Climbing Log: Castlewood Canyon, Grocery Store Wall

Climbed at Castlewood Canyon with Janet. Short routes but interesting. Topped everything...'cuz you can. For my Dallas, TX friends, this reminded me of Mineral Wells. This wall is conglomerate so fairly rough but lots of interesting huecos and embedded pebbles. We started fairly mellow with with Licorice Stick and Rain Dance.
I found the start of Rain Dance Crack, to be a difficult thin move but otherwise very nice. We ended surrounded by mosquitoes on Gorilla Milk Direct so called it after the initial climb. We'd like to get back there again but on the east side where the rock looks more like sandstone and the cracks more sustained.

Action Filled Week!

...and I'm so tired! My whole body is sore. Not like when I was in my 20's or even 30's. There's just no bouncing back no matter how hectic. I think I need a rest week, not just a rest day! :)

Here's the recap:

Wednesday - Climbed Clear Creek Canyon, Lower Capitalist Crag, with Andrea after work.
Friday - Hosted Boulder/Pizza night
Saturday - Rode Buffalo Creek trails with Paul, Sandi and Mike
Sunday - Climbed Lumpy Ridge, George's Tree, in Estes Park with Silvia

Phew! I'm exhausted but completely happy and excited about having an action filled summer this year!! I’m also going to try and keep my blog more current with the rides and climbs I’m doing. If nothing else, it’s a nice place to log my activities…god knows I have trouble remembering the simplest things nowadays!

Climbing Log: Lumpy Ridge, The Book, George's Tree

View taken of Long's Peak during hike back to car.

My alarm sounded off at 5:30AM (a novelty for me!) and I picked up Silvia to climb at Lumpy Ridge in Estes Park. The last time I was there, Fred and I climbed a 5.6 on Sundance Buttress. A spooky slabby traverse on the 3rd pitch had me quaking in my boots! Ahh, old school ratings! Nothing better to put you in your place. There’s also the infamous afternoon thunderstorms to add to the character of Lumpy Ridge. But today, the weather’s perfect! A touch of wind, mild cloud cover by mid day to shelter us from the sun, and temps in the 70’s.

We arrive, probably around 8:30 AM, and hike about 1.5 miles to The Book. We settle on George's Tree, where maybe I can lead the 3rd pitch. The first two pitches can be summed up in what Silvia yelled down to me right before launching into pitch 1, "Welcome to flare [crack] school!" No kidding!! I do okay on the p1, but on p2, the flared crack widened and deepened which renders my toe jamming useless. I actually watched Silvia do the toe/heel foot jam and told myself to make a mental note to do the same. Of course, when time came, I smear, slip, and slap to no avail. After taking twice and Silvia kindly yells down beta about the toe/heel jam. It works! I grunt, shimmy, and inch my way up through that section then to the belay ledge. Pitch 2 and I'm wiped! Silvia points upward to the next crack section and asks if I want to lead it. After that last zinger, I knew I was out of my league. I remember someone saying that there is nothing graceful about crack climbing (unless you're one of the top folks). You use just about any body part available to you to make a go of it. It's a true full body workout. God know why I have a bruise on the top of my shoulder?!

For p3 we end up a little off route and do the left side of The Box. Thus, for our we traverse right up a doable crack, then traverse left up a dihedral to get to back on track. As a result, there's so much rope drag that we stop short of the top out and set up a belay about 20-30 feet below. P5's fairly easy, but my legs are spent and shaky by this point and each step up is a work out.

What a spectacular view from the top! Did I bring my camera up? Nope, down in the pack, of course. We take in the view for a little bit before heading down the exit scramble. I really enjoyed the scramble, reminded me of my Joshua Tree days (I never rock climbed, only scrambled). All that scrambling there made this second nature and a blast. My legs burn during the final minutes of the hike out and we get to the car around 6:30PM - what a long day! Weary yet rejuvenated; I'm truly excited that there are more days like this in store. With climbing partners like Andrea and Silvia, the possibilities are endless!

