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Brian leading the Duh Dihedral (5.6)
West Ridge, Eldorado Canyon

You Can't Stop Progress - November 2, 2008
After a horrendous 2 pitch outting in Boulder Canyon last weekend (I climbed like a nOOb and lost Amiel's .5 BD) I figured I couldn't perform any worse and decided that the next time I climbed I would be more confident. Yesterday in Eldo, I stepped it up a bit and had a very confidence inspiring day on the Wind Tower and The Bastille in Eldo.

To get things started, we decided I would lead the first pitch of Calypso (5.6+), a route which is becoming one of my favorites, if not being one of the sketchiest at the grade in Eldo. The route really forces you to consider the quality of your gear placements at several points on the route. Although the climbing is not particulary strenuous, the route is slippery and loose in spots (particularly in the crux corner) which makes the prospect of a fall less desirable when you assess some of the gear. All that said, Calypso provides a wealth of opportunities to work difficult gear and assess various placements. In fact, on this trip up Calypso, I rigged my oppositional in the corner of the dihedral a bit differently than I had before (although not better) and also found a much better placement (a #3 FCU) at the crux corner that I haven't felt very confident about in the past. The possibilities for creative gear are numerous, which I think is a great learning opportunity for me. Even at 5.6, Calypso is a solid lead requiring attention not only with a few of the moves, but certainly the gear placements.

After rigging an anchor at the top of the pitch, Ben cast of the lead of Reggae (5.8)...a route that I have been thinking about leading to break into the 5.8 grade. It was good to get back on the pitch to scope out the moves again. It has been over a year since I climbed the thin finger crack, and I climbed it much better this time...an indicator that my technique has really improved this season...not to mention my overall strength. When I got to the top of the pitch, I told Ben and Amiel that I thought I could have led the pitch. The best part is the gear is good and the fall clean, as the crux is on a vertical section of rock.

After we rapped off Reggae, I convinced Ben and Amiel to walk across the creek to The Bastille for a quick run up the first pitch of the infamous Bastille Crack (5.7+)...another route I have been itching to lead but wanted to preview again before casting off on the lead. The Bastille Crack is considered one of the most famous rock pitches in the U.S. and the polished rock reminds those who climb this famous hand crack that you better be on your game...even at "5.7". Although there is good gear to be had, it must be placed with a bit of diligence as to avoid a potentially painful fall onto the jagged rocks just above the road-side belay. To setup a toprope on the Bastille Crack, Ben decided he would lead a neighboring route called the Northcut Start (5.10d)...the crux move protected only by a questionable pin. Ben led the pitch well, plugging gear just below the crux pin and stepping into the moves. He actually made it look pretty easy, despite the stout 5.10d rating. Then it was my turn to climb the Bastille Crack for a pre-lead assessment of the gear and the moves. For me, being on the short side, the critical cam placement in the middle part of the Bastille Crack proper is a stretch. I would probably have to hold the thumb loop of the cam at its end and slide it into the crack, rather than actually pulling the trigger and inserting the cam. The key here is not plugging up the hand jams with gear. After scoping out the move and the gear, I stepped across into the crack and proceeded to blast right up and through the cruxy, polished section of the route. I was surprised at the rests mid-crux, allowing for more gear to be placed comfortable before climbing higher on slippery feet and solid jams.

Having the chance to TR the Bastille Crack again gives me the confidence and beta I need to finally redpoint this classic pitch on lead. Stay tund for updates!

Cruisin' on the Wind Tower - October 19, 2008
Amiel and I hit Eldo this past weekend for some easy romps on the Wind Tower. I had to be back in town for Delana's Dad's 70th birthday party, so we decided to keep things quick, yet fun. We started out on the 'ole tried and true Wind Ridge. Since Amiel had never led the second pitch, I figured I'd take the short yet steep first pitch and give Amiel the rack for the long and varied second pitch. I just love Wind Ridge...particularly now that I have the 5.8 start wired. If I were to take a new climber to Eldo, this would surely be the route I'd take them on...classic.

After Wind Ridge, I was considering having a go at Reggae (5.8), which can be climbed as the second pitch to numerous routes on the Wind Tower. We considered (briefly) climbing Calypso to get to Reggae, but not only were all the routes occupied, but I just wasn't feeling super confident after over two weeks off the rock. We opted to climb one of the many approach pitches to get to the West Overhang (5.7). Amiel would lead the first pitch, a contrived and easy pitch with a spicy start (that Rossiter calls 5.6+) up to the belay just down from the Calypso/Reggae anchors. I would lead the overhang pitch. At the belay, the overhang looked somewhat burly, but I could easily scope out numerous jugs. Not to mention, there was a pin protecting the crux moves over the roof, which certainly provided a bit of extra confidence. I climbed up to just below the roof, and plugged a .5 camalot to backup the pin, and then proceeded to pull over the burly roof. A few big moves at the crux and the route was pretty much over...just a nice easy jaunt up a shallow dihedral with great gear to a comfy belay high on the Wind Tower.

Climbing in Eldo on cool fall days is about as good as it gets. I'm hoping to get out next weekend to the Redgarden Wall or maybe some more cragging on the West Ridge and some stiffer climbs. Who knows...maybe I'll even tick off the first crux pitch of the Bastille Crack before the end of the season. That would certainly be one of the highlights of the year. I'm just enjoying the climbing and my confidence is growing with each outting.

An Evening with Layton Kor - October 9, 2008
I had the immense pleasure to see Layton Kor, one of America's most iconic climbers, deliver an engaging slideshow this past week, highlighting may of his favorite ascents from Colorado to around the world. As a pioneer of numerous climbs in Eldorado Canyon, Lumpy Ridge (he always hated that name!), Rocky Mountain National Park, the desert towers of Utah, Yosemite, the Dolomites, and Colorado's Black Canyon, Layton Kor is considered one of the most prolific climbers in history. His slideshow consisted of stunning photos dating back to the 50's and 60's when he was putting up some of the most classic routes in Eldorado Canyon, RMNP, and Yosemite. Throughout his presentation, which lasted close to 3 hours, he discussed the nature of each climb while praising not himself, but the partners who climbed with him while establishing many first ascents.

