Lloyd Climbing Blog

Gym Weekend

2009-12-13T20:33:00.006-07:00

The weather has been improving, but it was still too snowy to boulder in Sinks Canyon this weekend. I know because I checked, twice. It was possible to sport climb, but our daughters were doing Cheer Camp and we had errands to run, and we didn't make it out. We did have a session on the wall at Elemental.
Got there just in time for fresh problems.

Yesterday we had some outdoor excitement sledding at the golf course.

Easy access, long ride, and a nice view.

Great type 1 fun with the family. To learn about the three types of fun, check out the most recent Dirtbag Diaries Podcast.

This Week's Climbing News:

Urban Climber just ran an article about the making of the film "Rocky Mountain Highball" announcing that it will be available in December, but the Rocky Mountain Highball website hasn't been updated in over a year, and Andy Mann's blog hasn't supplied any news. I was disappointed not to get the DVD for Christmas last year, and Santa probably won't be able to find it this year either. I've been really really good, but I'm old enough to understand that that doesn't make movies get released any faster, and I'm starting to doubt there is a Santa.

The NCCC has released a new online guide to Horsetooth Reservoir. It's a well written, great looking, and accurate guide. Follow the NCCC link to download your copy.

Better posts will be coming soon. But that's not an apology for this one.

The CWC Bouldering Competition

2009-12-06T09:38:00.017-07:00

Perfect conditions for bouldering can usually be found somewhere, but in Wyoming this weekend the only place to be was indoors. Luckily, Central WY College held their 2nd Annual Bouldering Comp last night.

Ashley loved the fact that the women got to boulder for over an hour before the men were allowed to start. With about six or seven women competing, Ashley didn't have to wait for routes. She got a good workout and placed first. She won $40. Our entry fees were $20, so we climbed in the comp for free.

An attempt on Open #7.

The mens comp wasn't as laid back. With about 30 competitors, and many of the difficult problems for each division found on the roof, it was difficult to get on the wall sometimes. I tried not to be a jerk, but often the only way to get a try was to jump on as fast as you could. If I cut anybody off, I apologize. At any moment, four people would be chalking up, and if you hesitated, someone would jump in. On two occasions I asked another climber if they wanted to go, and by the time they answered someone else had jumped on so both of us had to wait. I climbed pretty well, but backed off on Open #4 because I was scared. I could have swung off at the top, and was concerned that I might fall on people. Other than the wall being crowded, which was probably unavoidable, it was a good competition. The route setting was good, everyone won raffle prizes, and the competition was strong. I finished the night in fourth place, and we had a great time.

While competing I overheard two girls and a guy talking about me behind my back. The first girl said "Look at his forearms!" Then the guy said "They're bigger than his head!" The first girl replied "Yeah, they really are." I was beginning to feel like a freak when the second girl said "That's cool!"

Last weekend we got a bit of snow on Saturday. On Sunday the tops of the boulders were still a little wet, but cliffs were dry, so we did some sport climbing. We decided to try "The Wilds." At 55 feet tall, it's one of the shorter climbs at Sinks, and I was very happy to find a great rest stance 30 feet up the route. My type of route. Sierra had the camera. On my first try, I had to hang a couple times to work out two crux sequences. That's when Sierra took all the photos.

On my second try, I got the redpoint.

This week Davin began writing a Wyoming bouldering blog. He will be sharing beta and photos of areas all over the state. A very exciting development for bouldering in Wyoming. The perfect way to spend snowy days, get excited, and make plans for the spring season. Check it out- A Place of Legend.

Thanksgiving Sandstone Sessions

2009-11-27T15:21:00.017-07:00

Wednesday afternoon, after a half day of school, we tried to get up to Sawmill Crossing for a session with Davin, but the Forest Service closed the loop road. It won't open again until late spring. Disappointed, we turned around and went to work on the Back Pocket Boulder's "Back Pocket Traverse into Double Clutch." Davin found us there. We made plans to explore the granite up the Middle Fork trail on Thanksgiving Day, and then have a climbing session up there on Friday.