MTB Log: Buffalo Creek, Shingle Mill Variation

I met up with Paul, Sandi & Mike (new Texan transplants) to ride the Buffalo Creek trails, one of my all time front range favorites. From the Little Scraggy Trail Head, we took the Shingle Mill spur and looped back via the Morrison Creek trail. It was a gorgeous day out and my first ride there this season. I'm feeling pretty good about my mountain biking capacity so far. Since I barely rode last year, I thought I would really suffer this year. But this being only my 5th ride of the season, I don't feel as if I've lost any significant ground. Very encouraging. I'm committed to ride at least once a week this year. Doesn't seem like much but I'm also committed to climb at least 3 times a week, one of those being outside. So far so good these last couple of weeks.

Friday Bouldering/Pizza Night

We hosted a bouldering/pizza party at our house. It's really climbing with lots of beer and socializing. Joe and Janet upped it a notch and brought ingredients for mojitos! We pulled the first recipe found off google and with a heavy hand on the rum, Joe's first pitcher came out incredible tasty and smooth. You could swear he forgot to mix in the rum but he kept pointing to the bottle (more than half gone) to prove its potency. Knowing I had to get up early-ish the next day for a ride, I abstained and stuck to cider. Most everyone else happily indulged except the beer die-hearts and the kids of course. There were 3 that evening ranging in age from 11 to almost 5. They added such a fun raucous nature to the evening, an energy and zest we adults can no longer muster or tap. They checked out the frogs/frog-poles (all our tadpoles have their front legs now too), ran around the deck with the dogs, bouldered and leaped on the crash pad, crammed down pizza, pondered the feelings of dogs, savored watermelon, and raced cars on the xbox. We adults drank, ate, climbed and happily chatted the evening away.

Climbing Log: Clear Creek Canyon, Lower Capitalist Crag

After work, I climbed Clear Creek Canyon, Lower Capitalist Crag, with Andrea. What a strong climber and gentle soul. We started with Cheap Labor, pretty mild until the last 2 bolts on the blank face to the anchors. Small thin features had me chanting "trust your feet, trust your feet...". I didn't and took twice. I finally mustered my courage, trusted my feet, got precariously high enough the clip the last bolt. Thank god I was pink pointing!! I'd otherwise have to make another move after that to get the draw in and frankly I don't think I had it in me to commit through. Andrea then led Aries (I think), a fairly run out spooky lead. Fun climb and was glad I didn't lead it. Finally in the waning light, Andrea led Stroh's, an 11A. This thing completely spanked me! I couldn't even get to the second bolt!! I fortunately, had the humility and foresight to ask Andrea to put the rope through the anchors on her lead in case I couldn't do the climb. She only had to re-climb and clean the first 3 bolts used as directionals. We packed up with the last of the light and headed to Ali Baba's for a satisfying Mediterranean meal and great conversation.

Iris Garden

Had a very nice outing with Judie at the Iris 4 U Iris Garden. It's in the middle of Sheridan, an older suburb of Denver. Quite a departure from it's environs. The variety is overwhelming! Some are very fragrant. There was one blue one that smelled, well, frankly like "blue" (think Jolly Rancher or Gatorade).

Here's a very small sampling of the garden:

Alan's visit

Alan came down the mountain! It's been too long since we last saw him. Sometimes it feels like we see him and Krista less now than when they lived in Salt Lake! We rode Saturday behind the house. Poor Paul was having an off day so we headed back after the tree landing (for those who know our trail) and got started on dinner. Alan, Fred and Joe rode a bit past the cabin so Alan could get a look at the aspen/fern groves up there. I'm sure the columbine are sprouting by now too.

After the ride, we were joined by Beth, Janet and Steve for a festive dinner of our standard "lump of meat" (grilled pork loin), grilled portabellos, grilled corn, pan seared vinegar garlic shrimp, sauteed crimmini mushrooms, and a wonderful summer spinach salad with raspberries and nectarines (by Janet). We ended the evening with an ice cream turtle pie, port and chocolate care of Beth. I love these joint effort dinners.

Red Rocks Concert - Emmy Lou Harris & John Prine

Went to our first concert this season at Red Rocks. Emmy Lou Harris opened for John Prine. Both were wonderful. Emmy Lou seems to be more beautiful as the years roll on. She has such an ease and gentle charisma on stage. You can imagine her being a country diva on stage; instead she's simply at home.