Originally planned to be held at Neptune Mountaineering in Boulder for $2 a ticket, the news of his slideshow (his first in over 25 years) got out quickly, and the interest among climbers swelled all across the country. Ultimately, tickets sold for $20 (a bargain at twice the price) and he ended up presenting to a full house at CU Boulder's Macky Auditorium. Some of the best climbers from yesterday and today were on hand at the presentation, making it a truly memorable event. Needless to say, Layton, now 70, seemed overwhelmed with the ovations he received from the audience at the start of his slideshow. His stories of the climbs and the other climbers he shared ropes with over the years were truly amazing. Often times he would pause, staring at certain photos as if to go back to those times as if to relive the memories all over again. Other times he would deliver humorous anecdotes such as befriending a hungry marmot, saving a dog stranded on a ledge in the Black Canyon, throwing haul bags filled with National Geographic's film canisters 600' off The Titan on the Fisher Towers, Utah, and even admitting that he could never keep from screaming during falls. Something the entire audience related to with laughter filling the hall.

Everyone that attended felt they were truly in the presence of greatness and I was glad I had the opportunity to get a glimpse into the life and climbs of such an inspiring climber.

A Solid Performance - September 27, 2008
It has been quite a season. I've had my ups and downs for sure, but my goals for the season have remained unchanged. I want to be able to lead 5.7 comfortably and even break into some quality 5.8 pitches by the end of the season. Lucky for me, there's still much climbing to be done. It just so happens that I may have had my best single day of climbing this year on Saturday. Ben, Colin, and I decided to do some cragging on Eldo's West Ridge. I have had my sights on leading Mesca-Line (5.7+) for over a year...a benchmark lead at the grade. I had also wanted to take a closer look at Verschniedung (5.7)...also considered a quality pitch.

After the long slog up to the VD area of the West Ridge, we pretty much had our pick of the routes. Ben and Colin were discussing having a go at Cruisin' For Burgers (5.10c), but we agreed to do a warm-up on Verschneidung first. Colin led the initial easy approach pitch up to a nice belay just below the start of Verschneidung's prominent v-slot. I followed the easy pitch trailing the second rope we would need for the rappel off the route. Ben then followed and took off on lead of Verschneidung. He had offered the lead to me (and I probably should have accepted it in hindsight) but without sufficient warm-up, I opted to let Ben tackle the excellent hand crack/v-slot.

Ben led up the v-slot and made pretty quick work of the 70' pitch. I followed again trailing a second rope to bring Colin up. The climbing was superb. A beautiful hand crack with bomber jams, fun stemming, and positive face holds throughout the steep pitch. There were a couple points where I got a little sketched, but once I focused on jamming my right foot in the crack and staying balanced on my feet, the climbing went easy. As I arrived at the belay, I mentioned to Ben that I probably could have led the pitch...and probably will soon.

After our warmup on Verschneidung, Ben and Colin decided to save CFB for another day...I guess they weren't feeling the love. We continued on to the Pony Express area which has some of the highest concentration of quality routes on the West Ridge. This is where I would get my chance to lead Mesca-Line (5.7+). Remarkably, there were no climbers on Mesca-Line, which is rare being that it is one of the most popular routes on the West Ridge. I racked up, took a few deep breaths, and I was off. The climbing was steep but positive, and in no time, I was at mid-pitch just below the real business. I was at a decent stance on a small shelf with a little tree and I started to remember the moves that were ahead of me. I had toproped this pitch almost 2 years ago, and was trying to remember the moves, but my recollections were fuzzy. I knew that the move to get off the shelf I was standing on was spicy, and then there were the moves up and around the huge flake about 10' above me...the crux of the route. I knew I had good gear in, so I reached up, got a solid finger lock with my left hand and stepped up. "Hmm...that wasn't too bad", I thought to myself. Before I knew it I was at the flake...an awkward stance with challenging gear.

The flake, despite it's huge size, is notorious for sketchy gear. Some say a fall while passing around to the left of the flake would rip out any cam placed under the flaring flake, while others say the gear is bomber. All these thoughts were raging through my head as I shifted and squirmed to get myself in balance. From below, I was able to scope out possible placements under the flake, so I had a pretty good plan going into the crux. After a bit of jockeying, I was able to plug a #3 cam under the flake. I spotted a nice little pocket and after some deliberation with myself, climbed down a couple feet to a better stance, shake out, and plan my moves up and around the crux flake. I had two pieces of gear at my waist a few feet below the flake, so I knew that even if I took a whipper off the flake and my #3 cam ripped out, I'd still have two solid pieces just a few feet below that. Sure, it would be a scary-ass fall, but I felt confident that the gear was good. I climbed back up to the flake, inspected the cam again, and decided it was now or never. I layed back off the flake, powered up, and to my delight, found a great hold and solid feet. Before I knew it, the crux moves were over. I plugged another cam in a small crack, and knew that the redpoint was mine. Another 20' of fun climbing led me to the anchors. I let out a "woot!" and was feeling pretty good about the climb. I kept it together mentally and felt I climbed the pitch strong throughout.

After my little victory on Mesca-Line, Colin and Ben decided to lead a neighboring route called Pony Express...the first pitch going at 5.9. Around this time, another climber had approached us and asked us if he could climb on our ropes since his buddies were taking off for the day. We agreed, and while Ben was leading Pony Express, I gave the new guy a belay on a neighboring route called Sister Morphine (5.9). He rigged a TR and I decided to have a go at the route. I have been struggling on 5.9 lately, but the 5.9 moves on this route went cleanly for me. Granted, it wasn't very sustained, with most of the pitch at around 5.7, but the couple 5.9 moves gave me little difficulty. Feeling even more confident, I decided to finish the day on the first pitch of Pony Express that Ben had just finished. I tied in and started up the 5.9 pitch. The climbing was much more sustained than Sister Morphine, but I felt strong. I pulled through each crux move with confidence while getting great finger locks. At one point I thought I might have actually been able to lead the pitch, but then checked my over-confidence by deducing that, although I was climbing well on TR, stopping at precarious stances with thin fingers to place gear would have been challenging. I'll work up to 5.9 leads for sure, but probably not this year. I've got my sights set on some quality Eldo 5.8's now, like Reggae, Gambit, and others. Stay tuned!

Weekend at Elevenmile Canyon - September 12-14, 2008
Day 1: We had been talking about a weekend climbing trip all summer, so when Amiel emailed Ben and I that he had reserved a couple campsites in Elevenmile Canyon for a weekend of climbing, I was pretty stoked. I have been down to Elevenmile Canyon before, but not for climbing. The rock is typical course-grain granite and the routes tend to be runout at times, but the friction of the granite makes even the blankest pitches seem doable. We were really concerned about the weather...it was pouring rain in Denver when we left Friday afternoon for Elevenmile Canyon, so we were preparing ourselves for a cold and wet first night at camp. However, upon arriving in Manitou Springs/Woodland Park area, we noticed that the clouds were breaking up and blue sky was even peeking through the low hanging clouds as we drove west to the canyon.

