Gnubbs Blog

On Saturday me and JT climbed Mount Yale in the Sawatch range.  It was about 7 miles round trip and about 4300 vertical feet.  That means that it was pretty darn steep from the start of the trail more or less all the way to the summit.

It would have been a pretty easy hike if I weren’t in such miserable shape.  As it was, I was slow but had a blast.  This was my 5 14er.  So I have a place to find them, so far I have climbed:

Longs Peak, July 2002
Torrys, by the Kelso Ridge, 2005
Greys, same day as Torrys, 2005
Bierstedt, did the Sawtooth but didn’t summit Evans, 2005
Yale, 2006

One of the nicer things about my job is that in the summer I can adjust my schedule a bit and climb after work. Yesterday was the first time I could pull this off.

I got to work bright and early at 7am, and left promptly at 4pm. Scott and I met up at a parking lot, and headed into Eldorado Canyon State Park. Life is good when one of the best climbing locations in the world is only a 10 minute drive from work. We got Scott a season pass to the park, and headed to Wind Tower.

We decided to climb the Wind Ridge route to start things off. Two pitches of 5.8 climbing (mostly easier, with a couple of 5.8ish moves thrown in to keep it spicy) and we were sitting on a ledge 300 feet off the floor of the canyon (probably only ~200 of actual climbing though). We took it easy for a while chatting and enjoying the perch. I could see taking up climbing just to get views like that.

After traversing the ledge a bit (this is sketchy, no room for error scrambling), we quickly decended a gully back to the start of the climb. We grabbed our gear and headed to the start of Calypso (5.6). This route is always crowded, but it was late enough in the day that there was no one on the first pitch. Scott makes short work of it, and I head up. This is the first time I have climbed the route, and it is exceptionally nice.

It has been a long time since I climed outside, so these routes felt a bit squirrelly to me. Calypso is an especially nice route. The climbing in the dihedral is sustained and fun. We repel from the bolts at the top of the first pitch, and get back to the car about 7:30pm.

Days like this are why I live in colorado.

steve

My wife has asked that I give her a list of things that she can buy me when looking to get me random gifts. I thought that it would be appropriate to put it out here just in case any of my friends are also in the giving mood.

Climbing Gear

Wild Country Technical Friends (any size 1 – 6) $55 each (catch me when I fall)

Camp Tri-Cams (any size 0.5-1.5) $16 each (catch me when I fall)

Petzl Rescue Pulley (up to 3) $40 each (for glacier travel)

Bluewater 60m 10.2mm Eliminator Rope $135

Black Diamond Neutrino Carabiner (any number) $7.95 each

Black Diamond Positron Carabiner (any number) $7.95 each

Car Stuff

Valentine One Radar Detector $399

Perrin Front Endlinks $140

Perrin Front Sway Bar $139

Perrin Rear Endlinks $125

Perrin Rear Sway Bar $179

STI Carbon Fiber Side Markers $105

Pink WRX Front Badge $35

Perrin Radiator Shroud $60 (keeps my car cool)

Other Stuff

The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs $68.78

Button Down Shirts (Oxfords, stripes, solids, whatever.) I like J.Crew, Polo, and Kenneth Cole. Colorful, but not flamboyant.

Nikon D50 or D70s Digital Camera

Nikon F5 Film Camera (you can find these used for about $500)

A nice film/slide scanner

This weekend I was up in Estes Park with my brother. I straggle into Outdoor World a bit after him and he is at the checkout counter buying a Columbia soft shell jacket. He asks me what I think about it. I tell him that he should buy it, and that I wear my soft shell more than any other item of clothing. He had went in to buy a fleece however, so I point out that it will not be as warm as a fleece or as waterproof/windproof as a hardshell. The old, grumpy salesguy takes exception to this and insists that it is waterproof, it says so on the label.

I explain that the label can say anything that it wants, that i very well could be pretty water resistent, but that it wasn’t waterproof. What I wasn’t telling him was that an article of clothing can be either truely waterproof or it can be breathable. One or the other. If it is not breathable, it is worthless in all but the coldest and wetest of times. Think fishermen. So, all of the outdoor clothing that calls itself waterproof, is in my expierience only very water resistent. That is fine. I am perfectly happy with my $400 Mountain Hardwear hardshell, even though my shoulders have gotten wet from water being pushed through by the weight of my backpack. I know that my soft shell jacket isn’t totally windproof, because the wind has blown through it on especially nasty days in Rocky Mountain National Park.

