The dark, dark side

Before today I had never tried neither traditional climbing nor multi-pitch climbing - now I have tried both. Although, I did only follow and remove the pros. Since my only pair of climbing shoes that do not have any holes are very tight I decided to use my approach shoes to get the true mountaineering experience. The route (Packrat dihedral at El Rito) is only a 5.6 so it was not a problem to use the big shoes. We were three climbers in the team so I was tied in to two ropes all the time. At the bolted belay station it got a bit crowded and we were trying to sort out the ropes and the life lines. A big problem was to hear the person on top when he was done and ready to belay me. It all went fine but it took us about four hours to do a two pitch climb and then rappel down in two parts with double ropes. This whole exercise was to prepare us for a climb by Moab called Ancient Art that we are going to do around Thanksgiving. Then we will be four climbers but hopefully it will be faster than three as the second pair will use a top-rope put up by the first two. We will need more practice to get good rope management and such.

Climbing at Upper East Fork

Yoshi on Revenge of the Werepig, 5.11c.

Today I went to the Upper East Fork area with Caroline and Yoshi. We warmed up on a 5.10b with a tricky top. I did not manage to do the crux and was irritated by the lichen I got in my eyes as I was struggling. The area is new and some of the routes still need cleaning.  Next up was the Revenge of the Werepig, 5.11c, which is very sustained and has a mantle crux close to the top. Yoshi cave up at the crux after several efforts. Caroline lead it to the top and I tried it again on top rope. It is a really cool route but I need a lot more stamina before I can get it a proper try to do it clean at least on top rope. Later I got my revenge on the nice 5.10c on the rightmost wall. During a previous try I ripped off a good sized hold and hit the wall with my back. I managed to lead it clean and the crux did not feel that hard. Last time I did not manage the crux a single time but today was apparently the day.

4th of July weekend

The crew at Willow Lake below Challenger Peak.

My first 4th of July was spent in Colorado on a camping trip with three activities: hiking a 14er, visiting Great Sand Dunes National Park, and climbing at Penitente Canyon. We left Los Alamos after 1pm and stuffed Jae's and my car full of stuff and four persons in each car. We arrived at the parking lot by Crestone around 5pm and unpacked the hiking gear and started the ascent towards Willow Lake. As we drove towards Crestone we saw a lot of lightning on the mountain and it seemed to be pouring down and hailing as well. It had stopped more or less by the time we headed off. We met some hikers on the way back to their cars and they told us that is was pretty packed up by the lake so they suggested to camp by a meadow further down. My back pack was very heavy so I was hiking slowly and it was a relief when we decided to camp at the meadow which we reach after about an hour of hiking. The spot was very nice and we managed to fit three tents. The beer tasted very good after the hike. Previous campers have had a fire place on a rock but I dug a fire pit and surrounded it with rocks. The others were not convinced that having a fire on the rock could shatter the rock. Next task was to gather fire wood and my small axe got put to work. Jae cooked pasta and a nice pasta sauce. We went to sleep early to get up at 5.30am to start the hike.

In the morning it took us about 70 minutes to leave the camp so at 6.40am we walked up to the trail. The hike up to the lake involved two more water crossings on wet logs which would have been really sketchy with heavy packs. After two hours we reached the lake and stopped for a snack. All tents by the lake seemed empty so they probably started by the same time as us to get down before the common afternoon thunderstorms. The first part from the lake was nice with a scenic view of the lake and the valley below. Then the struggle started. We got up the the grassy slope which was quite hard to hike up. After a while I got in to a 30 steps-rest-30 steps-mode. Half way up the slope a group of big horn sheep walked by quite close. We also saw some marmots. At the beginning of the snow field we stopped and most of the group turned around while Lauren and I decided to give it a try. Walt was already at the top so we tried to follow his footsteps. Finally, we joined Walt at the summit. He had spent his time at the peak by building a 8-piece cairn - one for each hiker in our group. After pictures and some snack we headed down again. We chose a different trail down and came to another snow field where people had been skidding down. Walt set off first and Lauren and I got convinced to try it. I put my rain pants on and my softshell gloves to use as brakes. It was a very fun and efficient descent. At the bottom I got a bit stuck with one leg as I was trying to stop before the snow field ended. Later I learned that someone had broken his leg doing that. The rest of the group was waiting for us above the lake. When I got down to the camp I grabbed my shorts, a towel and soap and dipped in the small creek. It was cold and very refreshing after sweating all day.