On Thanksgiving, Davin and I were driving up to the trail when we pulled over to check out a good looking sandstone boulder. We found good stone and ended up looking at sandstone blocks for the next four hours. We never made it to the Middle Fork trail, and we decided to spend today climbing at one of the areas we found.

The area got so warm today, we're calling it the Ice Age. The perfect place to go when things get cold.

The Warm Up boulder has amazing features.
Ashley warming up.

Davin warming up.

Davin got the first ascent of the area classic. A sit start arete problem called "Il Mammut." Italian for the Mammoth.

Davin conquered the beast by getting two fingers in it's eye.

Ashley and I topped out later by crimping a wrinkle on the beast's forehead. I used a kneebar on my ascent, but Ashley's stretchy synthetic pants wouldn't stick in the kneebar. She demanded to borrow my pants, and did for a few attempts. Now you all know who wears the pants in our family.

We finished the day on a few more fun problems. A right exit to "Il Mammut" I'm calling "Ice Age 2." A traverse Ashley named "Prehistoric Squirrel Traverse", and a contrived problem called "High Steppe" pictured below.

We're thankful for the fun Thanksgiving.

A Productive Day

2009-11-22T20:06:00.013-07:00

Ashley climbing "Premiere Traverse" on the Dolomite Band.

A lot got done today. In the morning, I explored the Sawmill Crossing boulders.

It's near a stream crossing so I was expecting shade and snow. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the area gets sun all day, is sheltered from wind, and is easily accessible with the van. The area isn't large, but it has at least three good boulders, and possible problems on the small cliffs above. Most problems are between 12 and 15 feet tall. It doesn't look like they've had much traffic.

I'm planning to return with brushes soon.

This afternoon we were on our way to the Back Pocket boulder, but a frigid breeze sent us back to the car. We started driving to the gym when I noticed the Dolomite Band above Sandstone Buttress. It looked sheltered from the easterly breeze. We decided to give it a try.

It was pretty cold when we started bouldering, but the clouds broke and things warmed up nicely.

We did a bunch of fun moderates, mostly V2s, and then I noticed a possible line out the middle of the face on Big Overhang. It took some work, but I unlocked it just as the sun was about to go down. Here are photos of the crux moves.

It's a really nice line, the most direct way up the middle of the face. Here's the full description: Sit start, then a large move to a small left hand crimp, lower body rotation to get a high right foot, pull really hard to get to a horizontal line of holds above, then climb the committing, straight up, top out. It shares it's sit start with a V3 to the right, and uses a heel hook on "Off the Butt" to the left. It felt V5/6 to me, but it might be more difficult for tall climbers. It's probably been climbed before, but I'm calling it "Double Helix" until I hear an official name.

It's nice when things exceed expectations.

We're Boulderers

2009-11-16T19:08:00.012-07:00

Bouldering "Double Clutch," a classic on the Back Pocket boulder.

On Sunday we went climbing in Killer Cave.

It's the most famous cliff in Sinks Canyon, and our goal was to project the route called "Killer." Eighty feet of solid steep climbing. Seemed like a good goal, and a great way to get a workout for a few weekends.

A climber on "Killer"

I set it up mostly bolt to bolt, linking the easier sections. Ashley had a try on toprope, and then I tried it on toprope too. Ashley went up forty feet, and came down because she doesn't like heights. I went up forty feet and fell off an easy section because I don't have endurance. Then a climber we had just met asked "Aren't you boulderers?"

My immediate answer was "Yeah, we are." And as I said it, I knew it to be true.

Other climbers from across western Wyoming and northern Colorado were all having a great time.

But the boulders at the base off the hill now looked more appealing. We hiked down from the cliff, and made our way to the Back Pocket Boulder. We did difficult moves on the classic problems, and confirmed that we do like bouldering better.

I got pumped a couple times, but never so pumped a problem wasn't worth trying again.

We'll be spending our time on the boulders, and the shortest routes in Sinks this winter. Because we're boulderers.

