Monday, April 16
a really unlucky day
several hours after my pabst (below), we were still without water, so i left to get some and some birthday goods. en route, my bike's front tire skidded out on a turn and i broke my wrist. poo! i'm headed in to the ortho's in a few days for a cast. no more climbing for a while. also, no more pabst as i consume vast quantities of ibuprofen.
Saturday, April 14
the second on an unlucky day
i returned to the second flatiron yesterday, friday the 13th. it was a nice speedy break at the end of my work day. the hike up and run down weren't enough to toast my knees, since erica and i had a good run this morning.
after our run we went shopping for a bit. when we returned, we found our water shut off after the guys renovating our place hit the main. oops. i was so happy to find a little water in a nalgene. with that gone, not much was left but pabst!
after our run we went shopping for a bit. when we returned, we found our water shut off after the guys renovating our place hit the main. oops. i was so happy to find a little water in a nalgene. with that gone, not much was left but pabst!
Thursday, March 29
fumbledeedum
i finally got to fumbledeedum, the adventure hike i mentioned a while ago. unfortunately, i forgot that i used up my camera's battery when i was out with dave last week. oops. camera phone came in handy though.
the route follows the middle ridgeline, not on the top of the ridge, but just below the slabs among the caves formed by the slabs and the chockstones below them.
first cave.
too much fresh poo. up and over.
second cave. what a goodie. climbed the left wall in the dark to emerge in a small slot - had to remove the backpack to get out.
also pulled the bag for this army crawl!
some of the random massive chocks lingering about.
my route, kinda. the geeps got a little confused after the caves, projected me all over the place like i was in a hovercraft.
after, i decided to climb the route that inspired the fumbledeedum excursion before joining erica in denver for some fun with friends. yay.
the route follows the middle ridgeline, not on the top of the ridge, but just below the slabs among the caves formed by the slabs and the chockstones below them.
first cave.
too much fresh poo. up and over.
second cave. what a goodie. climbed the left wall in the dark to emerge in a small slot - had to remove the backpack to get out.
also pulled the bag for this army crawl!
some of the random massive chocks lingering about.
my route, kinda. the geeps got a little confused after the caves, projected me all over the place like i was in a hovercraft.
after, i decided to climb the route that inspired the fumbledeedum excursion before joining erica in denver for some fun with friends. yay.
picnic, boulder style
it's erica's spring break, but we haven't gotten to do nearly enough fun things for her. boo. so tonight we went on a picnic to our most recent favorite spot among the red rocks at settlers' park.
erica is enjoying a really delicious new chocolate here. yum.
this of course made alfie rather curious. got some for meeeez?
erica is enjoying a really delicious new chocolate here. yum.
this of course made alfie rather curious. got some for meeeez?
Tuesday, March 20
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.
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.
Friday, March 9
return to the second
chris and i climbed the second flatiron today. chris's first free solo, my third. same rock, slightly different route. seems there are unlimited variations.
we both biked up after work/meetings and enjoyed the sun. chautauqua was swarming with undergrads today!
starting up.
squinting up.
i was obsessed with talking about the party ledges, where there's plenty o' space. this would not be one.
chris looks nervous about this next section, but he had a unique solution to the diving board. that's golden's table mountain back there. way back there.
final crack. per chris, "finally some real rock climbing." then picnic followed by the icy, slushy shuffle back down.
starting up.
squinting up.
i was obsessed with talking about the party ledges, where there's plenty o' space. this would not be one.
chris looks nervous about this next section, but he had a unique solution to the diving board. that's golden's table mountain back there. way back there.
final crack. per chris, "finally some real rock climbing." then picnic followed by the icy, slushy shuffle back down.
Sunday, February 26
winter fun
recently, erica, alfie, and i enjoyed a little hike up flagstaff mountain and had a little lunch in the ampitheater as a bride planned her wedding. it snowed a little. a week later i ran up flagstaff and then traversed to green mountain, in the background in the middle. erica offered me some microspikes her dad just gave her, but i declined. and proceeded to fall at least a half dozen times on the descent. ouch.
we've enjoyed climbing in boulder canyon a little bit this winter. this is the bihedral. both times we've visited, our rope stuck in the rappel gully, forcing me to climb the gully in the dark to retrieve it. bleh.
we went to the bihedral with dave, who's interning with my team at MHP, and later returned to the riviera with dave and his girlfriend danni. dave led his first outdoor climb!
speaking of MHP, i had my first snow day. too bad i was too sick to enjoy the fresh powder :( that's ok i guess, because it was this sunny in a couple of days.
although it did take me weeks to recover. erica's friend mari has been encouraging her brother, justin, and me to go climbing together. we were planning to do quandary (a 14er), but his illness prevented it last week and then winds & weather prevented it this week, so we opted to try a series of scrambles. we returned to the regency and this time made it to the true summit.
top o the first and most challenging pitch. when erica and i were here before, it was the most challenging due to this headwall - i didn't think we'd be able to make it around it!
top o the second pitch, one piece of gear only. i was pretty happy to have lots of good ledges to sit on.
one piece on the third pitch (where erica and i stopped) and then we progressed to the very windy, poop-covered summit.
we opted for a downclimb to explore a cave...not much of a cave, but then found a couple of caves/crevices once we headed toward the royal arch, which we soloed for a bit and then hopped off. it's possible to do a simulrappel from the arch, which would have been cheesy fun.
speaking of cheesy...goopy burgers at reuben's were in order after justin and i hobbled down from royal arch with one microspike each. i was full of giggles at the sight of us.
we've enjoyed climbing in boulder canyon a little bit this winter. this is the bihedral. both times we've visited, our rope stuck in the rappel gully, forcing me to climb the gully in the dark to retrieve it. bleh.
we went to the bihedral with dave, who's interning with my team at MHP, and later returned to the riviera with dave and his girlfriend danni. dave led his first outdoor climb!
speaking of MHP, i had my first snow day. too bad i was too sick to enjoy the fresh powder :( that's ok i guess, because it was this sunny in a couple of days.
although it did take me weeks to recover. erica's friend mari has been encouraging her brother, justin, and me to go climbing together. we were planning to do quandary (a 14er), but his illness prevented it last week and then winds & weather prevented it this week, so we opted to try a series of scrambles. we returned to the regency and this time made it to the true summit.
top o the first and most challenging pitch. when erica and i were here before, it was the most challenging due to this headwall - i didn't think we'd be able to make it around it!
top o the second pitch, one piece of gear only. i was pretty happy to have lots of good ledges to sit on.
one piece on the third pitch (where erica and i stopped) and then we progressed to the very windy, poop-covered summit.
we opted for a downclimb to explore a cave...not much of a cave, but then found a couple of caves/crevices once we headed toward the royal arch, which we soloed for a bit and then hopped off. it's possible to do a simulrappel from the arch, which would have been cheesy fun.
speaking of cheesy...goopy burgers at reuben's were in order after justin and i hobbled down from royal arch with one microspike each. i was full of giggles at the sight of us.
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