rating than is published, I worry that I'm making things soft.  When I rate a first ascent, I'm very aware that I don't want to overrate problems, but then wonder if I'm sandbagging people.

So it would be nice to see what graded problems felt like again.  But "Beginner's Luck" V3 didn't feel any harder to me than "Warm Up" V1.  The three star "V6" on the cube boulder felt easier than the two star V5 just to the right, and much easier than the one star V6 just around the corner.  And how do you compare a one move wonder like "Kneebar" to a tall, consistently difficult, somewhat dangerous line like "Hanging Arete?"  They both get the same number, but feel quite different.  So I wasn't able to recalibrate my sense of the grading scale as much as I had hoped to.  I'll just need to do my best to have Lander bouldering be as internally consistent as possible.  Boulder problems will always fit people differently anyway.

A three star V6 on the Cube boulder that feels pretty easy for the grade.  It's a really fun line though!          
RMNP bouldering is great, the scenery unmatched, and the hikes feel short when you're used to the Falcon's Lair.  It's some of America's best bouldering!

Now that we're back in Wyoming, we've been spending more time at the Rock Shop.  I took a day, and hiked around the area with a specific type of problem in mind.  My goal was to find a nice long traverse for Ashley to visit on our wedding anniversary.  As I hiked, I found a few nice lines that Jesse will like, and a few more that I'll need to show Chris.  I can't believe how good a few of the lines looked!  But, no traverse stood out until I took a second look at a boulder I first hiked past a couple months ago.  As I took a closer look at the moves, it just kept looking better and better.  It was time to start brushing!  An hour later, I thought the line was ready to go.  Then I remembered that Ashley likes her boulders really clean, so I spent another forty minutes on it.  Then I decided I better try out some moves.  It turned out that I needed to clean a few more foot holds and slopers at the start of the line.  Then I set up a rope and cleaned a highball up the center of the face.  Three hours of exploratory hiking, and over three hours of brushing.  Everything was ready for a wedding anniversary spent bouldering.

The next day we warmed up on a juggy, gymnastic V2 that I named "Doom Doom."  It's named after the sound the huge flake makes when you hit it twice.  If it breaks while you're climbing it, you would be smashed dead.  But the Rock Shop stone is so good, we decided to trust the wedged flake with our lives.

Ashley grabbing the "Doom Doom" flake.

Ashley about to fully commit by heel hooking on the flake.

Topping out.

Once we had warmed up, I took Ashley around the boulder to her anniversary gift.  A fully cleaned, forty five foot traverse, awaiting a first ascent.  I know what my wife likes!

Ashley worked out the beta in three sections, and then attempted the line from the start.  The crux is at the end, Ashley was pumped, but she pulled through on her first full attempt.  She thought the line might be V6.  I think it's a hard line to rate.  The crux fifteen feet, at the end, probably goes at V5.  When Ashley gets there she's just somewhat pumped.  When I get there, I'm too pumped to do it.  No part is harder than V5, but I couldn't send it in a session.  Does that mean it's V7 or over?  In RMNP I did three V6 problems in one session.  Whatever it's rated, it's a very high quality endurance testpiece.  As good as any traverse I've been on!  Ashley decided to name it "L'anniversaire."  I got uncut video of Ashley's ascent, but it's over four minutes long, so I'm not planning to post it.

A few photos of Ashley towards the end of "L'anniversaire."

We toproped the highball line up the center of the face.  It's high quality, but insecure, and the top out will need a more thorough lichen brushing before it's ready to be bouldered.  A proud highball that reminded me of "Hard Rock Cafe" at Flaming Gorge.  The height, angle, difficulty and quality are similar, though the movement is really different up widely spaced rails with angled feet.  It's just one of three quality highballs boulder problems to be done on this face.

This is becoming a long post, but I still have a couple more things to share.  I've spent a few recent evenings climbing things for guide research.  Jeremy shared an old topo with me to the granite on Fairfield hill that included some boulders I'd never heard of.  The Slug boulder just uphill northeast of the parking area on the Fairfield 4WD road was a pleasant surprise.  It isn't a tall boulder, but it has a lot of nice problems on perfect stone.  Uncontrived lines top out at V4, but traverses or eliminates could offer some difficult problems.  It will be in the guide, and I'm looking forward to taking the family back there on a cool evening.