We arrived at the Spillway Campground at the end of the canyon at about 2:00pm. The sun was beginning to show through the clouds, but it was still a tad chilly and a brisk breeze was blowing as the front continued to push out of the area. We setup camp and a couple hours later, Amiel and I decided to go have a quick go on Pine Cone Dome, which was a mere 1/4 mile down the road. We opted to have a go at a route called Armaj Das (5.5), and I was to have the first lead of the weekend. The rock was still a bit damp, but still climbable. The route was a bit contrived...wandering between face climbing and crack climbing, but the gear was good and it was nice to be on such an easy route to start things off. Soon after I started up the route, Ben had arrived to join us. After I rapped off Armaj Das, Ben wanted to tackle an unnamed bolted route just to the right of Armaj Das...a 5.10a/b. The start was rugged, with Ben skirting the true crux start to get to the first awkward clip. After that, the route eased off considerably and he was at the anchors in no time. Amiel and I each had a go at the rough start, but just couldn't pull the moves to the first bolt. I ended up skirting the crix moves just as Ben had done and continued up on great edges and jugs. The sequence in which I figured the crux start had to be climbed turned out to be the correct way. On Ben's second attempt of the cruxy start, he figured out the sequence as I had envisioned it, and pulled on through. I just couldn't implement my own strategy. By this time, it was getting dark, so we returned to cold beers waiting at camp after a great evening of climbing under our belt.

Day 2: Saturday started out leisurely enough. We awoke to a cold morning under bright blue skies. The sun still hadn't rose over the nearby domes to the east, so we prepared breakfast and organized our gear for the days climbing. It was to be a good day, and I was ready to climb. Our first destination would be Elevenmile Dome and a route called The Overleaf (5.8). It looked like a super route from the guidebook description, and we were eager to get it on. Ben racked up and we agreed that Amiel would follow and clean the pitch while trailing a second rope that he would use to belay me up the same pitch. Ben started up and climbed well right up under the crux roof. He paused, placed some gear, paused, and placed more gear to protect the spicy moves over the roof. A fall by the leader while pulling over the roof would be harsh, so he made sure he had sufficient gear in before cranking the moves over the roof. Amiel followed as planned, and yelled down to me after pulling over the roof that it was easier than it looked...then it was my turn.

The climbing was really fun and before I knew it, I was under the roof. Amiel had left two pieces of gear under the roof for me to clean, so I stepped up to the first piece, and although a tad awkward, was able to clean a small cam in a horizontal. Then I gingerly stepped up directly under the roof to clean the second cam under the roof proper. It was tough to get to and I spent just a bit too long trying to get myself into position to clean the cam. I decided to bail on it and focused my attention on the roof above. I swung my right hand over my head and began feeling around for a solid hold. I found a nice little edge that I figured would provide me with enough purchase to pull over the roof. Hanging off my right hand, I layed back off this hand to get a better view of the roof and scope out a place for my left hand. I found a small, but useable, sidepull and paused. Something didn't feel right. I looked down at my feet and figured I just needed to get my feet up higher and I'd be able to pull over the difficulties just as Ben and Amiel had done. No go. I was starting to get pumped, and was starting to get a little anxious. A fall here on toprope would swing me out away from the rock because of the roof. Sure enough, I burnt out and had to weight the rope. Cursing at myself, I stepped back into the move and tried again...and again...and again. By this time, I was gassed...and pissed. How could this move be so difficult? Amiel actually pulled me up through the crux and upon arriving at the belay, was queried by Ben and Amiel as to what happened. Apparently, there was a huge incut rail for my right hand that I just didn't see. Had I patted around a little higher with my right hand, I would have pulled through the crux no problem. Instead, my frustration got the best of me, and this key hold was never in play for me. Not a good start to the day, I thought.

After my debacle on The Overleaf, I was ready to hop on something else. Amiel went back to camp to check on the family, and Ben and I decided to head over to Arch Rock and have a go at The Staircase (5.5)...considerd one of the best routes in the canyon at the grade. The Staircase had another party on it, so Ben and I decided to climb an adjacent route called Waiting for Staircase #1 (5.8-). It was a bolted line with another crazy start to the first bolt, requiring an unprotected, thin traverse about 20' off the deck. A fall from here before the first clip would break ankles and the least. Being the cool customer that he is, Ben climbed into the traverse and clipped the all important first bolt and was off for the rest of the fun pitch. After the first two bolts, the route eases off a bit, but it was still a fun line.

By this time, the other party had started up the second pitch of The Staircase, so it was our turn. We had agreed that I would lead the first pitch and Ben would take the second pitch with the 5.8 direct finish. The climbing was fun and easy...with more gear placement opportunities than I could fathom. You could plug gear every two feet if you wanted to. After reaching the comfy belay ledge, I brough Ben up to me. He was trailing Amiel's rope. Amiel had arrived back at the crag just in time to join us on route and take the second pitch lead. He led up through some blocky terrain into the staircase proper...fantastic stemming on steep but easy terrain. Ben opted to finish the route via the 5.8 direct finish, and so when it was my turn, I decided to tackle the same move. It was a one-move-wonder. Ben gave me shit for not using a hand jam in the steep crack, saying that I cheated. I simply opted for an arm bar-type move instead and completed the direct finish.

It was starting to get late, but I still had some gas in the tank, so I convinced Amiel to give me a belay on Hollow Flake (5.6)...a fun looking left-facing corner with an even more interesting start. There are three start options...an easy 5.3 traverse in from the left, an unprotected 5.7 lieback undercling, or an unprotected 5.7 off-width crack. I chose the 5.7 lieback/undercling...not knowing the grade before I cast off. There were two other climbing parties at the base of the route climbing an adjacent route, so I put my game-face on and started cranking up the flake in full lieback/undercling style. The climbing was committing but positive, and after about 3-4 moves, I was slotting a bomber #2 cam and I was off for the remainder of the pitch.

Day 3: Ben decided to take off early on Sunday to climb with Colin in Eldo. That left Amiel and I to climb more of the easier routes on Elevenmile Dome. I had been wanting to climb Moby Grape (5.7) and now was my chance. I would climb the first pitch...a long, 120' pitch to a bolt anchor under a large roof. As I cast off on the lead, I wasn't able to get any protection in until almost 25' off the deck, but the climbing was easy. I slung a flake as PPP, and stepped up a few more feet and plugged a bomber cam and it was game on. No sooner had I kept moving up the corner, I had 3 wasps checking out my brightly colored rope.