A Quick Trip to Cody

2009-11-07T19:57:00.013-07:00

After a couple twelve hour days of teaching and conferences with parents, we had a day off on Friday. We decided to spend a day and a half of our long weekend in Cody, Wyoming. I've had Mike Snyder's Cody Bouldering Guide on my shelf for over two years, and finally got a chance to check the place out. We started with the Antelope boulder, and ended up spending the whole session on it. Its west face is perfect. A sweeping overhang of beautiful sandstone featured with incut rails and crimps. One of the most fun individual boulders I've ever climbed on.

"Meathook" was harder for me than I expected, but I knew it could be done. Ashley shot these pictures of my fourth attempt.

Somewhere between attempt fifteen and twenty I dyno/deadpointed accurately enough to latch the crimp, and topped the problem out. By then we had given up on getting photos.

Ashley made a quick ascent of the steep and crimpy problem "Pocahontas."

There are many good lines explained in the guide, but eventually we just started making up problems that looked fun. Features are plentiful enough to create many ways of climbing the wall, but not so plentiful that you have to off route holds to make things difficult. Ashley found many ways to extend problems by traversing into and out of them using the horizontal features.

The rock has a good texture. It reminds me of Joes Valley, blended with some Horsetooth Reservoir.

When the weather is good, and we have a break from school, we've got our sights set on Cody.

Happy Halloween

2009-11-01T06:10:00.010-07:00

We got out for a perfect climbing day on Halloween. The weather couldn't have been better, and we climbed three classic 5.11s. Might not sound like much climbing, but the routes at Sinks are long. Three Sinks climbs is equal to at least five at Wild Iris, and my arms are still pumped a day later.

We hiked up through snow.

But the cliffs were dry.

It was a crowded day by Wyoming standards. There were other climbers to take photos of!

I gave the camera to Sierra, and she got these shots of us on "Whipperly Wamberly Walk."

On the hike out, the hill was snow free.

On Friday we watched the documentary Man on Wire.

I'd recommend the film to anyone, and I highly recommend it for climbers. It isn't climbing, but any climber will understand Petit's motivation and appreciate the commitment needed to achieve his goal of wire walking between the World Trade Center towers. As inspirational as any climbing movie I've seen.

The Great Escape

2009-10-25T18:13:00.007-06:00

We got out for an evening session on Friday at the Rubber Blanket Boulder. Perfect conditions for our project, and nice lighting for photos. We learned today that the problem is called "Jeremy's Traverse."

Ash between attempts.

On my fourth attempt of the session, it all came together.

Today we had some very strange weather on the cliffs in Sinks Canyon. Sun and snow simultaneously.

We warmed up on "Winds of War." I was warm, climbing in the sun, with snow swirling around me.

Then the clouds and snow came in to stay on our next climb, "Face Dancer."

We finished the day at the climbing gym.

Our session was cut short, but it was great to get out. Climbing is a great escape from the ordinary and unpleasant. As I examine my motivation, I think that, for me, this is climbing's greatest draw. Books, movies, hobbies and games offer escape as well, but really can't compare.

Changes of Plans

2009-10-18T15:32:00.009-06:00

Saturday, we drove out to Sweetwater Rocks to check out a couple areas off of the Ore Road that are described in the Lander Bouldering guide. The first area (the 45's) was fenced off, and near some "No Trespassing" signs, so we kept driving. We found "the Egg" which had some cool looking sport climbs on it, but it was in the wind. I drove just a bit further, and saw some nice looking boulders up on the hillside that were sheltered from the wind by a cliff. I ran up to them and saw that a few lines had already been cleaned, and I found a chalked hold. A fisherman was in the river just below the hill. The girls sat in a sheltered gully while I ran around looking for the best problems. Then my searching was interrupted by sirens. I saw a Fremont County sheriff parked beside our van. We hiked out to see what the problem was, and it turns out the area we were exploring was once state land, but it was bought by a uranium mining company. There isn't public access anymore, except for fishermen. They are allowed to follow the river into the property. Both of the Ore Road areas described in the guidebook are now closed to climbing. It's quite a bummer. There are some good boulders there.