The Slug boulder.

A final thing that felt like a discovery is the book Desert Towers by Steve "Crusher" Bartlett.  I knew the book existed for a while, but didn't feel like spending fifty dollars on a book I'd never seen.  Neptune Mountaineering had a copy, and after looking at it, I decided that I needed it.  It's been an inspiration!  Obviously a labor of love, Steve has assembled the most enjoyable climbing history book that I've ever read.  If you enjoy climbing in the desert, climbing history, or colorful stories about the activities, attitudes, and motivations of people who dedicated themselves to desert climbing, you will enjoy this book.  It's been a powerful reminder of all the things I love about climbing, the things I hope to avoid, and a push towards adventure and discovery.

The world will always be full of things to discover, or rediscover.  

The Last Few Colorado Sessions

for a while at least.

Recent events and upcoming plans have converged to convey a strong sense that time is limited. I've been getting out when I can, and appreciating the chance. We had nice conditions at the KB boulder in RMNP yesterday. Ashley finished off the surprisingly powerful problem "Snizzle Sticks"





I didn't quite figure out my beta quickly enough.

On the 4th of July I got out for a great early morning session with Jacob at Red Feather. More wildflowers than I've ever seen.


We got back on the dyno problem that eluded us for a couple sessions last fall.


I managed to stick the dyno, and finish off the mantle. The mantle was quite strenuous, as seen in the video below. I'm not sure if there's a more elegant way to do it or not. It's probably been done before, but I'm calling it "Buddha Belly" until I learn it has another name.

We did a couple high moderate problems, and had a couple tries each on the Pachyderm project.

Jacob climbing "Raised Eyebrow."


It's hard to say when I'll make it back to Red Feather. I'm going to miss it. My schedule will be quite a bit busier for the rest of the summer. I'll blog when I can, but it might not happen every week.

From Needle Peak to RMNP

Austin and me contemplating "Sweet Things to do When You're Old" on the Polish Boulder.

Ashley contemplating "Into the Wild" in RMNP.

Great sessions this week. On Monday I woke up with a 4:30 AM alpine start so I could meet Davin in Laramie by 7:00. Davin, Austin, and I carpooled over to Needle Peak in Davin's jeep. With high clearance and 4-wheel drive, Davin parked just uphill from the Polish Boulder. It's a perfect boulder with a variety of classic problems including a really nice undone project. I was blown away by the problem "Sweet Things to do When You're Old." Twice I got past the crux to the last move, but couldn't get myself to go for the top. I'll definitely be heading back for it. As with all my best sessions, I was too busy climbing or spotting to do much photography. Davin took these shots and sent them to me.
Going for a hold beyond the frame on "Sweet Things to do When You're Old."

I was so worked by the Polish Boulder that I had negative progress on "The Axe." It should be better when I get back on it fresh. From "The Axe" we hiked up the hill to Davin's roof project. It looked difficult, and felt ridiculous. Davin did well on it. It'll go.
Davin working the project.

We ended the day on an undone problem that Scott and I looked at last fall. It uses a line of three nice holds over a roof before escaping to the left. Coming out the roof off the left side pull feels very committing despite the fact that it isn't too high. Eventually I got myself to go for it, and just barely got my first Needle Peak first ascent. I named it "Question of Trust."

As we loaded the pads into the jeep we noticed a bunch of Bryan's shell casings in the back. Davin commented "That's Wyoming."

The rock, problems, and atmosphere of Needle Peak continue to impress me. Thanks for showing me around Davin, and I hope we can get out again soon.

RMNP was the destination on Tuesday.


With general directions for the "Into the Wild" boulder I dropped off my stuff at Nymph lake, and scouted a vast area until I eventually found it. I ran back, and lead Ashley and the girls to it. "Into the Wild" has some really wide moves that didn't suite Ashley well. She really liked "Outta Season" though. A nice traversing line just to the left.
She did it a couple times for photos and video. I was too worked from Needle to even try it. My shoes were left in the car.




