Hueco Christmas and a Hueco New Year

I am a horrible, selfish person.  Instead of flying home to Seattle to see my family for Christmas, I chose to go climbing in Hueco.

Einar on Brittany in a Blender V9.

OK, I am not a horrible person, but something must be wrong with me.  I would rather drive 12 hours in my shitty car, than fly 3 hours on a shitty plane.  I would rather pay to live in a slightly ghetto RV, than sleep in a nice house for free.  I would rather hang out with filthy strangers and friends under a cold rock, than be cozy and warm with my family in the living room.

Jon Linhart on The Bathtub V9.

I felt guilty about skipping out on my folks, but it's hard to hear your conscious when you are in such a sacred, and beautiful place.  Hueco vibrates with history and culture.  It's easy to imagine ancient people living among the boulders that we recreate on.  A perfect oasis from a harsh desert.  A perfect oasis from modern life. 




Life quickly get stripped down to the basics.  Eat, sleep, climb, repeat.  

Our beloved camper.

Besides my first trip to Hueco in 1998(wow, that makes me sound old), before all the rules, this was by far my most unrestricted experience in recent years.  Mainly because I went with my friend and commercial guide, Rob Guinn.  Thanks Rob!!!

Rob.

Many adventures were had.  Lots of problems were done.  Skin was shredded.  Holds were fondled.  Limits were pushed.  Muscles got sore.  Unfinished business was left.

Ida.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end.  So back to real life, the obscure tour, and choss mongering.  Until next time Hueco!

Mt. Evans- Area D

On Sunday we headed up to Area D on Mount Evans.  This is one of the most beautiful areas I have ever climbed.  Unfortunately, large sections of these massive boulders fail to offer climbable features so there aren't very many boulder problems.

Looking up valley at the Black Wall.

However, the problems that we did climb were very nice.  Here is a video of Alex Kordick climbing a possible FA between Equitos and The Nothing.  We thought it was hard V6.

A few were interested in trying The Nothing V8- a 35 foot problem with the business at the start and a nice victory romp to the top.

Metro cleaning The Nothing.

A video of Mark "Metro" Avery onsighting the classic highball, The Nothing. 

The hike out is much longer than Lincoln Lake but the views are rewarding.

Independence Pass

Summer is my least favorite time of year.  Besides being covered in a glaze of sweat all day, the heat makes rock climbing feel ten times harder.  My mind keeps whispering for me to give up and come back when it's cooler.  Luckily, Colorado has numerous high altitude climbing areas that are 30F° to 40F° cooler than the Front Range.  So instead of suffering in the 100F° weather around Boulder, or waiting until the Fall for good conditions, we drove 3.5 hours to Independence Pass and explored a totally new area.

I have been interested in this area for years but the pull of Rifle always kept me away.  However, my options at Rifle have dwindled to super hard, and my interest in mega projecting is extremely low, so I finally made it to Indy Pass.

The first day we went to the Grotto Day Use Area and checked out Gollum's Cave, and The Ice Cave.  Louder than 11 recently put out a video http://vimeo.com/43867547 that featured the bouldering in the Ice Cave.  Being a sucker for climbing porn, I got super psyched about the idea of bouldering in a unique, ice sculpted cave with an ice floor.

Layers of ice.

The Vampire.  You can lead this as a 13a traditional climb or boulder it at V7. 

Once we got there, reality set in.  Besides the fact that the floor had unevenly melted at least 3 feet since the video was shot and most of the problems are PG13 or R rated, it's a tourist attraction!  There's a constant stream of screaming kids, and people falling on the ice.  It's like being on the trail to Chaos Canyon, where everyone asks you annoying questions about your crash pad, only you never get away from them.  I hung out for about 20 minutes, and then decided to whole scene was way too stressful.

Later in the day, we headed to the Lower Grotto, and got thoroughly spanked on a super chalked up, benign looking 12c/d called Scene of the Crime.  Maybe it was the altitude or because I skipped my morning coffee, but this is the first 12+ I haven't been able to redpoint in a couple of tries in over 5 years.  Just goes to show that rock climbing will always humble you.

Kurt Smith on Scene of the Crime on the late 80's. 

Sunday was spent at Wild Rock- a building sized boulder with a steep and impressive 80 foot face.  Weary from Saturday's beatdown, I got on Problem Child 12b.  True to form, the climb proved to be difficult, and it took a couple of hangs to figure out the sequences.  Leah and I both did it second try, and then I moved over to my main objective for the trip- Wild Thing 12d.  This route tackles a steep, black corner and roof system to a powerful crux and some very funky moves in a strange corner. After haning all over it on my first go, I managed to grunt my way up it second go.  Like all the other routes we tried, it felt hard for the grade, but it's a brilliant climb.

Anyways, the weather was perfect, and the climbing was awesome.  So if you are looking for a good Summer location, check out Independence Pass! 