Big horn sheep

Challenger Point

Willow lake

The next morning I cooked oatmeal for breakfast and I brought a lot of stuff to put in it so the others seemed to like it though it had a slight smoked flavor - which I was afraid to get when cooking a big pot of oatmeal. After breakfast we packed all our stuff and hiked down to the cars. Since only Walt and Donna had been to the Great Sand Dunes National Park before we decided that both cars would go there. We stopped by the visitor center and then drove to the parking lot for the dunes. One has to cross a river that was like a very wide creek at this time of the year. Kids were playing in the water and people were sunbathing there - it was almost like a real beach. At the dunes I spotted a nice ridge that I wanted to take pictures of so I headed off to the right while most of the others headed for the highest dune.

A nice sand ridge at Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO.

After lunch in Alamosa and purchasing a climbing guide book we drove towards Penitente canyon. The campground was equipped with toilettes and fire pits but the closest water source was down the road. Walt spotted a good spot to get the beginners to climb so we put up ropes on a 5.2, a 5.7 and a 5.8. By the way, on the way in to the climbing area there was a rattle snake that Seth apparently came pretty close to. I only saw it taking shelter under a bush. The start of the 5.2 did not feel that easy but the rest was like climbing a slanted ladder. The start of the 5.8 was a bit tricky but fun. We also did two routes to the left of the first three - a 5.8 and a 5.10. When we got back to the campground the tent I borrowed from Jae had moved some 50 feet in the wind. I did forget to put my pack in the tent but the stakes were in the ground but the did not hold it down enough.

The next day we went further in to the canyon to the Hueco wall. There were several nice climbs of different difficulty.

The Hueco wall at Penitente Canyon, CO.

Solar Fest, Taos & Questa Dome bouldering

We left Los Alamos this Friday to go up to Taos to see the BoDeans playing at the Solar Fest. Then we would camp around Taos to do some bouldering/hiking the day after. There were other bands playing before BoDeans but we did not pay much attention to them. Several food stands were put up within the festival area and I found a very nice lentil curry. The BoDeans, who are mostly famous for their "Closer to free" which was featured in the tv-series "Party of five", got on stage and the others wanted to closer to the stage. The most interesting thing about the concert was looking at the people. There were quite a few hippies and it seemed like I was one of the younger people in the audience.

After the concert we headed to the car to drive towards the ski hill to find the camping spot that W had found earlier that afternoon. There was a stream right there and the sound from the water was pretty loud. We had some beer and chatted a while. The conversations around camp fires always seem to be more interesting than conversations elsewhere. However, we did not have a fire but the conversations were interesting anyway. I was optimistic about the night time temperature so I only brought my summer sleeping-bag and it was apparently too thin since I woke up in the middle of the night shivering. Luckily I did bring long-johns and more sweaters so I put it all on.

In the morning Donna found that some creatures had stolen the tortillas for the breakfast burritos. We decided to drive to Questa to get some breakfast there instead. The cafe in Questa was old but the breakfast burrito was tasty. We split into two groups so Walt, Caroline, and I went up to the Questa Dome boulders while Donna, Misa, and Jae went for a hike by Red River. The bouldering area by Questa Dome has more than 100 established problems on granite. The last bit of the drive there was very rough and the guide book author was right about "4wd only". The hike from the parking to the first boulders was pretty short. At the first spot we stopped at we played around on a few V0-V3's. The granite was incredibly slick and smearing was not to think about. The next stop was at the Trail boulders where we spent the rest of the time. The problems here were quite nice with some cool moves. Some problems seemed sand-bagged.

Caroline on a V2 at Questa Dome boulders.

After the bouldering/hiking we met at Embudo Station for a bite to eat and something to drink. The others tried to hike further than the trail suggestion so they arrived after we finished our food and drinks.

White water rafting, Rio Grande

Charles organised a white water rafting trip to Pilar south of Taos. We were nine people heading up there. To start with the guides drove us upstream to a bridge across the Rio Grande where we started the rafting. The whole morning was very mellow and relaxing and my hopes for the afternoon on the so called Race course got bigger and bigger. They served us lunch by the river in Pilar. After lunch it did not even take a minute before I got splashed with water. There were a few nice rapids along the Race course but the distance in-between them were too long. The best part was the Souse Hole where we got soaked thoroughly. The last mile was merely transport to the pick-up spot. The guide made us try some trick with the raft where everyone gathered at the stern and he was pulling on a line attached to the bow while one side paddled forward and the other backward to make the raft spin. The guide almost fell into the water but apart from that it was not very exciting.

After the rafting one car headed home to attend some party while the rest of us drove to Embudo Station to have an early dinner. It is a nice place right by the river and they have good food and beer. A lot of cotton was blowing off of the cottonwood trees so it was a struggle to keep the glasses free of cotton.