We tried to salvage the session by going to the El Paso boulder, but it was in the wind and had some snow around it. We drove to some other boulders that I wanted to check out, but a large hunting party was camping right next to them. Maybe we should have kept driving out to the Hampi boulders, but we were no longer in the mood. The wind was picking up, hunter traffic kept passing us on the road, and we didn't have orange clothing. We decided to go home, get some work done, and try to get out for a session on Sunday.

Today we couldn't have a long session, so we returned to the Rubber Blanket boulder.

The mid-morning weather was perfect. The north side of the boulder was free of snow, so we had a few new problems to climb.

Ashley climbing the thuggy moderate "King of Birds."

Our main goal was to complete our traverse project from the session last week. It might be "Milton's Traverse," but it feels much harder than other V4s on the boulder. I think that "Milton's" probably uses higher crimps, and that our project is harder by a few grades.

The crimp match crux.

We made a little progress, but we'll need another session.

The short session was good enough to make me reassess some of my exploration goals. I love the potential of Sweetwater Rocks, the epic vastness of the scenery, and the feeling that there's probably a "Mushroom Boulder" hiding somewhere amongst the rock formations. But the drive, the wind, the strange access situations, and the popularity of the place with gun toting ATV drivers has dampened my enthusiasm to some extent. We're now planning to spend more time exploring the boulders close to Lander, and maybe make a trip up to Cody soon. I'm hoping that this weekend is the beginning of a beautiful Indian summer.

A Columbus Day Miracle

2009-10-12T21:01:00.005-06:00

It was quite cold and dreary until one o'clock this afternoon. Then the sun came out, but it was still below 30 degrees outside. I thought the Rubber Blanket Boulder (the one I swept off a couple days ago) might be climbable, so we drove up Sinks Canyon to check it out. The possibility of perfect conditions never crossed my mind, but that's what we found. T-shirt weather on fun moderate up problems, and difficult crimpy traverses.

Still lots of snow where I hadn't swept or shoveled.

We did a couple great traverse problems, and we still have a couple more to return for.

Saturday's prep session paid off nicely, and I'm feeling much more secure about winter climbing in Sinks. Thank Christopher!

Stuck in the Snow

2009-10-11T12:40:00.006-06:00

The snow and cold have lingered into this weekend. We spent a session on the Elemental Training Center's wall, and I took a drive up Sinks Canyon.

The snow was deep, but I still have hope for climbing on Columbus day. I spent an hour with a snow shovel and broom getting snow off a boulder, shoveling a trail, and digging out an area for the girls to hang out in. Maybe winter isn't here to stay, and my efforts will pay off.

Or maybe it will keep snowing tonight.

To help myself get through the weekend, I bought the new guidebook to Ten Sleep Canyon, Wyoming Heavenly Thunderstorm Opens Up New Universe by Aaron Huey. It's a very entertaining and strange guidebook. I checked out the website address in the back of the book, and was impressed by Aaron's photography. Check it out at Aaron Huey is a Photographer.

Snow Hits Lander!

2009-10-04T20:20:00.015-06:00

Yesterday, we had a good afternoon of sport climbing on the Hardware Wall in Sinks Canyon. The mountains kept getting obscured by clouds, then the skies would open a bit. This kept repeating, and each time the mountains got more and more covered in snow. The snow didn't come down canyon though, until this morning. It has snowed heavily for at least 13 hours now, and it's supposed to continue through tonight. Here are a few photos I took this afternoon.

Throughout today, as I cleaned and did laundry etc., I was planning to write a well developed post about how climbing alters consciousness, perception, and also alters my mood. Basically about how all three are enhanced by concentration and fear while climbing, and for an hour or two after a session. But also about how I'm often in a bad mood the day after intense climbing. A type of climbing high hangover. I'm wondering about whether this is common for other climbers? Now it's late, and I'm no longer in the mood to write a long post.

The Hampi Boulders' Access Situation

2009-10-02T20:14:00.011-06:00

I've gotten some information about the access situation at the Hampi Boulders, and feel the best way to protect the area is to let those who read this blog know about it. Many of the Hampi Boulders are on private property, and vehicle access to climbs on many of the domes at Sweetwater rocks crosses private property. The landowner allows access, but this access could be revoked at any time at the landowner's discretion. An employee at the BLM told me that the landowner will allow climbers in low numbers, but has expressed the opinion that they don't want their land to become a "destination climbing area." To maintain access, it is very important to limit group size, and the number of vehicles parked near the rocks. Anyone visiting Sweetwater areas on private lands, or requiring roads that cross private lands, should maintain a low profile by visiting in small groups with few vehicles, leave all fence gates as found, cross bridges slowly, never build fires or spook animals, and obey posted signs.