That is the way it is. All outdoor clothing is a compromise. Do you want something very water resistent, or do you want something very breathable. Do you want some that stretches and moves with you, or do you want something that is more wind resistent. Over the past couple of years, things have gotten much better with the new breeds of waterproof(sic)/breathable fabrics that are more water resistent, more breathable, and more stretchy. It is great. My outdoor gear keeps me comfortable in even the worst of conditions, assuming I make the right choice of clothing.

The funny thing about the whole heated exchange between me and the grumpy store employee was that I was telling Bryan to buy the softshell. I told him that I love my soft shell jacket and I wear it more than any other article of clothing that I own. I just wanted to make sure my brother knew the score with what he was buying.

Oh yeah, grumpy sales guy — It is pretty sad that a fifty year old man at work is unable to keep his cool and resorts to using obscenities when that punk ass mid-twenties kid is still being polite. Try selling good products, standing behind them, and being honest about thier strengths and weaknesses. That is why I will pay full price for stuff at Neptune Mountaineering, but won’t spend a penny in your store. You can never be cheaper than the big online stores, so if your service sucks too you are not going to last long.

gnubbs

As I posted last week, this past Saturday I spent the day at an alpine climing class from the Colorado Mountain School. I am left with somewhat mixed feelings about the course. Our guide, Bob, did a great job teaching both JT and myself and the other students. The problem was the very large disparity in knowledge coming into the class.

JT and I could have probably self arrested before taking the class. Two of the three other students had never seen an ice axe before. The three other students were basically there to gain enough knowledge to be guided up a climb on Sunday. JT and I were there to learn enough about snow climbing to be able to get through easy climbs safely. This requires a very significant amount of knowledge over what is needed to be guided up a route.

Overall, the guide did as good of a job as he could teaching the class to both us and the other group of students. We were bored at parts, and they were probably overwhelmed at parts. I was happy with our guide, and it certainly wasn’t a waste of a day, but I am also glad that I didn’t pay for it.

One really nice thing was our guide had good suggestions for beginning alpine climbs in the area. He taught us some useful informaiton on protecting snow. He also gave some advice for our upcoming trip to Mexico to climb. So, a good day. It could have been a lot better if there had not been such a difference in knowledge going into the class, but that is the downside to taking a class as opposed to personalized instruction.

gnubbs

So, I posted yesterday that I am taking a class at the Colorado Mountain School on saturday and that I needed to buy some new gear. Last night I went out to purchase those handful of items, and man did it suck.

I went to REI in Boulder, REI in Denver, Neptunes, and Bent Gate Mountaineering. First, let me clarify that for the stops at Neptunes and Bent Gate I was hoping to find stuff on sale. Bent Gate didn’t disappoint with 20% off the capilene top I needed. But, by the time I hit the two REIs, I was content to pay full price for everything else.

Well, neither of them had either the Gaiters or Gloves I was looking for in the right size. Amazingly, they didn’t have any halfway decent gloves in my size at all! How hard should it be to find a pair of OR or Black Diamond gloves in size large?

Normally, I don’t pay full price for outdoor gear. It is just too expensive. So, I keep my eyes open and make purchases when the price is right. Last night, I was out and more than willing to pay full price and I still couldn’t find what I was looking for. Crappy REI… So, tonight I am going to run back down to Denver to Wilderness Exchange and assuming I can’t find anything on sale there I will just hit Neptunes and at least pay full price to my favorite mountaineering store.

gnubbs

For Christmas, my wife got me a gift certificate to take a class from the Colorado Mountain School. Being notoriously bad at using gift certificates, I missed all of the Avalanche Level 1 classes and have just now signed up for a summer mountaineering class. This will be my first experience going into the mountains with a professional guide.

First, let’s clarify summer mountaineering a bit. There will be no bathing suits, no dips in alpine lakes, no lazy 80 degree sunbathed jaunts up cliffs. There will be snow, ice, double plastic boots to keep your feet warm, crampons, and ice axes. The focus of the class will be moving safely on steep snow slopes. This will involve just general movement with crampons and an axe, self arrest, self belay, and rope management.

These are all things that I have gone into the mountains and played with a bit already. However, since the person I spend the most time with in the mountains is as much of a novice as I am, I felt it was a good idea to go get some advice from someone who knows that they are talking about. You would think that since I spend a large amount of time playing in Rocky Mountain National Park that I would have all of the equipment that they require.