Now, I don't like bees. In fact, I think everyone who knows me, KNOWS I don't like bees. These little bastards were flying right in my face. I tried to swat them away, but they were attracted to my yellow and orange rope and just wouldn't go away. OUCH! One of them had stung me on my ankle. I couldn't believe it! Here I was on a 5.7 onsight attempt and I get stung by a fargin' bee! Amiel yells up to me, "I hope you're not allergic." I put the bee sting out of my mind, and continued up the route. I came to a small bulge, pulled over, and found myself directly under a small roof...the last couple moves before the anchor. I slotted a couple nuts for extra insurance and fired up over the roof on jugs to the anchors. Another successful onsight! I decided I'd rate the climb 5.7+ as a result of the bee sting. Now I had to come down.

I had only brought up one rope on lead, thinking that a 60m would reach the bottom on rappel...nope. I thought about bringing Amiel up to the belay trailing the seond rope for a double-rope rappel, but the belay was of the hanging sort and there just wasn't a lot of room for two people at the anchor, so I told Amiel that he should lower me and he would climb up about 20' to give me enough rope to make it down. Sure enough, my rope was about 40' short total...meaning we met eachother about 20' up on the route. I clipped into the sling that I had slung around the first flake at the start of the route, and untied from the rope. Then Amiel tied into the rope and I put him on belay...all of this happening 20' off the ground. As Amiel started ascending the route, I downclimbed back to the deck. Needless to say, a 70m rope might not be a bad purchase in the future.

As one of our last pitches of the weekend, we chose to climb an easy bolted line called Happy Trails (5.6)...an 8 bolt sport climb up slabs for about 120 feet. That's 8 bolts in 120 feet...or a bolt every 15 feet. Put another way...a tad runout. Amiel took first lead and seemed to make easy work of the pitch. Because the pitch was over 100', we had to do a bit of simul-climbing in order to lower off the route with my 60m rope, but after Moby Grape, we had the process nailed. I racked up with draws and was off. The first few bolts were pretty straightforward, and pulling over the bulge shown in the photo, the climbing got slabby. The climb may be a low rated slab climb, but the holds were non-existent. Add in the fact that my next bolt was 15' up and I was now getting a little tweaked...on a 5.6! I had flashbacks to my lead of the East Slab in Boulder Canyon, but focused on good footwork and keeping my head in check. I had no choice but to climb higher and get that next bolt clipped. I planted my feet on the smallest of nubbins and smeared my way up, praying that my feet stuck to the course granite. If either foot popped, I was on my way to a long, cheese grater fall. Amazingly, I reached the next bolt, desperately clipped it, looked up, and saw the same moves...another 15' of runout slab. Without hesitation, I continued trusting my footwork, and before I knew it I had clipped the last bolt, and a few easy moves later, I had arrived at the anchors.

My First Lumpy Ridge Climb - August 31, 2008
I may have a new favorite climbing area...Lumpy Ridge, in Estes Park, CO. Scenic Estes Park sits at the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park and is a beautiful climbing location consisting of huge granite butresses and towers. The course-grained granite of Lumpy provides awesome friction and the flaring cracks make the climbing challenging which, for many, is a great training ground for bigger climbs in the Yosemite Valley. Lumpy Ridge is considered an alpine climbing area due to its elevation at ~8000 feet and you are reminded of this fact on the lengthy approach to many of the formations in the park. Our destination was the Left Book, which contains many of Lumpy's more moderate routes in the 5.5-5.9 range. Two of the classic climbs on the Left Book include White Whale (5.7) and Hiatus (5.7). The base of the climb was crowded. There were 4 other parties on neighboring routes, so we had to wait almost an hour before we started up. Ben thought I should have a go at the second pitch of White Whale. The second, crux pitch features fantasic liebacks into a flaring crack with occassional finger locks for almost 170 feet...a true classic.

Ben led the first pitch, a pretty long line in its own right, to gain a nice ledge at a stout tree. I followed and felt pretty good after not having been on rock for about 3 weeks. I quickly re-racked and cast off for the classic second pitch. The climbing began with positive liebacks off a left-facing flake...thoroughly enjoyable climbing. The course granite provided ample friction for confident footwork and the gear was plentiful. I was moving pretty well after the first 30 feet or so and then the flake disappeared, and in its place was a long, flaring crack which looked to provide little protection. I had a little freak-out. My feet were starting to hurt from wedging my right foot in the crack and I was having trouble getting a comfortable stance from which to scope out my gear options, I was constantly shifting and cursing as I moved each foot around to find the best stance. My last piece of gear, a smallish nut, 8 feet below me. After a few tense moments, I decided to climb up just a bit higher to what looked like a better stance. What a difference a few feet can make. I got to a good stance and then I could see small little pin scars every 10 feet or so that would take fingers and gear. The placements were challenging at times. If I felt my gear was a little questionable, I'd place a second piece to back it up. That usually gave me the mental boost I needed to continue up.

As the crack goes straight up and eventually ends at a horizontal crack that angles up and right to a second crack that goes straight up again for another 30 feet. This crack also ends and you must make an unprotected traverse left under a large roof system to get to the belay in a small alcove with good gear for an anchor. Although the climbing is not difficult here, a fall would be scary. A delicately stepped left and after about 15 feet I slotted one last nut to protect the final moves to the belay.

After rigging the belay anchor, Ben started coming up. I had really sewn up the climb, so Ben was kept busy cleaning gear throughout the pitch. There was one nut, a #5 ABC, that just wouldn't budge. Ben did everything he could to try and free the nut from the crack, but it just wouldn't come out. Coincidentally, this was the nut I backed up when I freaked-out lower on the pitch. Ben took the final summit pitch which offered a few different options. Ben chose the more direct line up from the belay that involved pulling two small roofs with an unprotected slab between them. It was spicy for sure, with a fall above the lower roof on the slab would be ugly. Ben climbed up the slab on crystals and about midway up slotted the funkiest Alien I have ever seen. Ben yelled down that I would laugh when I saw this cam...Purely Psychological Pro (PPP) at its finest. Ben completed the pitch, which I'd say went at 5.7+ and brought me up. The slab was thin, but positive. The cam was a dud...a blue Alien with only two lobes contacting the rock.

Overall, an excellent first outting in Lumpy Ridge.