Today, Ashley was at a teaching conference in Denver. I took the girls to the Wild Basin Boulder, and sent "The Pinch Problem." I tried it after doing the "Slot Problem" a couple weeks ago, and thought it felt possible for me this year. The humidity was high, but I discovered new beta using a high left foot that made it just doable. As I finished the session, it began to rain. A common occurrence this summer.

Summer Sessions

We've begun the summer climbing schedule, and it's been incredibly fun. Teaching is hard work, but I really enjoy the benefits. The high chances of rain have kept us close to the car, but the cloudy, cool weather has allowed us to climb at areas that are normally too hot at this time of year. On Tuesday we took a chance on the weather at the Wild Basin boulder in RMNP, and this time luck was with us. Conditions felt better than they ever have. Sunny, but really cool. Amanda climbed with us too, and we passed a handicapped (or should I say tailicapped) squirrel on the short hike in.

My main goal was to finish the "Slot Problem." I've worked on this line for years, and this has generally been my high point.

An attempt from last year.

On Tuesday, I was finally able to hold my position long enough to fit my left hand into the slot rather than jabbing at it as I began to fall. This helped a lot, and going to the top was pretty simple with my left hand locked in. It's a difficult problem.

POV climbing shot from the "Slot Problem."

With the "Slot Problem" finished, I moved on to the "Pinch Problem." While I worked on this, another climber arrived and started working the "Slot Problem" from a sit start.

Low on the "Pinch Problem."

Suddenly I felt like my send of the "Slot Problem" from slightly higher holds wasn't as legit as it should be. I jumped back on, and managed to do it again from the sit start. Ashley did it from the sit start too. It feels good to be stronger, and to have completed one of the projects I wanted to do before we move.

On Thursday, we climbed at the Cloud Shadow wall on Flagstaff Mountain with Amanda. With the exception of Hobo Cave, which has different rock, it had been many years since I'd climbed at Flagstaff. I'd enjoyed "Hagan's Wall," but had the general impression that the rock on Flagstaff was sharp, the pebbles were greasy, and the problems were very sandbagged. Some of these impression are probably true, but I was really impressed by the Cloud Shadow wall on Tuesday. Chuffer's online guide helped quite a bit. In the past, I was usually confused about where problems started, went, and ended. Chuffer's online guide shows exactly where the lines go, and even describes what holds to look for. This really improved the experience. Thanks Chuffer! Cloud Shadow has some of the best stone at Flagstaff as well. Solid, with hueco and rail features.

The Cloud Shadow Wall.

Sierra enjoyed a traverse she found on the "Pedestal." We were given some small rock shoes, and she's been putting them to good use.



Our plan was to work on the "UCT," but we decide pretty early that we didn't feel like trying that hard. I'm hoping my beta was off, because it felt like my wrists might explode from underclinging. At Flagstaff the "easy" problems often aren't too easy, so we tried some of them.
We jumped on the "East Alcove Crack." Here is Amanda giving it a go.



She probably would have jumped back on, but it began to rain. We went back to the base to get our things together. Luckily we didn't move too fast because the rain passed, and the sun came out. The rock dried quickly, and we jumped on "Consideration." It's a fantastic problem that feels committing until you do it. Then you realize it's not that hard or scary. We all did it, and Ashley did it again for photos.

"Consideration"




We completed our workout with the "Cloud Shadow Traverse."

We had a lot of fun on Thursday, so we decide to go back to Flagstaff today. The "King Conquer Rock" and surroundings had high classics for me, and a traverse for Ashley. Alexis joined us, and the weather cooperated. The rock quality at King Conquer Rock isn't as good as at Cloud Shadow, but the location and views can't be beat. Every time you top out, all of Boulder is spread out before you.

Ashley climbing "Layback."

My main goal was to climb the "King Conquer Overhang." It's an impressive line, with everything you could ask for in a problem. I highly recommend it.


"Face Out" was fun and then we noticed Shark's Rock a few rocks south of King Conquer. The "Direct West Face" looked really good so Alexis and I jumped on. A beautiful line in an airy position.


Alexis flashing the line.


The rain came in and ended the session, but our skin was gone anyway. A very fun session. More sessions next week ...