Hogwarts

Although Hogwarts is on state land, the access road is on an easement owned by the nearby ranch.  Please be respectful while climbing here.

View from Hogwarts.

Muggles beware!  A force has been building near Rifle.  A new crag with great rock, rope stretching lines, and short approaches.  A place where the magic of a drill and some hard work has transformed an ordinary piece of rock into a great new climbing area.

Small tufas at the start of Horny for Hermione- 13b.

Well, Leah and I had been hearing about this place since last Summer and we finally decided to check it out.  It was hard to escape the magical spell of Rifle on Sunday morning, but the promise of a new wall was enough to ignore the slightly guilty feeling I had as we left the canyon.

Hogwarts lives down East Elk Creek Road, a road I have rushed by a million times on my way to Rifle.  A short drive up this beautiful valley reveals vibrant red cliffs, a wild river, and a hidden canyon with huge limestone walls that stretch beyond sight.  Luckily, Hogwarts and the Distillery flank the parking area at the mouth of the gorge.

The Distillery

A ten minute approach brings you across a river, and up a calm hillside to the left end of Hogwarts.  The rock has a similar hue to Rifle, but the features are less 3-dimensional.  Most of the routes are 25+ meters and follow features such as flakes, cracks, and pods up slightly overhanging terrain until the wall slabs out and features change to whipped spines and scalloped pinches.  For those who hate the buttery texture found at Rifle, Hogwarts offers a chance to play on new routes before they get greased up.

The Daily Prophet- 12a.

There are a few good 10's and 11's to warmup but most of the routes are between 12a and 13a.  Although we didn't see the entire cliff, it seemed to be extensivly developed.  Expect some loose rock on these routes since they have probably only been climbed a few times each.  I might be a good idea to bring a helmet.

Leah anticipating some choss.

Another nice thing about this cliff was the fresh feel of the crag.  There is still grass and flowers at the base.  We saw snakes, butterflies, and lizards all day.  You can hear the river rushing below.  Everything is calm and quiet which is a nice change from the rush and buzz of Rifle.

Top of the Distillery.

We ended the day by trying Imperio Direct- 13a.  It follows edges, flakes and a bonus tufa up a pretty white face to a thin crux and then moves up the slab using grooves, pods and pockets.

Imperio Direct- 13a.

Imperio Direct climbs just left of the large scoop, and ends just below the bushes to the top.

So, if you are tired of trying to find parking in Rifle, or looking for a quiet wall with great routes and nice scenery, check out Hogwarts.  Thanks to Dave Pegg, Josh Gross, and everyone else who helped develop this crag.

Texture.

I'm Back!

Danny Robertson on Achilles


To anyone still looking at this blog...

I haven't been feeling very creative, or motivated lately. However, I am going to start making an effort to update my blog, with a little something every week.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Sinks Canyon. I love that place. Lander is nice, the camping is free, the canyon is beautiful, and the climbing is damn fun. Lots of steep, technical routes with amazing pockets(some more natural than others) and edges right where you need them. I will definitely be going back there this Summer. I will try to post some pictures later.

Last weekend, I went to Rifle. Love that place too. This year will be my 9th season! My relationship with the canyon has changed a lot since I first moved to Boulder in 2002. Blinding obsession has been replaced with a mature, warm, calm passion for the canyon. Thankfully, new routes are going up all the time. Last weekend, I did a new route that Danny Robertson put up last Summer called Achilles. Originally rated 14a, this route follows the lip of a huge overhang on the opposite side of the canyon from the Arsenal. The route follows a stunning line, and features lots of steep climbing, a bit of traversing, and a very cool arete finish. After fumbling on it for a few days, I gleaned some very useful beta from Steve Hong, that allowed me to put it all together. Steve Hong also redpointed the route just before me. Nice work!!!

Danny Robertson on Achilles

After thinking about it and reading the latest TNB article my honest opinion is that this route is a soft 13d. Not nearly as soft as The Bride of Frankenstein, but definitely easier than Living In Fear, or Simply Read. Either way, it's a super fun route, and a great addition to Rifle. Thanks for all your hard work Danny!