Kieners Route, Longs Peak (14,255') - July 19, 2008
I have been wanting to climb a technical route to the summit of Longs Peak (14,255') in Rocky Mountain National Park for some time now. Having climbed Longs Peak twice already, both via the Keyhole route, I figured I was ready to try something with more of a mountaineering flavor to it. Seemed logical to me that my first objective should be the Kieners Route on Longs Peak. Any ascent of Longs Peak is a major effort even by its easiest routes such as The Keyhole (Class 3) and The Loft (Class 4). Kieners is rated at 5.2-5.4 (depending on the guidebook) and involves an ascent of the Lamb's Slide Couloir.

Ben and I decided we'd leave town at around 1:00am with a goal of starting our climb from the Longs Peak Trailhead by 3:00am. I met Ben at his place in downtown Denver at a little after 1:00am. It was weird driving by all the nightclubs still going strong knowing that many of these folks would be heading home soon to sleep off their drunkeness while our morning was just beginning. We had each tried to catch a bit of sleep before setting out, but we both ended up with about 2 hours each. Now it was 1:30am and we were motoring towards Longs.

We arrived to a fairly full Longs Peak Trailhead at just before 3:00am. There were a few parties milling around packing gear and getting ready for the long slog to the summit. Early starts are de rigeur on long climbs such as Longs Peak, even though many of these parties were climbing the Keyhole Route...probably the most crowded and popular 14er route in Colorado. Climbing through the more exposed portions of the Keyhole Route such as The Trough, The Narrows, and The Homestretch can be like walking on a busy city sidewalk at mid-day, with many of the "climbers" dressed for a city sidewalk stroll rather than the exposed ledges of Longs Peak's north and west sides.

After we sorted out our gear, we were off at 3:00am...just as we had planned. I entered our names into the registry at the trailhead and we began our ascent to Chasm Lake and Mills Glacier. It was a full moon and we didn't even need our headlamps to hike the 4.5 miles to the west side of Chasm Lake which is where the technical challenges of Kieners would begin. We anticipated that we could get to Chasm Lake by around 6:00am...and sure enough, we did. Our pace had been quick. We enjoyed the early morning alpenglow off the stunning East Face of Longs Peak, also known as The Diamond, and began strapping on our crampons and grabbing our ice axes for our ascent of the Lamb's Slide Couloir. I have heard many tales about the climbing in Lamb's Slide...from intermittent rockfall to steep, black ice, yet the couloir was in perfect summer conditions. We were the only party on route which was surprising to both of us, as Kieners is one of the most popular routes on Longs besides the Keyhole. We started up at 6:30am switchbacking up the couloir and making great time. The snow wasn't nearly as steep as we thought it would be...only around 40° at the steepest, but it was fun nonetheless.

After a quick hour climbing the couloir, we exited Lamb's Slide and began the northerly traverse across the Broadway Ledge...an amazing ledge of rock, wildflowers, and exposure that splits the upper and lower halves of the Diamond. The position here was breathtaking. After a few minutes of leisurely scrambling along Broadway we came to the crux of the route which is a large boulder that "blocks" passage across the Broadway ledge just before the start of the Notch Couloir and Kieners proper. To surmount the block, one has to make a very exposed move involving hundreds of feet of air under your boots. A slip here would be fatal. Many parties rope up on the Broadway Ledge traverse because of residual snow and the exposure, but we opted to move unroped through this section as the ledge was almost completely melted out. It's not that we were being careless. The scrambling was easy and the exposure doesn't really get to me too much, so we agreed that we would rope up when one of us felt we really needed the protection of a rope. I couldn't help but peer over the edge of the grassy ledge into the abyss below. It was amazing. Ben asked me if I wanted to rope up for the move across the block. I declined his offer and thought I would step down to the block to get a better look at the move. Ben skirted the block just ahead of me and then I was next. I found small but positive holds for both hands on each side of the block. Grabbing the sides of the block with my arms out-stretched, I stepped out across the void...and paused. It didn't feel right. I felt like I was getting pushed backwards by the bulging block. I fumbled around with my right hand trying to find a huge jug or hidden hold on the other side of the block, but there was none. I tried my left hand and found a nice crimper right at my chest, but to lock off on it would mean leaning back into the void. I started to get a little nervous, so I backed off. Ben asked again if I wanted to rope up, but I didn't feel like a rope was necessary. It was a matter of finding the right sequence of moves. I spotted a foothold just down and right of where my right foot had been and figured that if I could stem out far enough and get my right boot on it then I would be able to grab the hold for my left hand much easier without feeling like I was being pushed backwards. I stepped back into the block and tested my theory. Before I knew it, I was standing on the other side of the block with the crux behind me. It was actually pretty easy. The views from both the north and the south were phenomenal. We continued along the ledge to the entrance to the Notch Couloir.

From our current position, we were able to see the entrance to the Notch Couloir, which is another fine mountaineering route involving steep snow climbing up a winding snow couloir to an obvious notch near the summit. Ben and I chose the Kieners Route (which is just a variation of the Notch Couloir route) because it was more of a rock climb than a snow ascent. Our guidebook said to start 50' up and right of the entrance to the Notch Couloir. I offered to lead the first pitch by finding the easiest line up through the various chimney systems rising up from the Broadway Ledge. One of the biggest challenges of Kieners is not so much the technical difficulty of the climbing, but the routefinding. Pick the right lines and the climbing is 5.2-5.3. Pick the wrong line and you can get into trouble quickly. Ben rigged a belay and I began the lead about 15' right from his position and started up. I was about 15' up and to the right of Ben when I realized I may not have gone the easiest way. I had climbed myself into a very strenuous situation with no gear in and trying to stay attached to the steep rock with mountaineering boots rather than rock shoes I felt like I was going to slide right off the small slippery edges I was standing on. At this point, panic overtook me. I was in a thin spot looking at a 15' fall into a nasty pendulum over the edge of Broadway if the ledge didn't break my fall...which it may have done, along with a few bones as well. I was scared...the most scared I think I have ever been on a rock climb in my life. I kept shifting my boot position on the tiny littel edges, trying to find a comfortable position to stand and relax. No position was to present itself. My only options were to try and get some gear in somewhere or downclimb. The thought of downclimbing this section of rock was grim. I scanned the rock above me for anywhere I might be able to get in a nut or small cam...nothing. The panic was now becoming fear. I couldn't hang on these holds for too long or my fear of the pending fall would turn to a stark reality. If I had been wearing rock shoes, which neither Ben or I had brought, I would have felt perfectly in control. My thick mountaineering boots just didn't give me the ability to smear and their bulk made it hard to stand comfortably on small edges of even a half inch.