Well, that is what I thought at least. It turns out I was wrong. So, tonight I am going to Neptunes and REI to get some new toys:

Liner Socks
Gloves with removable liners
Waterproof/breatable pants
Gaiters
Baseball cap

These are for the most part things that I have been putting off buying for a while, so I don’t really have any complaints. Since my birthday is coming up, it looks like these are going to be early birthday presents.

I will post about the experience after the class. Hopefully the report will be good.

This Saturday, I went and spent the day climbing in Eldorado canyon. When I got in my car in the morning, it was only 32 degrees out, but by the time we got on our first climb of the morning it was already starting to turn into a great day.

We chose to climb on the West Ridge in Eldorado because it is sun drenched and has a large variety of single pitch climbs. I met Scott and a guy he knew online, Tim, at 9:30 am and we headed into the park. After we parked, we were immediatly confronted with our most dangerous task of the day. We were on the south side of the creek, and our climbs were on the north side of the creek. So, we said a hail mary and headed off across an ice bridge to the other side.

Once on the trail, it was a 30 minute steep uphill walk to our first route of the day. Since we were starting pretty early, we were lucky enough to find the route Mescaline still open. It is a very nice, popular 5.7 climb. Tim led this pitch without much difficulty. I followed and cleaned the pitch. Scott finished up, and redirected our anchor so that we could top rope the first pitch of Pony Express.

Pony Express is a very nice two pitch 5.11 climb, with a very nice 5.9 first pitch. The line runs up a great finger crack with good footholds on the face. The crux of the line for me was when I had to move left out of the crack for a couple of face moves, and then move back into the crack. This line was great, and was the first 5.9 pitch I had done in a very long time.

After we pull our rope from this line, we moved slightly up hill to a route called Positively Fourth Street. This is rated in some places as 5.10a, but is definately more along the line of Eldo 5.0. The route is very steep and straight, with big juggy face moves on either side of a crack for protection. The crux of the line comes close to the top when you have to use some slopy holds on the arete for your right hand. This was a long, pumpy route for me and I ended up hanging on the rope to rest for a moment just before the crux.

The final line we climbed was a bit downhill from our earlier climbs. When we first got to the route, I realized that there were going to be some things I didn’t like about it. The line we did was The Unsaid at 5.9. The problem I had with the route is that it starts from a ledge about 20 feet off the ground that requires you to free climb to the start. Granted the free climbing was 5.easy, but I still hate that type of thing. Once at the starting ledge, Scott headed up to lead the route.

This route follows a great crack up the center of a small dihedral, to a point where the crack thins out and you move left to some huecos on the wall. (Think little craters in the wall that are pretty big around, but shallow and not that great of holds.) Scott was not feeling to comfortable on this section, and instead moved all the way left to the Unled, put in some protection, traversed back to the route above the crux.

When it came my turn to follow the line, I had the luxury of watching Tim and Scott climb the line. I made quick time up to the crux, and was surprised at the difficulty. At first I started to leave the crack too early, and realized that I had nowhere to go… So, back into the crack, I make some moves with my left hand on the lower hueco, and my right still in the dihedral. I get up above the first hueco and move entirely left with my hands in the higher huecos, and my feet in the lower one. The next move is the key. I move my right hand up and back into the crack, and mantle up with my left.

Now with my feet back on the upper heuco, my left hand in a sketchy underclimg and my right back in the crack I have one more move to get past the crux. From this stance, I heel hook with my right foot and pull back up and into the crack. A couple of moves later and I lower off the hardest of the 5.9 pitches of the day.

Overall, this was great day of climbing for me. It left me feeling I was well on my way to climbing 5.10 this summer. Before saturday, I had struggled up one or two 5.9 routes. Saturday I made short work of three Eldo 5.9 routes and felt good about my climbing all day. Now I have my sights set on a long list of Eldo 5.9s for the spring…

Today, Eldora Ski resort opens. I bought my first season pass this winter. I have been building my winter outdoor gear selection. I am ready for winter.

This summer was my first real summer of climbing. Last summer I got in quite a few days top-roped and learned some basics of climbing movement. This summer I spent Trad climbing quite a bit and learned a lot. Now that the climbing season has been reduced to only the best weather days, I have a moment to think about what I would like to do this winter.

