Its officially gym climbing season. More because of the short hours of daylight than the temperatures. It's tough to make it up Boulder Canyon or down to Eldo after work. Outdoor climbing is now relegated to the weekends, and lower elevations. Unfortunately the snow hasn't showed up yet in the high-country, so it's not ski season either. Investing in a pair of ice tools and screws could be a good investment this year. It looks like there is already some great ice and mixed climbing to be had up in RMNP.
I had the pleasure of wrapping-up my climbing season with a trip to Indian Creek. I had never been before and it was everything I had hoped it would be: splitter cracks, great weather, fun camping, and a great crew of friends. Conveniently, we had 5 doubles racks so we could easily get on any climb. My brother Matthew and I arrived on Friday night, with just enough daylight for 1 climb. We headed up to the Rambo Walls, which was close to our campsite in the cottonwoods. We hopped on a 2 star 5.9 called Rochambeau. If that climb were anywhere else it would be a 4 star classic. After such a great warm-up I was stoked and knew we were going to have a great trip.
Matt cleaning Rochambeau (5.9) just before sunset
We spent all day Saturday at Battle of the Bulge and Donnely Canyon. The Cave Route (5.11), Railroad Tracks (5.10), Mr. Peanut (5.10+), and Chocolate Corner (5.10-) were the highlights of the day, as well as the company of our group! In fact, the company was as good as the climbing in my opinion. Time around camp cooking, talking, eating, drinking and spending time around the campfire was great.
Breakfast in the Cottonwoods
The base of the Cave route (5.11)
Railroad Tracks (5.10)
Chocolate Corner (5.10-)
Campfire
Sunday, we headed back up to the Rambo Walls. Before sunset on Friday, Matthew and I ran around the base of the cliff scoping cool lines and assembling a tick list. The crag was PACKED when we got there, and all the lines we had scoped were taken, which is a terrible feeling. We were obviously trying to get our bearings and find something...anything that was open. To make the situation worse, a famous old-school hard-man came over to us and started spraying. He capped off his unsolicited advice by recommending we go climb somewhere 5 hours away in southwestern Utah. By that point in the day it would have been the same if he had recommended climbing in the Yosemite Valley. Our group scrambled around to Left Rambo where we finally found some great, available climbs. We spent the day working back along the crag and by late afternoon all the early birds had left and we had the crag to ourselves. So, it all worked out in the end, except that we were too exhausted to make a real attempt at Way Rambo (5.12). The best climbs of Sunday were Way Rambo, Blue Sun (5.10-), and the Monk (5.10).
Those of us who played hooky and stayed until Monday headed over to the Fisher Towers for a quick lap up Stolen Chimney on Ancient Art (5.10d) before hitting the road. Any time I plan for a smash and grab ascent of a classic line I inevitably get stuck behind a slow party, and this time was no exception. We got gummed up behind a slow party of 3 who must have been really slow as our party of 5 caught them very quickly. Thankfully the route has massive belay ledges, so we were able to sit around comfortably while we waited and we made friends with the slow party. The climbing was pretty good and the summit was outstanding!
Fisher Towers with the Stolen Chimney Summit in the upper right
If you spend any time reading about outdoor adventure or climbing like I do, you've probably heard how "peaks" are fleeting and "valleys" can seem to last forever and everything really boils down to "enjoying the journey," which can be an emotional roller-coaster. My September (AKA Sendtember) was a year's worth of those cliche truths wrapped into one month.
I had plans for a bid on the Nose in mid September with my brother Matthew, but the last week in July I partially tore a pulley in my ring finger working some lame boulder problem at the gym. Suddenly the El Cap bid was in question, and I swore off bouldering forever (my only real climbing injuries have happened while bouldering, of course I have also been bouldering since). I spent the next few weeks practicing aid and resting. Some initial healing happened quite quickly and I was soon confident on 5.9. I even found I could climb harder if I stuck to crack climbing and stayed away from crimps.
With the alpine rock season winding down, I made some last minute plans to climb Pervertical Sanctuary, 5.11- on the Diamond. It had been on my tick list since last summer and I thought it would be good training for the Nose, as well as a test of my finger. I've only climbed the Diamond twice and each time it had proven to be quite a challenge. My partner, Anthony, and I headed up on Friday afternoon, planning on bivying at Chasm Lake. However, after a comedy of errors we got to the trail-head just before dusk. We were out of daylight and too late to obtain a bivy permit. After weighing our options, we decided to camp nearby and go for it car-to-car in the morning.
Looking down the Diamond
The Diamond car-to-car makes for an arduous day, but the climbing was spectacular and we had perfect weather. I was hoping Anthony would lead the hard stuff, as he usually climbs a bit harder than me and I had a bad finger. Unfortunately, the approach and alpine conditions were pretty taxing on him which left most of the leading up to me. After the second to last pitch (5.10 off-width at 14,000ft) we were both bonking. On the last pitch to Table Ledge my hands kept cramping shut every time I let go of the rock, due to the cold, dehydration, and exhaustion. It made climbing tough and placing gear even tougher. Thankfully the climbing was only 5.9 at that point. We did the D7 rappels and hit the trail for the 3hr hike back to the car. After a 2am start we finally made it back to the car by 10pm. I still can't believe Steph Davis free soloed this route! The video below is an account of her free solo, it has some great footage of Pervertical Sanctuary and is a good depiction of climbing on the Diamond, except that she makes it look way too easy. It felt great to climb the Diamond, but I'm a little embarrassed about how much it worked me.