"I dunno man...I'm not in a good position here!" I yelled down to Ben.
"Try to find a comfortable stance and get some gear in." Ben replied...calm as usual.
"I just can't find anyplace for my left foot that's secure." I shouted back. He had to sense the panic in my voice now.
"Can you downclimb?" Ben asked.
"Not an option, man. I am really sketched out right now!" I shouted again, my voice cracking from the dryness in my throat. "Shit, dude. I'm in trouble here!"
"Just relax and try and get some gear in," he fired back, now getting a little anxious himself.

It's all Ben could say. What else could he do? He could only try and get me to relax and focus on my situation. Just when I thought I might be another rescue statistic on Longs Peak, I noticed a crack at my knees that I just didn't see before. It would take a #1 cam. I quickly pulled the cam off my harness and plugged it into the crack...a perfect placement. I felt a wave of relief pour over me, but I still wasn't clipped in. I clipped a runner to the cam and then clipped the rope to the runner. I was finally out of danger from a body breaking fall, but I still had to move up. I tried in vain to move above the cam I had placed. My boots would just slip right off the slabby granite face and my handholds just didn't feel positive because of the sweat seeping out of every anxious pore in my body. Finally, I decided to traverse back right about 5 feet to a small chimney system that looked like it was a bit easier. The initial move was committing, the footing tenuous, but I was able to get a decent hand jam to pull across into the chimney. The climbing was significantly easier. I continued up for about 100' and set a belay to bring Ben up.

After that little adventure, I was eager to offer up the next long pitch to Ben. He re-racked and started up a short but steep corner that looked devious. He surmounted the corner and pulled over the top and he was out of sight. I kept feeding rope out. I was feeding rope out quickly now as he climbed up easy terrain. With only about 30' of rope left, his progress stopped. Then I heard him yell down, "Take in slack, I'm going to downclimb!" Sure enough, I reversed my rope feeding and began taking in huge amounts of slack. There was so much rope on the ground next to when he called, "Off belay!" that I wondered what was going on. It's like he hadn't climbed up at all. I followed up the corner (which was strenuous again because of my bulky boots, and arrived at his new belay...literally 30' away from my position. He told me that he had climbed off route, and decided to downclimb and set a belay so we could scope out the next pitch from a better vantage point.

We had been making great time on our ascent, but with my flailfest and Ben's routefinding problem, we were falling off our target summit time. We had been confident that we could summit by 11:00am, but now noon was looking like it might be tough to make. The weather was perfect, so we pressed on and climbed one last pitch above the difficulties where we encountered Class 3/4 scrambling up grassy ledge systems that ascended just above the edge of the Diamond. We were both a little irritated at this point and we said little to eachother as we picked our way through the jumbled boulders. We finally arrived at a steep series of ledges...the final technical moves before the summit. From here, it would be an easy 200' of quick scrambling.

We arrived on the summit just before 12:30pm, exactly 9 and a half hours after we left the trailhead. We weren't thrilled about the time it took us to summit. We were on the summit for all of 15 minutes...just enough time to change some clothes and eat a little food. Then we started downclimbing towards the Cable Route to look for the rappel anchors that would take us to Chasm View while avoiding loose scree, talus, and steep wet slabs. After 3 short rappels we had arrived at Chasm View. Words cannot describe the view of the Diamond from here...it was simply stunning. We could see climbers high up on the vertical walls of the Diamond on routes such as "Casual Route" and "Pervertical Sanctuary". The climbers were specks on an immense span of streaked granite. I was content watching them from my position at Chasm View.

Leaving Longs Peak behind, we began the long slog back to the trailhead. It took us about 4 hours to descend and by 4:45pm we were back at the trailhead. Our feet and knees were toast and our packs seemed twice as heavy as when we left in the wee hours of the morning. We had been climbing for 13 and a half hours, and although we were spent, we could still crack smiles as we recounted the more harrowing parts of our day. Now that I've climbed Longs Peak 3 times, I may take a break from Longs for a few years. I still wouldn't mind climbing The Loft Route or even the Notch Couloir...in winter! Who knows, maybe I'll even find myself on the shear walls of the Diamond one day. Maybe.

East Slab (5.6), Boulder Canyon - July 13, 2008
Hooked up with Amiel for a quick outting on The Dome in Boulder Canyon. We decided to hop on East Slab (5.6), also known as "Disappearing Crack" for reasons I'll discuss in a moment. It was a beautiful day in the canyon, trading the heat of the city for cool mountain breezes and excellent granite. We agreed that Amiel would lead the route and then we would go investigate some other routes for me to lead.

We were the only ones on The Dome when Amiel cast off on the first pitch, with the 5.6 crux coming right off the deck. He climbed up 20' over a bulge and decided to set a belay at that point so we would have a better view of the route (and each other) during the rest of the climb. When I climbed up to his belay on a comfy ledge, we examined the route above. I was fully prepared to let Amiel lead the rest of the route as we had originally planned, but he decided that he would pass the lead to me. Eager to lead the rest of the route, I still inquired as to his sudden change of heart. The route looked pretty fun...a fist sized crack and awesome granite pockets on a solid granite slab. I racked up and was off.

The route started off quite nicely. I was moving well and the gear was bomber. All of a sudden I looked up and realized the confidence-inspiring crack I had been following suddenly...disappeared! Above the crack was nothing but granite slab. Granted, the pitch only goes at 5.5, but there was something about confronting the 15' runout above that stopped me dead in my tracks for a few minutes. I scanned the upper part of the route for any crack, pocket, or other feature where I might be able to get some intermediate gear in, but there was little to be found. I figured I'd just climb up to where the crack ended and then check out my options. They weren't much better. I slotted a nut and equalized it to a #1 cam and then considered my fate on the clean slab above. The options were few...run it out and get to the next small shelf 15' up or lower off. I kept reminding myself that "it was only a 5.5", but there was something about leading the route onsight which made me a little nervous. What if I fell before I got to the small shelf? I'd be looking at a 30 footer. Granted the fall was as clean as the face I was on, but the thought kept me plugged into the last few feet of the crack...the disappearing crack. Finally, after much deliberation, I decided it was time to push through. I figured out the sequence...right foot in a pocket out right, left foot in the crack, step up, right finger in the small pocket up and right, and pull up to a larger pocket for my left hand up and left. Now what?!? Keep moving. For a split second I thought my feet were going to scuttle off their small granite crystal nubbins, but they stuck. Gotta love climbing shoe rubber. I reached up and slapped my hands at the shelf and a huge sense of relief flooded over me. I stood up on the shelf, and was able to slot another cam in a small crack. The worst was over, but I still had about 30' of route left, with more unprotected terrain ahead. The climbing was easier, though, and a few moves later I had pulled the final moves over the ominous roof of huge jugs and was sitting atop The Dome.

