seal rock

erica and i got a little climbing in this weekend at woods quarry in the flatirons. the sun was awesome, as were the many chairs formed from giant blocks. the holds, weren't quite as awesome. i got to use the rare crimp & smear combo to negotiate the routes. my butt really hurt from the awkward slab technique, but i had a good time.

the next day, dave and i slaboneered seal rock. that's it in the center & to the left is the goose. unfortunately, i got a little too excited on the approach and went towards the wrong cave on the other side of the valley. oh well - we got to check out some fun boulders and squeeze in a bit more cardio.



nice lengthy approach, even without the missed turn.


fun start, not unlike the second flatiron...a little less featured, though less steep.




looking back from the top of the first pitch. oh, btw, this is dave's first trad climb. my routefinding mistake allowed us to bump into connor, my old boss from the farm. it was his first climb ever, which was pretty cool considering the funky rappel off the top.


seems to be a happy first trad climb. i hope!





cresting the top of the third pitch at the neck of the seal. the wind had really picked up by this point, so i was glad to have made it to a little cleft for windbreaking. connor's party was not quite so lucky - had to stop 15 feet shy of the cleft...brr.


not sure when dave snagged this photo from the cleft - perhaps while i was struggling to take up rope... i'm looking forward to trying out the new petzl reverso to help with this.


took us two pitches to get up to the top, where we were greeted by plenty o clouds.





the rap was pretty lengthy with an awkward start between a giant sloping flake and the wall. it made my finger bleed. pretty impressive for dave and connor, i must say.



we got some fresh rain and winds on the return - smelled great. i was really craving a burger, but instead found myself making brussel sprouts and peanuts, a take on a dish erica and i had a riffs, our new favorite happy hour.