Upon returning to Boulder, I had a text message from my brother Matt, saying he had broken his arm slacklining. Just like that Yosemite was unquestionably out the window. I canceled my flight 2 days later, but we are already making plans for next year. It was pretty disappointing though.
I spent the rest of my September climbing around Boulder. I'm super stoked on Lumpy Ridge right now. The climbing up there is so good! I also made a trip to Independence Pass. I was very impressed with the climbing there. I wasn't expecting it to be such a destination, but the setting was very pretty and the rock was excellent with a mix of great trad and sport climbing. Apparently Rock and Ice agrees, because it is currently the cover article!
Lumpy Ridge
UP NEXT: Indian Creek? Ski Season? Country Club Crack Send? The Naked Edge?
My other recent backpacking trip was to the Tetons with Laura over Labor Day weekend. We hit the road Friday afternoon and made it to the Tetons a little after midnight. We slept in the back of the Sequoia (I love that SUV, it doubles as a camper) in the parking lot for a local climbing crag. At dawn we awoke to a spectacular sunrise that turned the Tetons shades of orange and pink. Since it was Labor Day weekend, there were people lining up at the ranger station for walk-in backcountry permits. Laura and I cooked breakfast in line (GNAR points??) and after obtaining our permit and bear canister we hit the Paintbrush Canyon trail. Low-hanging clouds were around for most of the morning, but the weather held for our 7 mile hike in to Holly Lake.
After setting up camp at the lake some darker clouds rolled through and it began to rain. We got in the tent and took a much needed nap. A few hours later, the skies began to clear and we headed over to the lake for a swim. I love swimming when I go backpacking. It doesn't matter how cold the water is, I almost always go for a quick dip. I always feel so refreshed afterwards and I sleep better. Shortly after our swim more dark clouds began to build to the West. Supposedly there had been a lot of bear activity around Holly Lake, so we hustled to cook dinner away from our camp before the next round of thunderstorms. Unfortunately, as we finished cooking it started hailing hard and thundering and lightning. We decided to eat in the vestibule of our tent which is terrible bear awareness, but it sure seemed better than eating out in the elements. We did store all the food and garbage well away from our tent afterwards. The thunderstorms hung around all evening and into the night, which I figured would keep the Bears hunkered down instead of bothering us in the tent.
We both slept long and hard, awaking to crystal blue skies in the morning. Originally, we planed to be up and out of camp early, as we had a 13 mile hike out over a mountain pass. However, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast while our tent dried. The hike up to the Paintbrush divide was quite beautiful, but crisp and windy. From the divide, it was about 10 miles out, but it was all downhill through Cascade Canyon. On the way out we stopped at lake solitude for a snack. The highlights of the hike out were seeing 2 moose and the stunning views! After a long day, we finally made it back to the car. Since Laura is training for a marathon, she thought it was a good idea to cap off our day with a run, as she "needs mileage." I was crazy enough to join her in a jog around String lake, turning our 13 mile day into nearly 18 miles.
Saturday evening, we poked around Jackson. It's a quaint little town, but it is also very touristy. We grabbed dinner and beers at the local brewery which was great, especially after a long day. That evening we camped at a campground and the next morning we went to my favorite little bagel shop in Wilson. After breakfast, we hit the road for Yellowstone. Laura had never been and it seemed like a great place to go since we didn't feel like hiking much, however, it added quite a bit of driving to our day. We hit all the hotspots, the mud pots, Old Faithful, the colorful pools, The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and the buffalo herds. After we had our fill of Yellowstone we headed home to Boulder. Overall it was a great trip.
I did a decent amount of backpacking this summer (at least for me). In the last month, I went on 2 trips, both were fantastic. So much of the time I am hellbent on climbing something, and as a result I often have a hard time getting excited to go "just backpacking." This summer I found a lot of freedom and relaxation in backpacking and I had a blast getting out there. It felt really good to shed the weight of the rack, rope, and harness; to go light and fast through the mountains; to stay in my sleeping bag a little longer; and to enjoy more "quality time" with my wife and friends.
The first trip was to the Elk Mountains with my 2 high school buddies James and Phil. I had loosely planned an extremely ambitious 30 mile loop, hoping to bag the 14ers Capitol Peak and Snowmass Mountain. The first day was an adventure through some open range cattle country. We also had some minor route-finding issues (our planned loop was not very popular nor well traveled). After humbly asking some real-life cowboys for directions we made some great progress and eventually found a spectacular campsite near treeline, atop a bluff overlooking the East Snowmass Creek valley.