Climbers say that onsight leads are the toughest climbs because you don't know the moves or the gear placements, so even the easiest climbs can seem much harder in those situations. I found that out first-hand. It did give me a different experience that I hadn't had before...leading on runout rock.

Ben and I are set to climb the Kieners Route on Longs Peak on July 19...considered one of the finest mountaneering routes in all of Colorado. Stay tuned for what I expect to be an excellent trip report!

North Face Center (5.7), Boulder Canyon - July 5, 2008
After climbing North Face Center with Colin a few weekends ago, I was eager to try leading at least the first two pitches of this great line up the north face (of course) of Cobb Rock in Boulder Canyon. After that first ascent, I felt pretty confident that I could have led the first two pitches, so I convinced Ben to join me for my follow-up attempt. It was also another opportunity to slide across Boulder Creek via the tyrolean traverse...what a blast!

When we arrived at Cob Rock it was almost noon. We had to wait behind a slower party for about an hour before were able to start our ascent, but it was a beautiful, cool day in the canyon, unlike the scorching heat at lower elevations, so we hung out and waited for them to move off the belay ledge of the first pitch. At that point it was time to rack up and cast off. I was a little nervous about the lead, but also knew that the gear was plentiful so I just tried to focus my mind on the tasks at hand.

The first pitch (5.6) was a fun romp up great rock to a nice little ledge about 100' up. I was feeling pretty good about my climbing up to this point, and at times, even running the rope out more than Ben would have liked, but I felt comfortable and was climbing with confidence. Once I gained the belay ledge, I started building my anchor at the top of the pitch and prepared to bring Ben up. This is where things got a little weird...I started thinking too much. It took me much longer than I would have liked to build the anchor (which was bomber by the way) because I had gotten my cordellete tangled with the rope at one point and had to dismantle most of the anchor to correct the problem. Ben must have been thinking, "What is Brian doing up there!?!?" Finally, I got the anchor situated, the rope pulled up and stacked, and we were on our way again.

The start of the second pitch (5.7) went smoothly as well. I actually felt the climbing was easier on lead than it felt when I followed Colin up this pitch a few weeks prior. I felt focused and climbed smoothly from stance to stance, but I heeded Ben's earlier suggestion and didn't run the rope out as much. When I arrived at the top of the second pitch, I had a much better time building this anchor, and Ben quickly climbed up to my comfy stance on top of the arete where he would take the lead on the third and final crux pitch (5.7+). I almost felt compelled to lead this final pitch as well, but Ben looked eager to get on the sharp end, so I stuck with the plan and handed the rack over to him.

The crux pitch is awesome...short, but sweet. It climbs a beautiful hand crack that traverses up and to the right on steep, pristine rock. The hardest moves are jamming the crack and moving right, which requires solid hand jams and delicate feet. Once Ben finsihed leading the pitch, he put me on belay and I began to break down the anchor. This is where I had more problems. One of the nuts I had placed for the anchor was really wedged into the crack where I had placed it. I pulled out my nut tool and pried, hammered, and poked the sh*t out of that nut, but it just wouldn't budge. Ben yelled down to me that I should try placing a cam in the crack next to the nut and stand on the cam using a long sling. Lo and behold, my weight on the cam opened the crack in the rock just enough so I could wriggle it free (but not out). Having loosened the nut from the crack, I proceeded to re-rack the cam, and upon returning to the nut to remove it, bumped the cable and the nut scuttled down into the crack and out of sight forever...and so did the nut tool that I tried to use to extricate the nut in the first place. Cob Rock 2, Brian 0. Oh well. I'm just glad the nut disappeared into the crack rather than sit there so another more experienced climber could come by and pluck the nut right out of the crack. At least nobody would get free booty from my rack! Losing gear to cracks is commonplace in trad climbing, and those were the first two pieces I have lost so far. It could have been worse. I could have lodged a $50 cam in the crack, but instead, I sacrificed a $10 nut.

Once I got everything broken down at the belay and lamented the loss of my #11 nut, I climbed the final pitch pretty well and felt like I could have led this pitch as well, although it would have been a little dicey. The nice thing about this pitch is the gear is great which really allows you to push it a tad without fear of taking big falls. This route has quickly become one of my favs so far. Great multi-pitch climbing, bomber pro, great stone, beautiful views, and a fun tyrolean approach...what more do you need?

Boulder Canyon - June 14, 2008
Although it has been awhile since I updated my blog, I have been getting out for climbs regularly on the weekends and on occassional Wednesdays after work. In the past few weeks, I have successfully redpointed Wind Ridge (5.6/5.8, May 31) and Calypso (5.6, June 8) in Eldo, and have been getting out to various crags in Boulder Canyon with Ben and his buddy, Amiel. On days when Ben is out cranking harder routes in Lumpy Ridge with Colin, I have been hooking up with Amiel for some easy romps in Eldo. He's a great guy and climbs at the same difficulty level as myself, which makes it nice. He is expecting his first child any day now, so I'm sure his days at the crags will be reduced dramatically in the coming days, but it has been great having more partners to get out climbing with.

This past weekend, I met up with Ben, Amiel, and Colin to TR some stiffer routes at Boulder Canyon's Castle Rock such as Curving Crack (5.9), Skunk Crack (5.9+), and the Comeback Crack (5.10b). I was hoping to lead the Cussin Crack (5.7) and maybe another easy route on the rock's south side, but I really didn't feel very strong upon my arrival at the crag. In fact, my first go at Curving Crack was dismal. I felt weak and unmotivated, which is very atypical for me. For the record, I find it hard to warm up on 5.9's anyway, so perhaps that had something to do with it. All I know is, I had the chills all morning and I just felt like I had just come out of hibernation or something. I faired much better on Skunk Crack and even performed reasonably well on the thin and pumpy Comeback Crack. The crux comes about 10-15' off the ground with thin finger locks on steep terrain. After TRing Skunk and Curving Cracks, I just didn't have the energy left to crank on the thin finger jams, but it was fun to try the moves on a route like that. Climbing with guys that can lead routes of that difficulty is great, 'cause once they do all the scary work of leading the routes, guys like me get to practice stiff moves with the comfort of a toprope. At around 1:30pm, Ben and Amiel decided to call it a day, so Colin asked me if I wanted to head down canyon and give Cob Rock a go...specifically the North Face Center (5.7+) route. I was a little worried that I wouldn't have enough gas in the tank to make it up a 3 pitch 5.7, but I agreed to go down and have a look. Once I saw Cob Rock, I knew I had to give it a go.