Or just spend time exploring the rocks on public lands by getting a BLM Surface Management Status map. Now that I've got one, I know of some good looking boulders that I'm allowed to check out.

The Hampi Boulders

2009-09-28T18:32:00.014-06:00

Ashley on an incredibly good warm-up traverse.

Once again, I was a bit nervous driving into the Hampi Boulders with the mini van. I packed an air pump, jumper cables, extra water, a lighter, and a Swiss army knife. I read up on driving techniques for soft sand. I told people where we were going to be. But this afternoon the road didn't seem that bad.

We drove up to the barbed wire gate near the boulders, and were surprised to see someone parked in front of it. I was doubly surprised to see that the man sitting at the driver's seat was John Gill. Mostly out of surprise, but also out of an annoying tendency to be awkward around famous climbers, I pulled off the road, jumped out of the van, and said "Hi John" just a bit too loud, and startled him. He was very nice about it, and we had a pleasant conversation. He'd been hiking with his wife, showing her the area where he used to spend days soloing the domes. One stop on a longer road trip. He asked what we were up to, and we explained that we had moved to Lander, and were bouldering at the Hampi Boulders around the other side of the formation. We talked a little more about the bouldering. We wished them a good trip, and they left for their next destination. A good bouldering omen.

The Hampi Boulder was still in the sun, but there were a lot of other boulders to play on while we waited for it to go into shade. I'm not aware of what any of the problems are named or graded, but everything we jumped on was a lot of fun.

A really nice sloper problem.

A fantastic steep problem.

The start of the Hampi Boulder traverse.

We worked out all the moves, but slick slopers with poor feet to campus moves left us worked by the end of the session. We'll be heading back to finish this one.

Perfect Conditions at Wild Iris

2009-09-26T21:25:00.005-06:00

The Main Wall of Wild Iris.

We got out for a perfect day at Wild Iris. The aspen have turned. The wind blew above the cliff, but the routes were completely sheltered. The sun got warm, but the rock stayed cool. It feels a little strange to say it, but I enjoy a good day of sport climbing at Wild Iris as much as a good day bouldering at Hueco.

Hiking in.

Hugging Sundance on the hike out.

No photos of climbing though. The little climbing photographers didn't make it out. Perfect climbing conditions.

Sweetwater Rocks

2009-09-20T20:34:00.010-06:00

Today, the clouds broke when we didn't expect them to, the temps rose very quickly, and we roasted in the sun all afternoon in Sinks Canyon. Monos are never pleasant, but they're awful in the heat. Reachy routes, wasps crawling out of the cracks and pockets, had to leave a carabiner to retreat, worrying if the sunburn would be bad and if the rattlesnakes were getting feisty. Worst session we've had in a long while. Didn't take any photos.

Friday afternoon was interesting though. Ashley needed rest, and sent me out exploring. I drove to the Hampi Boulders at Sweetwater Rocks, and I really like what I saw. The drive to the Hampis goes over roads with soft sand. It made me a little nervous. I didn't want to get stuck by myself, in such a lonely landscape. The domes are huge back there. The area reminded me of the Australian Outback with a different color scheme.

I'm pretty sure this is the Hampi Boulder. I'm excited to give the traverse a good try on my next trip.

Bullet hard patina with cool features. Easy on the skin, low on friction.

A few other good boulders are in the area. More problems with perfect patina up on the formation, but I left my camera when I scrambled up.

I'm hoping to get back soon.

Distinctions Blurred

2009-09-15T19:21:00.008-06:00

When you can't decide whether to go bouldering or sport climbing, you can mix the two in Sinks Canyon. We had two short sessions this weekend, and the disciplines blended a bit during both. On Saturday we worked on the Beehive Boulder traverse, which is longer than some routes. There were a lot of bees around, and then I saw the hive up above us. "Oh...that's how it got the name!"
Ashley on the beginning of the traverse.