The next morning we were on the trail reasonably early with a Capitol Peak summit bid. We cashed our packs just below 13,000ft to get ready for the knife-edge ridge leading to Capitol's incredible summit. The legendary knife-edge ridge did not disappoint. The exposure was breathtaking and the 4th class climbing was enjoyable, on solid rock. After our summit bid, we descended to our next campsite at Capitol Lake for a relaxing afternoon of fishing and swimming. At the lake James ran into his U of O college buddy, Jackson and his friend Forrest (they planned on summiting Capitol the next day). We decided to share our campsite with them and had a great evening sharing food and whiskey with old friends and new friends.
Capitol had proven to be a pretty tiring and technical peak, so James, Phil, and I decided to nix Snowmass and head out a bit early. We had a gorgeous hike through the White River National Forest that put us back to the car by early afternoon. We finished off our trip with a swing through a place where the "beer flows like wine and where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano." We also stopped in Leadville for a beer before finally car camping at Echo Lake in preparation to summit the more mellow 14er Mt. Evans the next morning.
Desolation Sound is one of the most spectacular places I have ever been. Earlier this month I had the opportunity to explore this incredible place with my family. We chartered a sailboat out of Comox for a week of exploration in this sound, located Northwest of Vancouver in British Columbia. Desolation Sound is so stunning because of the deep fjords and channels that wind their way through glaciated peaks with mountainsides covered in majestic, deep forests. Most months of the year can be quite gloomy, however the summer months generally see sunshine. Due to a tidal phenomenon the water in the sound, which looks like it should be 40-50 degrees heats well in to the 70s, making swimming, sailing and other water activities very enjoyable.
Our week-long voyage aboard our mono-hull, Hart Beat, was fantastic. Each day we would sail to a new bay or cove and anchor for the night. We would explore the surrounding areas by hiking through the forests for fun, or more often with the destination of a freshwater lake, which were crystal clear and wonderful for swimming. We would also kayak around the shoreline looking for tide pools, seals, or Native American pictographs. Fishing was a lot of fun too. We caught enough Ling Cod to feed the family two nights (disappointingly, we didn't catch any salmon). One of the real highlights was the deep-water soloing. Many of the impeccable granite cliffs continued directly into the water for several hundred feet. The rock was excellent granite and the falls were clean into warm water. I think there is a lot of potential for the development of deep-water soloing in the area.
Overall it was an unforgettable trip filled with great family time and the enjoyment of God's beautiful creation.
It's been a while since my last post. I've been super busy with family and friends in town, which is great. One of the best reasons for living in Colorado is that people come visit. Most of the recent visitors were out here for the Triple Bypass Ride. The ride covers 122 miles from Evergreen to Avon and summits 3 mountain passes (hence the name Triple Bypass). So, for the past few months, I've been riding quite a bit to train.
One of the best training rides I did was riding up Mt. Evans, with my father-in-law Dave, who also rode in the Triple. Mt. Evans is unlike many other 14ers, as it has a road going nearly to it's summit. As a result it is written off by many 14er enthusiasts; however, it is a great alpine playground for other activities, like rock climbing, skiing, and cycling (It's also a great place to propose to your girlfriend). The ride up the USA's highest auto road was very scenic and great altitude training for the triple.
Dave on the Mt. Evan's Road
The Triple was a lot of fun. There were about 15 people in our group, all friends and family. Unfortunately, I had some mechanical problems: breaking my chain twice and messing up my rear derailleur. But, thanks to my team members, our sag team, and a some mechanics at a rest stop, I was able to finish the ride. The weather also turned pretty nasty at Loveland Pass, the 2nd of the mountain passes. As we started climbing it began drizzling and there were rumblings of thunder. As we ascended, the rain intensified and eventually turned to hail as the temperature dropped. The thunder and lightning also grew closer until there was no delay between the flash and bang, quite terrifying when above treeline. The decent was harrowing as well. Riding 40mph in 40 degree rain was bone-chillingly cold. By the bottom a few of our riders were on the verge of hypothermia. Thankfully we were able to warm up at a much needed rest stop. From there it was pretty smooth sailing up and over Vail Pass, although we continued to battle the rain for the remainder of the ride. Overall it was pretty epic, and a great adventure with friends and family.
One of the things I love about living in Boulder, is the ability to be out in the mountains very quickly. On Friday afternoon my wife, Laura, texted me, asking if I wanted to go for a trail run that afternoon. I was ecstatic and by 5pm we hit the trail from the 4th of July Trailhead with the objective of South Arapaho Peak (13,397). I love trail running because it is so light and fast. It's like hiking but so much faster. We made quick work of the peak and summited within two hours. We enjoyed a snack and some water on the summit and then we were on our way. Running downhill is truly the joy of trail running. In no time we both had a great runner's high and we were enjoying the scenery and conversation as we jogged down to the car. In 3.5 hours we had logged nearly 9 miles of trail and over 3200ft of elevation gain. It was a great evening in the mountains with my beautiful wife.
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