After a long hiatus, I return to the blogosphere to rave on my last Vandy Outdoor Rec trip as a college student. This past week took seven others and me to grand Colorado for a climbing fest of no comparison.
Day One - The sickness begins as we fly from Nashville to Denver, then drive to Boulder and set off right away on the 1st Flatiron. The impressively uplifted sandstone is long, slabby, and offers marginal protection. From the looks of it, it probably gets more free solo ascents (no rope or gear) than roped. An older, heavier gentlemen summitted at the same time as me. He climbed it in 57mins. My partner and I took FIVE HOURS! Wow . . . It was a long day. A rope SNAFU left me down climbing, self-lowering, and flipping my lid trying to un-stick the rope on pitch 6 or 7.
After a mellow day of cragging in Golden on day two, we prepared for the trip to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park.
Day 3 - It's only 2:30 am. UHHHHH. Get up, get dressed, get out the door. Some go to Mt Lady Washington, some head to camp. Nap. Wake up. Wait. Wait. Some return from early morning multipitch climb at 12pm. Finally, we go climb at Lily Lake. That trip is cut short quickly by a raging wind and sand storm - blasting gusts of 50-70mph. Thankfully everyone makes it back safely.
Day 4 - Lumpy Ridge. It's been 2 yrs since first climbing here as a young nooblin. With a part of three, we head to the Left Book to do some easier climbing. Zingando, a 5.5 slab climb offers enough of a mental workout for me. I've never before had to pull a roof on a 5.5. Huh. Any way, it's a fun, though short day at the rock. About 5mi of hiking for just 2 pitches.
Day 5 - The mountains are calling my name. The myth, the man, the legend Jamie Dial, my friend and sidekick Michael, and I head off to climb Dreamweaver, a long and beautiful line on 13,900 ft Mt. Meeker. OH YEAH! After an aerobic hike, we three solo the first few snow pitches before roping up for a mixed rock/ice step. The snow conditions were exceptional, and the climbing spectacular. The first step, which we belayed, offered a neat combo of ice and rock stemming moves. Sick! We simul-clilmbed the second half of the route - mostly snow and one more mixed step before scrambling the summit traverse! WOW - 1500 ft of fantastic climbing! INCREDIBLE!
The descent was the scariest part, though. To avoid the very steep Loft topout, we traversed a snow ramp (if you slide, you're taking a several hundred foot fall off the cliff) into the Loft. Unroped and downclimbing, we all eventually made it. With the hard part done, we had some fun by glissading (sliding) the final few hundred feet! WEEEEEEEE!
Day 6 - Pumped (and tired) from the day before, a few of us headed back to Lumpy for some shredding the gnar. Though I was not particularly motivated and could have simply followed something, fate dealt me a second chance at Pear Buttress. PB was my intro to Lumpy (and climbing) two yrs ago. My partner and I flailed behind our leader, and we bailed after one pitch. This time it was me on the sharp end, and I was prepared to see things through on this mega-classic climb.
Pitch 1 offers a 20ft runout from the ground on 5.7 slab before stemming to the massive flake. Trying to combine P1 and P2, I kept going (but not far enough) to some thing cracks for the belay. A short 2nd pitch got us back on route rather than ascending the 5.10 cracks where I belayed. Pitch 3 is the business! 5.8 finger to hand crack for a hundred feet or more. AHHH! SO SICK! I was flowin, in a strong mindset, and made it happen! The finishing roof traverse was heady was got me to a comfy belay ledge! Oh Yeah! P4 was a short scramble to the cave, and then The Cave Exit, 5.8, blew my mind. Feeling like a corkscrew, I stemmed, spun, and grunted my way around the roof and to the summit. HOT DOG! Two yrs later, I had returned, triumphed over my demons, and enjoyed the best route I've ever climbed. whooo
Day 7 - After two days of gnarly sickness, I didn't think there was much left. An alpine start beckoned once more, however, as I was asked to lead a snow climb for another student. After the hike in from Bear Lake, we were confronted with unusually warm breezes, overcast skies, and melting snow. Based on the impending weather and my low reading on the stoke-o-meter, we decided to not climb. We lingered on the cold rocks til day break for our first nap of the day. We hiked up to the next lake to look for some potential snow-school slopes, all of which ran out directly to the lake. Not wanting to risk taking the plunge, we found some rocks for our 2nd nap of the day. We were able to witness the other party make good progress through a couple pitches of Hallett's Chimney, a very tough snow and ice climb. They bailed after a few pitches due to rock fall, unfortunately, though. We napped at the truck at the trailhead waiting for them, ate some scrumptiously filling BBQ, napped at the campsite, and then went back to Lily Lake to set up a Tyrolean Traverse. I helped anchor the side atop the Edge Of Time climb, but the exposure was too intimidating for me to set off on the traverse. Rather, I walked around to the slab side and, after some encouragement, got my mind blown by hanging out over the abyss. WOW, what an unnatural feeling. At least we did something on that lazy day!
Day 8 - Back to Boulder (after a disappointing detour at St. Vrain Canyon roadside crag). Walking into Eldorado Canyon, one of the world's most well-known climbing areas, I didn't feel like hiking, not to mention climbing. I was just grumpy! We came to a unknown hand crack and I decided I would lead it. Well, after an eternity of placing cams and hanging on them, I nearly aid-climbed to the top. Wow, that was more than I wanted for a first climb in the canyon. Turns out, "Mr Natural" is a 5.8. Great for the pride.... We headed up Redgarden Wall for another 5.8, Schizophrenic. The first 20ft had a tricky traverse on uninspiring gear, but the overall climb was satisfying. I sat at the ledge and belayed Mike from the top, staring off into the beautiful canyon and approaching storms.
Overall, the trip was pretty awesome. While the trip was more laid back than I would have liked (partly due to my own leadership), there were some stunning days, such as Dreamweaver and Pear Buttress! I will definitely hold onto those memories and experiences! For now, I'm glad to be back in Nashville, hanging with the lady friend, and getting ready to start my career as a teacher. I now have a job and look forward to learning and trying to make a difference in the lives of students. Who knows how much climbing I'll be able to do. We'll see. Stay tuned...