On Sunday, we did sport routes on a boulder.
The Squaretop Boulder

Climbing "Burly."

Loving Labor Day

2009-09-07T16:25:00.025-06:00

Just one more day in a weekend and so much becomes possible. The school and house work got finished, and I got out for three climbing sessions over the three day weekend. I'm exhausted, but it feels good. Davin, Marla, Bryan, and Rachel came up to the Lander area. Davin showed me two new areas, and gave me topos to enough problems to keep me busy for quite a while. It's wonderful to know where these great areas are, and to be sure that I won't run out of good bouldering anytime soon. I can't thank Davin enough for generously sharing his knowledge and time.

On a weekday session, we hiked above the Cabin boulders and found some good problems on sandstone.

On Saturday I rode with Davin and Marla to Torrey Valley, and it is beautiful! It reminds me of Moraine Park in RMNP with even more rock to look at. We spent the day climbing on widely spaced granite glacial erratics.

Bryan working "Moving to the Darkside." The move felt too big for me, but I climbed an open project on the left side of the boulder. A mantle on a feature, then up the lichen covered 45 degree slab. It felt a bit sketchy. I called it "The Green 45" V3.

Marla's Mom donated a large turnip for us to share.

Davin patiently waiting for his turnip.

Fun with Oscar.

The Mead Boulder
Davin climbing "With a Little Help From My Friends."

Bryan doing a first ascent on the Mead boulder.

On the drive in and out we passed a bunch of nice looking sandstone boulders. They would offer some nice bouldering, but they're covered with petroglyphs and therefore off limits. Wild looking pictures in a unique style that the Shoshone say were already made when they arrived. Maybe created by the little people.

We stumbled upon a large group of climbers from Ft. Collins who were camping at Wild Iris on Sunday. Jimmy and Melissa, who now live in Denver, were part of the crew. We hadn't seen them in years. It was great to see them again, and meet their children.

Today, we went to Sweetwater Rocks, and from what we got on, I'd describe the area as three parts Vedauwoo mixed with one part Hueco. I'll definitely be getting back as soon as we get a weekend with the right weather.

A fun warm-up.

Ashley did a new problem across this boulder that we're calling the "Panorama Traverse."

The El Paso boulder is very good. Nine finished lines, and at least three good looking projects.

Marla and Rachel hung out with Sierra and Autumn. It was wonderful to just focus on the problems for a while.

Great times.

Priorities

2009-08-30T15:32:00.011-06:00

Each time a summer break ends and a new school year begins, I'm utterly shocked at how much time being a teacher requires. At how little time is left over for the important things, like climbing up rocks.

Now that we're both teaching, our lives are filled to overflowing. Everything must be scheduled in accordance with our priorities. We managed to get out for a session at the Cheese Graters, another at the Cabin Boulders, and a full Saturday at Wild Iris this week. We didn't manage to get many photos, or give our daughters a bath for three days in a row. Like I said, we're sticking to the priorities.

After our session at the Cheese Graters, we checked out the Beehive Boulder. The long V7 traverse that goes all the way across the south face looks really good.

The Beehive Boulder

Enlarged to show texture.

Now that the blog post is finished, I'll start cleaning the house.

Searching

2009-08-23T08:22:00.008-06:00

Last night I decided to search for new bouldering. I still have many established places to check out, and boulders at Worthen Meadow to brush and climb, but I'm also hoping to find some cool alpine bouldering in the mountains. I didn't do any homework. Just looked at a trail map and saw that the Stough Creek Basin Trail headed west.

Less than a mile into the hike I saw moose in Roaring Fork Lake. I didn't find much bouldering though. A few good boulders, very spread out, and not much overhanging rock. From one vantage point I saw large boulders on the ridge south of Roaring Fork Lake. Maybe I'll get back to check them out.

Last Tuesday we had a day off, but we still put our daughters into daycare. We had a wonderful day at Wild Iris. I redpointed "Choke Cherry Eyes," an outstanding route up the cleanest part of the right side of the cliff.