Prine, what a consummate performer! I think the last time I saw him was about 15 years ago at the Strawberry Festival. Unfortunately for him, he's not under the same graceful aging spell as Emmy Lou. He stiffly walked with a slight limp to the mike. I wondered how this would affect his performance. But the moment he began, he was lively, light and playful. Whether he played alone or with his 3 piece band, Red Rocks resonated with his presence and music. It's still hard to believe that a 3 piece band can "fill" so much space. They also treated us with several duets; twangs intertwined, her's crisp, his lilting.

Here are some pix with our little camera...

All Girl Climb/Camp Weekend...yes honey, that does mean you can't come!

Spent a wonderful weekend with a group of intelligent and savvy outdoor enthusiasts who happen to all be women. It's so funny how many men & significant others asked if they could come. What part of "All Girls" don't you understand?! Some of the other gals recalled their last "all girl" camp outs. After racking my brain, I'd have to say this is my very first! Sure I've camped with a girlfriend before but not a whole group.

I have to admit, initially, I was tentative that there would be too much "estrogen" for me. Instead I was completely blown away by how brilliant, diverse and accomplished these women are - not just in their outdoor activities. There were also lots of women specific topics too and I think I learned way more about the trials and tribulations of breast feeding than I ever wanted! And yes, lots and lots of laughs for the entire weekend. Best part, I think I walked away with some new found friends for life!

We camped and climbed at Vedauwoo, WY, just a short 2 1/2 hours north of Denver. Beautiful granite rock formations that reminds me very much of my beloved Joshua Tree NP. It's the first time I've delved into crack climbing (vs. face/sport climbing). Wow, it's different! I was reduced to novice and struggled at everything. But the support and patience from all the gals helped me persevere.

On of the gals, Kira, is a writer for The Mile Hive. Here's her cool article about our weekend: Inside an all-lady outdoors get-away.

Yes, another trip where I took absolutely zero photos. I wanted to make sure my engagement was completely devoted to climbing and socializing. I only knew a couple of the ladies and the last thing I wanted to was annoy them with my camera and it's phallic lens! The rest of you know me well enough that I don't have to give a crap about annoying you!! ;) Here are some pix from Kira, Kre and Andrea:


(Group Shot: Kre, Kira, Beth, Andrea, Ida, Silvia & Tanya)

Here's my climbing log for the trip: All Girl Climb/Camp Weekend - Climbing Log

All Girl Climb/Camp Weekend - Climbing Log

The first day was spent around the Nautilus. I followed the first pitches of Captain Nemo, the Grand Traverse and Friday the 13th. I had an easier time with the Grand Traverse than Captain Nemo though it was suppose to be easier. The Grand Traverse had more for my left foot (not in the crack) to use where as the rock around Captain Nemo seem smooth and barren of features. Also, my belayer Silvia, an immensely experienced climber, gave me a great primer on how to place a hand jam. What a difference!! But didn't help much with Friday the 13...boy was that ugly! My lack of crack climbing technique had me lie backing the first part...strenuous to say the least. Then I got a primer on how to properly cam my toes into the crack. Much better but painful! I think I just about took every few feet. It's a miracle I made it to the anchors!

The second day was spent at the Fall Wall primarily slab climbing. Foot work and trust are big factors and when it's been a while, it's hard to feel anything but wigged out...even on top rope! We climbed 5.11 Crack (actually rated 5.9), Cold Finger and Gunga Din. Amazing how the smallest non-feature is HUGE with this kind of climbing. The first two went well enough but Gunga Din was crazy hard and barren! Yes, there was lots of taking, grunting and chewing...I was sucking on Shot Bloks and every time the slab got nasty, I demolished the blok with nervous chewing.

I was suppose to try and lead an easy 5.4 crack but honestly, the slab climbing had my nerves on end and my head unscrewed (...more than usual). So we went on to Edward's Crack on Walt's Wall instead. Beth and Silvia led with Tanya and I in tow. I found the middle of the first pitch the hardest. It's was larger than a fist crack for me but not large enough for a chicken wing. I know what all the books say I'm suppose to do, but at the moment, all that info was useless static. After some dropped gear (I was just butter fingers the entire weekend!), a stuck cam and a nut tool (how not to lower a nut tool while on a finger/hand crack), and Beth's scary lead fall at the top of the second pitch, we made it to the anchors, waited for the Silvia and Tanya, rapped down, and walked out chilled, tired, hungry but happy.