Bare Bones Camping

I hate paying for camping. The idea of paying money for a picnic table, a fire pit and a manicured tent site just seems wasteful and defeats the point of going camping in the first place. It's not just about the money- although that is a large factor. It's about having a unique experience. It's about communing with nature, and getting off the grid. It's about escaping. Most of the time, my quest for free camping is rewarded with animal sitings, serenity, and a sense of satisfaction you get when you earn something the hard way. However, my stubborn pursuit of free camping has also backfired, leading to some terrifying nights and creepy situations. Recently, I mustered up the courage to revisit a visceral place that I stumbled upon while searching for "new" free camping near Rifle.

Last Fall, I spent a bunch of time in Rifle. Being late in the season, with temps dropping below freezing, I opted to stay at a free, but undesirable place called the Corral. Visible from Grass Valley Road, and instantly muddy if it rains, the Corral offers no protection from ornery locals, or opportunistic thieves. So one evening after climbing, I decided to look for alternative options. I started by going up a dirt road on the opposite side of the road, to the East of the Corral. The road was too rough for my Honda Civic, so I quickly turned around. As the light faded, I drove up another bumpy dirt road for about 50 feet until my headlights hit this...

a pile of deer and elk carnage. Totally freaked out, I did a three point turn as fast a I could and went back to the relative safety of the Corral. With my imagination going crazy, I unsuccessfully tried to sleep. Since that day, I have never been able to enjoy the Corral quite as much.
The place seems more wild, and less relaxing. Every sound has significance. I am on edge. In some strange way, I think this is what I like most about free camping. I want to feel more vulnerable. I want to feel the mystery and power of nature. I want to face my fears. That way, I won't take the next day or the money I save for granted because in a way I earned it.

Rifle- Fall Pressure

Fall is here! Along with colder temps, amazing colors, and shorter day, there's also a certain amount of tension and stress to finish up projects before the walls start seeping, and the weather turns bad.
Not everyone feels the pressure. There has been a lot of talent in the canyon lately. Here are some pictures of Dave Graham working The 7PM TV Show- 14a.
Although he has been ripping through most of the testpeices at Rifle, this one seems to be giving him a bit more trouble. It should be interesting to see his comments on this route when he sends it.
On to a subject that really annoys me- PARKING!!!
There is a serious lack of parking in Rifle, and it doesn't help when people inconsiderately park like this...
Obviously, not everybody cares...
but if everyone did their part, we could maximize the parking, and represent the climbing community as a responsible user group in the park. Remember, we are guests, climbing in Rifle is a privilege, and your actions affect everyone.

To lighten things up, here are some pictures of a really cool water spout, located to the left of the Bauhaus Wall.
There's actually a route just to the right of this water spout. In the picture above, you can see a couple of bolts to the right of the spout. The route seems to be fully equipped, with the exception of two bolts at the start. Lee theorizes that the equippers accidentally drilled into a water pocket in the limestone, releasing the water trapped behind the rock. After this, she thinks they abandoned the route. Who knows...
Here's a close up of the hole. Is this a manufactured spout or not? Ethical debates about the future of water spouts are sure to arise.

Rifle Cleanup

After a Summer of bouldering, it's time to switch gears. That's right, it's Rifle season! What an amazing climbing area. It's hard to express how lucky we are to have access to the area or how fun, beautiful, and awesome this place is. To make up for our lack of words and demonstrate our appreciation, the climbers organize an annual Rifle Cleanup. For one day every year, climbers pick up trash, and tackle a couple of improvement project. Then after a hard day of picking up trash, we have an after party. This year, the event took place on Sept. 5th. Here are this years Rifle Cleanup accomplishments:

-A terrace was built between Simply Read and Sometimes Always at the Project Wall to eliminate future erosion and make it safer to walk at the base of the wall.

-Two more parking spots were added at the Project wall.

-Two new parking spots were added at the Ruckman Cave.

-A suggested donation of $5 was collected to go towards rebolting efforts in Rifle.

The after party was great, except I didn't win anything in the raffle. Lots of food, Avery Beer, stickers, posters, and free gear. A huge thanks to all the Sponsors- Rock and Ice, La Sportiva, Avery Beer, Black Diamond, Prana, etc for supporting the event . Thankfully, I left before two dudes got up on a table, took their shirts off and started dancing with each other.