We had no one with us to take pictures.

Ashley's been getting extra value out of the Cabin Boulders. One of her projects is a V10 sequence to top out a V5. She's spent three days on it so far, and she's really close. Each day out we warm up on different moderates, and climb a few more after getting worked by our projects. Here's a sequence of me on "Joe Spice."

Great moves on perfect rock.

The post session Sinks sunset.

A Lander Climbing Sampler

2009-08-16T15:26:00.013-06:00

We started work last Monday. Kids aren't in school yet, but we had a full week of professional development. Our weeknight sessions weren't that long, but we sampled four different areas.

Wild Iris

Last weekend we spent a day up at Wild Iris. The weather was cool and sunny. It already felt like Autumn. The sky was bright blue, the grass was green, there were little puffy white clouds just above cliffs with large rounded mushroom-like roofs. The whole environment had a playful feel to it, and it reminded me of something, but it took a minute before I figured it out. Then I realized that it was like being in a real life version of Super Mario Brothers level 1. Such a good game. Such a good climbing area.

We did a few climbs and tried a couple more. Sierra took this photo of me climbing "Butch Pocket & Sundance Pump."

Worthen Meadows Boulders
Davin sent directions to a few clusters of boulders off of the loop road that he developed with a few other boulderers. Road construction shortened our session, but we did the following sit start problem called "Viskers." Classic, not too difficult, but it has a couple tiny crimps.

Hidden in the woods up there are many large boulders of Poudre quality granite waiting to be cleaned and climbed. I've started cleaning one of them. We'll see what I can do on it. Thanks Davin.

The Cheesegrater Boulders
One evening our goal was a quick finger workout in fading light. Repeating as many problems as we could on the steep faces of Punk Rock did the trick.

Ashley climbing the "North Face."

The Cabin Boulders
Convenient high quality problems at the Cabin Boulders drew us in for two sessions. I finally climbed "Mo's Traverse" which turned out to be pretty difficult for me. It took four days to finish it off. I also enjoyed the stand start version of "Honest Joe."

"Honest Joe" stand start.

And the short, but very aesthetic "Senor Matanza."

We were very saddened to hear that Craig Luebben died in the Cascades this week. Craig had a huge influence on us and the whole Ft. Collins climbing community. He organized the Horsetooth Hang, and wrote an article on Horsetooth Reservoir bouldering that helped get me into the sport. He was a really nice guy, who always took the time to talk with us when we ran into him at the cliffs. We accompanied friends when they hired him to guide them up some off-widths at Vedauwoo, and went out for dinner that night with him and his wife Silvia. He was a very safety conscious climber, an expert in the field, which drives home the fact that the mountains can take anyone regardless of their level of expertise. Losing Craig is a tremendous loss to the climbing community. Our thoughts are with his family.

The Sport Climbing Begins

2009-08-07T14:33:00.012-06:00

Ashley climbing "Wotai."

We got out the rope and went sport climbing at Wild Iris and Sinks Canyon this week. It's difficult to get photos when you're either climbing or belaying, but I got our six year old daughter Sierra to take some.

With a little cropping, rotation, and brightness adjustment they turned out alright.

Some were unconventional, but interesting.

I haven't sport climbed for quite a while. So long that I wasn't sure what grades would be possible yet still push me. We warmed up on a 5.10d which felt alright. The second route we did was a 5.11c that really didn't feel much harder than the 510d. So for the third route I decided to take it up a notch or two and try a 5.13a.

Trying "When I Was a Young Girl, I Had Me a Cowboy."

I managed to get half way to the second bolt.

Ashley did some hanging on the first bolt too.

After a few more climbs we determined that 5.12 seems to be a good project grade for us right now. After years of bouldering and short gym routes, I'm not thrown by 5.12 cruxes, but my endurance is pretty weak.

The Aspen Glade Wall

On Thursday we had an afternoon of sport climbing at Sinks.

We warmed up and did a difficult toprope. Then I decided I wanted to try "Bush Doctor" a three star 75 foot 5.12a in the Killer Cave.