Frisbee golf in Santa Fe

Today, I and four other guys went down to Santa Fe to play frisbee golf (or disc golf as some prefer to call it). Henrik and Jae had to play with no handicap and the rest of us got one extra throw per basket. The frisbees often went wide (at least for some of us) but we all managed to get some pars. Henrik had the least throws but with my handicap I got first place. The price was free dinner and beer afterwards, which we had at 2nd Street Brewery. The victory tasted very good indeed. However, there were indication of changing the handicaps for next game.

In the evening we all watched the swedish steel reinforced Redwings beat the Penguins. A good ending to a nice day.

Memorial Weekend in Boulder, Co

This long weekend was spent in Boulder, Co. We headed up there after work on Thursday and got to the hotel between Denver and Boulder around 1am. In the morning we drove to Boulder and checked in to the hotel there. We did not have a climbing guidebook but luckily REI was in the next block. My suggestion was to go to Flatirons where there is both rope climbing and bouldering. We parked at Chautauqua park and started hiking up the trails. Apparently, the best climbing was at the 3rd Flatiron according to Yoshi's guidebook. As we got up to the trail to the 1st and 2nd Flatiron there was a sign about the 3rd Flatiron being closed due to falcon and eagle nesting. New plans: after looking through the rope climbing guidebook and my bouldering guidebook we decided to go to Eldorado Canyon instead. When we got down to the parking lot we saw several signs on that billboard about the closures. Ten eyes had not seen them on the way up.

The drive to Eldorado Canyon was pretty swift and we parked after the state park entrance. We asked some firefighters for directions and crossed the bridge over the stream. The bouldering guidebook had a few topos but no overview so without the directions from the firefighters it would have been hard to find our way around. A small note that the rope climbing guidebook forgot to mention was that the routes in Eldorado Canyon are more or less exclusively traditional. A nice boulder which was the first one on the trail was unfortunately surrounded by water. We tried to go to the next area but crossing a ridge seemed too sketchy so we went back and went to the boulder right by the road on the other side of the stream. Milton Boulder is a pretty tall boulder with solid but slick rock. We did/tried a few problems before the wind made it impossible to keep the pads from flying all over the place.

The next boulder area was further up the road and very accessible as well. A tall arete was defeated as well as some other easy problems on the A boulder. I joined a local on a balancy V2 but never managed to send it. Yoshi did a sitstart with a hard dyno/swing to catch the next hold on the B boulder. There was also a nice slab on that boulder and I added a sitstart to it.

In the evening we walked into the city center after using the hotel's hot tub. We had dinner at Lazy Dog and it was around 10pm before we got our food. Two glasses of beer and a burger in the stomach made me extremely tired so I had to fight hard to keep my eyes open.

The morning after we had breakfast at the Original Pancake House next door. It was very tasty. We agreed that we were too tired to go climbing so we stuck to the original plan: hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park. The web page suggested a few different hikes and the hike to Mills Lake sounded like one of the better moderate hikes. On the way to the trail head we saw numerous elk and they were very fearless. When we got to the trail head it was snowing and the hike would be on packed snow. It was quite a contrast to the weather down in Boulder this morning. I had left my gloves and hat in the hotel room, since I figured I would be sweating during the hike and not get snowed upon. I pulled my hood over my cap and kept my hands in the sleeves as we took off. It was pretty slippery on the snow. It was snowing on and off and in the sun it was very warm but then suddenly a cold wind would cool you off. Up to Mills Lake is a 2.8 mile hike and it was a bit strenuous with the snow and the pace that we kept. The major part of the lake was still frozen. We had lunch there and took pictures of the scenery. In the description it said that we would have a nice view over Longs Peak which is a 14er, but we were sure it was hidden behind some other peak. The hike back was easier as we were mainly going down. Instead of going back to the same shuttle bus stop we continued 0.5 mile up to Bear Lake. It was a disappointment after the steep hike. At the ranger station there I found out that Chaos Canyon bouldering area is not far from Bear Lake. Next time I guess I will bring the pad and the other gear up here. However, I saw somewhere that the hike can take up to two hours.

Mills Lake.

View over the 14er Longs Peak.

At night we had dinner at BJ's which is a microbrewery in the center of town. The pizza was good and the beer as well. We were all tired and called it a day after dinner.

The last day the other guys wanted to go to Boulder Canyon while I wanted to check out Flagstaff Mountain. I dropped them off at the Avalon crag which was not that easy to find using the description on mountainproject.com. I went back into town and had breakfast at a very nice place: Folsom St Coffee.

A V2 arete at Flagstaff Mountain, Boulder.

A V3 on the Red Wall, Flagstaff Mountain.