2006 B-sides and Rarities

Meadow Mountain, nestled on the southern boundary of the Wild Basin of RMNP, is a pretty mellow winter ascent. Best of all, it's relatively avy-safe and has spectacular views. Amy, Luna and I attempted it, but got turned back at about 11,000' by bitter winds and very cold temperatures. Luna, without the benefit of boots and wind shells, really suffered and we stopped to get her a fleece coat immediately afterwards.

Amy and I joined Fabio and Andy on a climb of the fabulous Seal Rock behind our house. It has been almost 2.5 years since we last climbed it and again we followed the classic East Face Right (5.4) route. This time we weren't as pressed for time and made it to the actual summit which was roomy and scenic. The rappel hasn't gotten any less wiggy either; a 50 meter, free-hanging rap down a really mean-looking face. Cold and windy, but beautifully sunny and casual. Andy, as usual, made a movie.

Spring was getting on and we were anxious to get back on the rock after a long winter of no climbing. So we headed south for Turkey Rocks. Only the road was rougher than we'd bargained on, the campground had been closed for a while, and it snowed on us during the night. We didn't get to climb, but we did have a nice explore of Turkey Rocks and then poked around Elevenmile Canyon. Oh well, at least we got to test out the new car-camping tent.

It was Sunday morning and I suddenly didn't have anything to do. So I phoned up Fabio and joined he and Hailey for a quick climb of the First Flatiron via Fandango (5.5). It's a fantastic route and we made quick work of it. Sudden strong winds on the summit made the rappel a bit more exciting than we'd planned, but a good time was had by all.

A long weekend shouldn't be wasted, so Amy and I took Peter and Eileen up to Vedauwoo (our second visit, their first) for some casual camping and climbing. The weather wasn't great, but we got in two half-days of climbing on the famous Vedauwoo granite cracks and slabs as well as some good hiking and lounging about. Best routes were Kim (5.6) and Cornelius (5.5), both leaning finger-hand cracks leads and both unfortunately short.

Eileen on her first lead, a 5.4 slab on the Rat Brain

Wyoming: Big Sky Country

We hadn't seen Amy's sister and her family since the wedding and there was a new nephew to see. So we flew out to Atlanta (one of my favorite cities) and had a really bang-up time. Jacob is now two which means he's interactive and has a personality and everything. I've been kind of luke-warm on the whole kids thing, but I've got to admit, Jacob was a lot of fun. It's fun being an uncle. His younger brother Benjamin was only 6 weeks old and didn't do much beside lie there, but I'm sure he'll become more interesting as well ;-). We saw the zoo, had a birthday party, and generally got to hang out with the family in a relaxing way. Best trip to Atlanta I've ever had!

I hadn't seen Eric since the wedding either since he's been off in South Africa. But he loves climbing and was eager to get out here for a visit. And it was an eventful time, too! We climbed the incredible Swanson's Arete (5.5) at Eldo and Magical Chrome-Plated Semi-Automatic Enima Syringe (5.6) at Lumpy Ridge, both classic routes I've been wanting to do for quite a while. As a "rest day" in between, we headed up to Brainard Lake and attempted Little Pawnee via the East Ridge, but had to turn around at about 12,100' due to incoming snow and low visibility. It made quite an impression on him. It was a great visit and it was good to catch up with one of my closest friends.

Finishing the last pitch of Swanson's Arete (5.5)

After P2 of Magical Chrome-Plated... (5.6)

A nice, moderate 10 mile hike with Amy and Luna up to a pair of lakes in the IPW. The weather was great on the way up, but turned rainy on the way back down. Great flowers and a scenic lakes. I'm increasingly intrigued by this section of the IPW. What's more, I managed to drive the Subaru all the way to the bridge at the Hessie TH. Hah!

Mt. Sherman

Normally climbing a 14er would be a pretty major deal, unless it's Mt. Sherman! Amy and I headed out and camped at the lovely Four Mile Campground, then headed up Mt. Sherman the next morning. We were supposed to meet Chris and company, but they never showed up, so we headed up on our own. The trail was quite easy and more interesting than I'd been lead to expect, especially the last mile. The summit was crowded and the weather less than ideal. It was Luna's first 14er, Amy's sixth, and my 10th. Anxious to get a good workout, I ran 3/4 of a mile over to Gemini Peak (an unranked high 13er), and back in 30 minutes before heading down. The bad weather never materialized, and we arrived back at the TH to find Chris, Susan and the rest of the gang hanging out. Neat!

An abandoned mine at 13,000'

Luna and her first 14er

RMNP Aspens

Amy is taking a photo class and the aspens are starting to turn. We took this as the perfect excuse to join the leaf-peeping hoards up in RMNP. We explored the northern Fall River entrance area and saw Many Parks Curve (where the road was closed), the Alluvial Fan, and hiked up to the impressive Chasm Falls. Very nice! Elk, Aspens, and a definite hint of fall in the air.