Ashley taking a look at "Bush Doctor."

It starts with a small roof.

Followed by good handjams and even a couple chimney moves.

Then overhanging pocket face climbing to a large roof, and more overhanging pockets. My endurance ran out near the roof.

The route is fantastic, and I can't wait to get back on it again. Ashley didn't get a full work out since she belayed a lot, so we went out this morning for a session at the Cabin boulders. We worked out all the moves on "Mo's Traverse" but didn't manage the link yet.

Sundance did some pretty impressive bouldering. She'll do anything to retrieve a thrown stick, even climb boulders.
Sundance reaching for a crimp.

Sundance approaching the top out.

Project completed.

Welcome to Lander, WY.

2009-07-31T14:12:00.013-06:00

After a family beach trip to North Carolina, and many full days of moving work, things are beginning to settle down. I also have internet access again. I'm planning to keep to my weekly update schedule, but now this blog will mostly highlight the bouldering and climbing of western Wyoming. I've gotten out for a couple sessions. The areas are beautiful, there's a lifetime of sport climbing already developed, and many bouldering areas to explore. I think we're going to like it here.

Ashley checking out the starting holds of "Council of Despair" at Motown, Wild Iris.

Just ten minutes from our house is the bouldering of Sinks Canyon. Last Tuesday was pretty stormy, but the clouds broke at about 6:00 in the evening, and I still had time to get a session in. I took a look at the Kingsford Boulder on Fairfield Hill, but didn't see anything I wanted to warm up on.

The dolomite boulders are plentiful, mostly undeveloped, and really sharp.

Luckily there are also granite boulders nearby. I climbed some fun slabs, and was working a tricky problem called "Doctor Gorpon" on the Plastic Green Head boulder when it started to rain again.

The Plastic Green Head Boulder

The granite bouldering on Fairfield Hill doesn't get much traffic. No trails or trampled vegetation under the boulders, and some of the holds were growing lichen again.

On Thursday, we all headed out to the Motown area at Wild Iris. The weather was so good! Sunny and temps in the 50s and 60s. Photos just can't fully capture the spaciousness of the landscape up here.

In the background of this photo is a sandstone formation that's got to have some problems on it. I'll find out soon.

We found the area without much difficulty, but figuring out where the problems went took a little while.

The A-Frame.

Ashley loving the little pockets on "Borne Slowly."

We spent most of the session working "Gut of the Quantifier," a very overhung traverse that tops out. We're still working on one long move near the start.

Ashley traversing the roof.

We had fun sending new moderates too.

"Pocketrocity."

I'm surprised by the lack of bouldering development at Wild Iris. The boulders seem basically the same as the boulders at Niagara Glen, but better because they aren't as vegetated. Most climbers must get too distracted by the great sport routes. I'm wondering if we'll end up spending most of our time on the sport routes. For the moment, we've got bouldering problems to finish before we get out the rope.

The Last Few Colorado Sessions

2009-07-08T12:50:00.021-06:00

for a while at least.

Recent events and upcoming plans have converged to convey a strong sense that time is limited. I've been getting out when I can, and appreciating the chance. We had nice conditions at the KB boulder in RMNP yesterday. Ashley finished off the surprisingly powerful problem "Snizzle Sticks"

I didn't quite figure out my beta quickly enough.

On the 4th of July I got out for a great early morning session with Jacob at Red Feather. More wildflowers than I've ever seen.

We got back on the dyno problem that eluded us for a couple sessions last fall.

I managed to stick the dyno, and finish off the mantle. The mantle was quite strenuous, as seen in the video below. I'm not sure if there's a more elegant way to do it or not. It's probably been done before, but I'm calling it "Buddha Belly" until I learn it has another name.

We did a couple high moderate problems, and had a couple tries each on the Pachyderm project.

Jacob climbing "Raised Eyebrow."

It's hard to say when I'll make it back to Red Feather. I'm going to miss it. My schedule will be quite a bit busier for the rest of the summer. I'll blog when I can, but it might not happen every week.

Buddha Belly

2009-07-05T14:05:00.004-06:00

Sometimes bouldering isn't pretty.