To get to the base of Cob Rock you first have to cross Boulder Creek, which is running really heavy right now due to the spring runoff. This involves a fun tyrolean traverse...something I have never done before. It was exciting and quite easy, but definitely was one of the more unique approaches to a crag I have experienced thusfar.

Once at the base of the route, Colin and I agreed that he would lead each of the 3 pitches, combining pitches 1 and 2 together to make one long 160' pitch. As I followed up to him, I felt pretty good. The climbing was steep but positive. I actually felt as though I could have led most of the climb up to that point, but I definitely would have been sketched out at a couple points if I were on lead. Although the climbing is positive and the gear options plentiful, it does require some committing hand jams and footwork at times. When I got to the belay, a small, flat ledge at the top of a huge buttress, I was feeling a little tweaked. I've been high up on the Redgarden Wall in Eldo and even the Bastille, but the exposure on this little ledge was unlike anything I had experienced before. Sure, I had a good anchor to clip into, but it was "airy" to say the least. Not overly uncomfortable, but certainly exposed.

After re-racking, Colin started up the third crux pitch...a wider hand crack that zigzags across the steep upper face of Cob Rock. From my perch on the small ledge, I watched Colin make precise moves on great stone to reach the summit. Tourists almost 200' below were gawking and snapping photos of us loony climbers high up on the impressive face of Cob Rock. It made feel like a real hard-man...although I knew that once Colin rigged a belay at the top, it would be my turn to pull some serious crux moves after such a long day of climbing. Once on belay, I began jamming the crack. At first I found the climbing exhilerating...the jams were good and the feet were there. Once I started the traverse up and right in the widening crack, I started to feel a little nervious. The exposure from this position on the route was awesome and I was definitely feeling fatigued, but I kept working my feet and trusting the hand jams. Before I knew it, I was through the 5.7+ crux and joined Colin at the summit. A superb finish to a long day of climbing. This is one route I'm going to lead real soon...maybe not the third pitch, though.

Revenge On The Duh - May 24, 2008
Hit Eldo for the first time of the season with Ben and his buddy Amiel. Our goal was to do some cragging on the West Ridge. We had hoped to jump on Washington Irving (5.6) or Mesca-line (5.7+) for a warm up, but there were already parties racking up, so we contnues up the step climber's trail to Doctor Michael Solar (5.7) and Positively 4th Street (5.9+). I felt pretty good on both routes, even on the pumpy 5.9+, so I was eager to jump on the sharp end for my first lead of the season.

Ben recommended I try the Duh Dihedral (5.6) again...a steep, sustained climb at the grade. I had been thwarted on this route last season due to poor mental conditioning and the fact that wasps were swarming all around me as I climbed. After I lowered off in defeat the first time, I knew that I had just given up on that lead, so this time I would have my revenge...and the redpoint.

I racked up and began the climb. I tried to stay as focused as I could...looking for rests and getting in good gear whenever possible. When I found myself out of balance or thinking about how good or bad my pro was, I'd just refocus my attention on body positioning and breathing. Once I got up about 20' and past the crux, I felt much better and moved with smoother flow. There were still moments when I found myself out of balance on my feet and would get a little sketched out, but then I'd just shift a foot one way or another and my stance would improve dramatically...allowing me to get good gear in when I needed it.

My plan is to get a few more classic Eldo 5.6 routes under my belt, and then start leading some 5.7 routes. The midweek sessions with Ben are paying off. I feel stronger and even a bit more confident now than I did at the start of the season.

Bouldering in Morrison - May 21, 2008
Today Ben and I decided to do some bouldering in Morrison for our after-work climb. Now I am not a boulderer. In fact, the last time I went bouldering I injured my foot so severely I was on crutches for over 2 months with a torn plantar fascia ligament. I was a little nervous about what kind of climbing we were going to be doing, so I told Ben I needed to keep things on the DL until I started getting more comfortable with making strenuous moves several feet off the ground...unroped. We started on an easy traverse problem rated V0 (or 5.9/10a, the easiest of all bouldering grades) and it was good fun. Great juggy rails on a rising traverse...the perfect warmup.

After a few laps on the traverse, we went up to the Tree Slab (V0) and I had a rougher time on this problem. It's semi-highball (for me anyway) and although I could have easily climbed it roped, the fact that I was 12' off the ground making a crux move sans rope was a little sketchy for me. I'm sure I'll get over these highball issues the more I climb them, but for now, the comfort of a rope when that high off the ground is nice.

We then headed over to one of the most famous bouldering problems on the Front Range...The Breashear's Crack (V1, 5.10c/d), named after its famed first ascensionist, climber, and mountaineer David Breashears. The crack starts low in a cave and traverses right up to a 45° roof on sharp jugs. The hardest climb I have ever done is 5.10a, so I was definitely overmatched right from the start. To my surprise, I was able to string together the lower traverse moves, but reaching out to the slippery jugs under the roof were strenuous. My feet felt like they were working against me due to my poor abdominal strength and that little thing called gravity. My feet would pop off the overhanging rock before I could get set to reach up and pull over the roof. I made several attempts at the moves until my arms could hold me no longer. This could be a fun problem for me, though. A few sessions on this problem every couple weeks would improve my overall strength and body tension skills.

Castlewood Canyon - May 14, 2008
As part of an overall training strategy, Ben and I decided to head down to Castlewood Canyon after work to get in some additional climbing during the week. We were the only ones at the crag so we had our pick of the routes along the Grocery Store Wall. We started on a strenuous 5.8 called Hot Fudge. The route is steep and requires some strong liebacking and footwork to negotiate the crack. I climbed the lower section quite well, but I ended up hanging out too long in the crux section and had to hangdog to recover.

We then moved down the Grocery Store Wall to a longer route called Licorice Stick (5.9). What a fun route. Its bouldery start make you think right off the deck. Steep, wet, and sustained, the route follows a dirty left-facing corner with great liebacks, face climbing, and stemming feet for almost 80 feet. I struggled the first time, hanging on the rope at the start! On my second attempt, I cranked almost the entire pitch until the very top when my arms just gave out. Overall, it was a great evening of climbing.