Amy and Caroline joined 65,000 other people in running the 14th annual Race for the Cure 5k in Denver. I didn't run it, but provided moral support and photographic services. The weather was pretty crappy, but that didn't dampen the incredible spirits and energy. Best quote was from a woman on her phone trying to rendesvous with someone: "Hey, I'm over near the registration tent. I'm wearing... well, I'm wearing pink!"

The Needles of Lumpy Ridge

Rocky Mountain National Park

On a remarkably snowy morning in Boulder, we left to "do something in RMNP". Much to our surprise, it was completely clear and calm up there with only a dusting of early-season snow. Chris, Fabio, Peter, and I met up with Andy and Eric from Ft. Collins and, unneccessarily loaded for bear, climbed the gully between Sundance and Thunder Buttresses to the Needles, the highest point of Lumpy Ridge. Chris produced sushi at the summit and we had a very mellow and relaxing time. We descended by the wild and snowy west ridge. This involved thrashing through a lot of deep powder in dense, steep forest. Better down than up!

Andy's Photos

Approaching Sundance Buttress and The Needles (the tall spire on the right).

Peter, Andy, and Eric at the summit. I'm not really sure what's going on here.

Chickening Out on Icarus

It's my birthday, I can do whatever I want! Unfortunately, Amy was sick, so I joined Fabio and Andy for a climb of Tower 1 at Eldo. I'd been to the Redgarden wall before, but this was Fabio's first visit to the tallest wall at Eldo, and Andy's first time in Eldo at all. Fabio took the first bold lead on the first pitch of Rewritten to the Red Ledge. I took over from there and did about 1.5 pitches of Icarus (5.6) until I ran out of rope. Setting up a very precarious belay, I brought Andy and Fabio up in parallel, Fabio passing me and taking a short P2. For an Eldo 5.6, it wasn't bad... until the last pitch! I lead out on a thin ledge to the freakishly exposed arete at the top of T1. I'd expected the exposure, but, much to my horror, there were 20' of blunt arete with no holds, no pro, and a strong cross-wind. This was a bit more than I wanted to commit to on my cumpleano, so I backed off and finished, tail between my legs, on the last pitch of Daedelus (5.5) to the left. Still, it was a very nice, mellow day climbing. I'll have to come back and put this one to bed when I'm feeling bolder.

Andy's Photos

I wasn't feeling well, so Fabio and I canned the planned long trip in RMNP and opted for a mellow Flatiron climb. Pellaea is on the Roach top ten list but few people ever climb it compared with the giant, popular First and Third Flatirons. It's isolated little flatiron deep in the wilds of Fern Canyon (Pellaea is a genus of fern) and still has that wild feeling. After a nice hike in, we geared up at the bottom of the climb. I lead P1 and found the crux about 100' up to be a 20' smooth, steep chute. Standing on dime edges 30' above my last gear was pretty intense--exactly what I needed to shake the tryptophan out of my system. Fabio took P2 and stretched the 70 meter rope out over all kinds of slabby terrain. I took the last pitch, opting to follow the direct route up a bulge on thin holds. After half a rope length of pure fun, interesting moves, and airy position, I stood in one of the huge potholes on the summit and brought Fabio up. Beautiful place, very isolated, lots of ravens. We located the rap anchor and rapped north into the Pellaea/Onoclaea notch. The notch was very cool, but the rope was pretty well stuck above us. After some serious yarding, the rope finally moved (lucky!). Great times on the best flatiron I've climbed in quite a while.

Hidden Falls Ice

Brian, Andy, Fabio, Chris, Peter, and I headed up for some ice cragging at Hidden Falls in Wild Basin (RMNP). The day was beautiful and mild, and the approach was short and easy (for an ice climb). Unfortunately, winter seemed to have taken a break for a couple days and the ice wasn't quite in condition yet. The Falls is a 75' wall with a fat blob down below and a tall column reaching up to an overhang above. Everything was very chandelliered and fragile, dripping with water. In the interests of ice husbandry we stayed off the fragile stuff of the upper pillar and most of the lower as well. But we rigged a TR and managed to find a relatively fat line on the far right of the lower blob. Each of us got in two climbs. Chris, Brian, and I tackled a thin smear on the right and Andy and Peter got to swing tools for the first time. I got to try out my updated system (new leashes-great, rigid, steel crampons-okay) which is better than my system from last season but still needs some work (new crampons, sharper picks). Courtesy of Fabio's rented Nomics, I now see the advantage in curved tools for hooking. Didn't place any screws on lead, but messed around extensively on flat ground. The new speed knobs make an amazing difference! Made a couple of V-threads as well which seem to be remarkably strong.

Andy's Muppet-riffic Movie
Photos!