My goal is to be a 5.10 climber next year. This means being comfortable on 5.10a routes, and capable of harder 5.10 routes. I am talking about real, old school 5.10 routes in Eldorado canyon. I would also like to start leading sport routes next year, and maybe even a trad pitch or two if I am comfortable with that. I also want to get up into the mountains and follow on some alpine climbs next year.

These are pretty ambitious goals for me. They are going to require that I get my act together, and be in much better shape than I am now. It also requires that I start to pick up a lot of skills that I now lack. To that end, I have some plans for winter.

First, I am going to climb at least 3 days a week all winter. This is why I have a climbing gym membership. I am also going to try and take some of the intermediate climbing classes at the gym. These teach movement, balance, and technique that I need to get dialed if I want to climb hard. I also need to get into better cardio shape — which means running, cycling, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, winter hiking — whatever I can do this winter to be ready for more strenous, longer days in the mountains next summer.

Second, I am going to start to learn the skills that I need for mountaineering. For this, I am going to join the Colorado Mountain Club and start taking the classes they offer. An avalance class, a self arrest class, maybe even a class on ice climbing. I am also going to try and find a climbing partner for ice climbing. (That requires such a serious investment in gear that I don’t know if it will happen.)

I am already 24 years old, so if I plan on doing any serious mountaineering I had better start learning now. I have walls to climb in Yosemite. I have mountains to climb in Alaska. I have all sorts of torture awaiting me, so I had better start getting ready.

gnubbs

This post is coming to you a couple of weeks late. After I got back from my honeymoon, there was still a week before the time changed, so Scott and I managed to get out for one more day outside after work. We headed up Boulder Canyon to Castle Rock.

We had tried to climb at Castle Rock earlier in the year because there are a lot of ultra classic climbs. Many of these climbs date back to the 1950’s and sixties. Unfortunately, every time we tried to climb there something would prevent it. A number of days called off because of storms. One day our nerves were broken after there was a climbing accident right where we were supposed to meet. We were starting to think that the Mountain Gods did not want us to be climbing there.

This day was seemed a bit different. The weather was perfect for a late fall day — sunny and sixty. We got to Castle Rock, geared up, and decided to climb a route called Bailey’s Overhang. This route follows a beutiful dihedral (think inside corner of a room) with an nice crack system running up it’s corner. Scott headed up on the sharp end, and set up our belay.

I followed up behind him and was surprised by this route. The climbing was not difficult, but it was very systained at an almost difficult level for me. I did not make the crux look pretty (some sort of full body crack jam), but got through it without much difficulty. At the belay, I handed gear back off to Scott and he was off. This is where things started to get ugly.

The first pitch took us a bit longer than we had hoped. As Scott proceded up on the next pitch, he chose a route that ended up being not that promising. So, he downclimed a bit, found a better route, and made for the summit. Once I was on belay, I quickly ran into a problem. One of the cams was over-cammed and I couldn’t get it out. Just as I started to work on cleaning it, the sun dropped over the line of ridges, and I started to feel some pressure about the time of day. Five minutes later, cam still in the crack I had to abandon it. A number one Camelot, $70 piece of gear, but it was time to get moving. I made short work of the rest of the route, climbing as fast as I could, and met scott on the summit as daylight fell into evening.

As we started the downclimb, Scott mentioned that it would get a bit exposed. This meant that it was not technical, but that I slip would send you plummeting — unroped — the couple hundred feet to the ground. As we made our way down the ledge and ramp systems, the available light started to fall off. We finally got to the worst part of the downclimb, and it was too exposed for me to be comfortable. So, we strung the rope around a burly tree and repelled that 50 foot section. When I got to the bottom and unclipped, Scott tried to pull the rope and it got stuck. We both put all of our weight into it, and managed to get it moving. As the other end of the rope neared the top of the cliff, it got stuck again. Try as we might, it wouldn’t budge.

This left Scott with the unenviable job of free climbing back up to the rope, freeing it, and climbing back down in near darkness. By the time he got back to where I was, and we headed down the last sections of downclimbing, stars were lighting our way.

As we sat down at the car after a near epic, stars winkling in the sky, we decided this was a good note to end summer on. My first season of good, challenging climbing was over. I had climbed some good hard routes for me, faced my first serious climbing moments (some DFU moments for sure), and ended the season ready to climb harder and higher next year.