The view from the top of Independence Pass looking towards Aspen.

Endo Valley Bouldering

I came back from the Red feeling weak so I decided to do something unusual.  I went bouldering outside!

Leah on an unnamed V4.

I wanted to see something new, so we decided to check out Endo Valley.  This little sector in RMNP was rediscovered by Dave Graham and crew a couple of  years ago and was surrounded by a little bit of controversy and tension.  Luckily, in typical Colorado style, everyone did everything quickly, and then moved on to the next hot spot- leaving the masses another beautiful bouldering area, with a very short approach, and a nice concentration of problems from V0 to V13.

Success!

We hooked up with our friends Matt and John who are die hard boulderers.  Being a route climber, I was anxious to leave at 9am.  They, on the other hand, suggested noon.  So, at 12:30 we rolled out of town and did the one hour drive to Endo Valley.

Leah trying the MS 13 Training Arete V8.

My first impression of the area was WOW!  I was immediately struck by the size and quantity of huge, well featured boulders that laid on top of each other creating everything from slabs to absurdly steep caves.  Another thing I really liked about Endo was that most of the boulder problems seem to fall between V8-V11- making it a good place for mere mortals to go.
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Matt on the MS 13 Training Arete V8.

Since the area is small, it can get crowded quickly.  However, this means more pads, more beta, more spots(hopefully), and it forces you to make some new friends.

Another view of the MS 13 Training Arete V8.

Unfortunately, it's getting a bit too warm for Endo, but I will definitely be back when it cools off again.  Thanks to everyone that helped establish problems, and fix landings.  This place is awesome!

Leah on The Portal V8.

Taylor on The Portal Sit V10.

Taylor on Chewbaka V11.  Love that name!

Leah getting cozy with her Polar Bear blanket VComfy.

Matt flexing on Chewbaka V11.

4th of July Adventures

I hate the 4th of July. Ever since I hurt myself with a sparkler when I was 10, the holiday has left a bitter taste in my mouth. Not to mention the crazy, drunk, justified pyromaniacs that run around blowing up everything in the name of freedom. It feels like the entire nation's IQ drops about 30 points for a day, which makes me want to hide under the bed like all the dogs and cats until it's over. Being human, I chose to hide in Clear Creek instead. Lee and I headed to a boulder I recently "discovered", and climbed some virgin rock. We started with a really nice V3 that starts on a left facing feature, heads to a pocket and then ends up a high but easy rail. We didn't name any of this stuff- we are too lazy. We'll take suggestions...
Then we moved to a line to the right, and after a couple of tries figuring out the start, established a really amazing v4/5 highball. It starts on a big obvious jug, moves to a big sloper that juts out from the wall and follows a large lieback up and right to the top. Amazing!!!
We spent the rest of the day flailing on a low start to the above problem. It involves powerful liebacking, no feet, and a hard crimp move that brings you to the sloper of the V4. I will definitely be returning to finish this up in the Fall.
Now for the juicy stuff. Just to the right of the V4, there is a very hard project- possibly V14 or harder. A bulge, with perfect crimps, minimal feet and a nice landing. Around the corner are 2 or 3 more short(2-5 moves), but very hard problems on sculpted pinches and edges. I know I should have gotten some photos. You'll just have to take my word, these things look cool. Any takers???

I am constantly amazed that boulders like this are still being "discovered". Just when you think the Front Range is tapped, another little gem gets unearthed and the psyche continues. AMEN!

Here's a couple of abstract images of the Boulder fireworks show.

Lumpy Ridge- Podophile

Here is a video of Dan Smith climbing on Podophile V9, at Lumpy Ridge. Although he doesn't send, it's a nice video, and it gives you an idea of what the mantle is like. Apparently, Tommy Caldwell did a sit start to this problem.


Podophile V9

Blast From the Past-Minturn Bouldering Spring 2008

Unfortunately, I don't have anything cool to write about, so here are some bouldering pictures from Minturn.
The first set of pictures were taken at Redcliff. Surrounded by Aspens, this area features about 10 boulders with problems ranging from VB to V8. Despite an easy 5 minute approach, great stone, fun problems, and a beautiful setting, this area remains highly overlooked.

Lee warming up

Alex on a nice V6

Lee topping out the same V6. This mantle is HARD!

Me on another V6. The first move was definitely the hardest.

Lee on yet another V6.

The next series of pictures were taken at an area near Redcliff called the Aircraft Carrier. Tucked next to a small talus field, this spot consists of three large boulders with about 30 problems total. It's a small area, but it's much steeper than Redcliff, and has problems ranging from VB t0 V11. The problem below is called the Cool Arete V9. It lives up to its name!

Unfortunately, the problem is a bit contrived at the end. Either exit out left to the vertical rail, or continue up the arete.

Although neither area is spectacular, sometimes all you need is to get out of town, see a new area, and have a little adventure. If this is what you need, check these places out!