Archive for June, 2007

There were TONS of AMAZING pics from the day. I’ve put them all up in the gallery.

What a great day! For Doug and Liz’s second trip to Vedauwoo, we decided to take them out to Poland Hill to enjoy some sweet, moderate crack climbs that are easily top roped. I started the day with a long, slow, lead of Kim (5.6). I still took a hang in the tricky vertical section, and I still sewed the thing up, but I made it to the top without too much whining or groveling, what a great climb!

Mark pulled the rope and pink-pointed it, and then Doug and Liz both took their turns. Things started to get complicated after this, as the wind began to really pick up, and we had to decide what to climb next. We picked Sugar Cracks (5.7) as D&L had such a nice, fun time on Kim, we figured they’d be ready for the next step up. Plus it was out of the wind.

Mark belayed D&L up from above, and then TJ, Thomas and Nathan all arrived, so we set a top rope, and let them enjoy the climb for the afternoon. Which they did! TJ climbed all the way to the top, despite having never jammed a crack before in his life, and Nathan climbed the thing twice!

Doug wanted to get a rope on Fantasia (5.9 ow) before they took off for the day. So Mark and I convinced him to lead up Southwest Friction (5.4) to get another rope up on top of the formation. This climb, with only two bolts in well over 60ft of climbing, is an exciting lead in the best of conditions. But on Saturday afternoon, when Doug took off, the wind was howling. It was hard for me to stay standing, I can’t imagine what it must have been like for Doug, 25ft out above the top bolt, on top of the formation. The wind was blowing so hard, it started whipping plumes of chalk out of his bag. It was crazy.

This gave Mark and I a quick chance to enjoy the slab on TR, and then Mark hung the rope on Fantasia. Wow.

Doug started up this one first, with only a little bit of beta, and having never seen anybody struggle in the crack before. Unfortunately for all of our egos, he wizzed up the thing without much problem. It was shocking to watch. He toed into the tiny-est crystals, and face climbed the crux (goes at 5.11+ that way), and then face climbed most of the rest of it. Mark kept yelling “Get in the crack!!!” and Doug just kept ignoring him. Liz seemed to get a big kick out of this.

I took a try at this one again, hoping for a better outcome than the last time I tried. I too found a few small crystals high on the left face, and then inched my way up and threw the crux for the first time in over a year. TJ was yelling at me to “Get angry! Tell that punk-ass bi-atch of a crack who’s it’s mommy!!”

And that was me up on the crack, yelling into the rock “Punk-ass crack!! I’m your mommy!!”

I think it helped.

Doug and Liz had to get home to return the puppy Curry to her actual Mom, so we packed up and took off after this. Mark hung around and belayed Nathan on Fantasia, and then cleaned the climb. The guys stuck around for another hour or two, bouldering on rough, unclimbed boulders and enjoying the Ved evening. Then they all headed back to the Fort for big tacos and burritos on their last night in Old Town.

Upon great pressure, I yield to the majority. I have created a MySpace page. I’m sorry.

http://www.myspace.com/kcalder313

And, on a side note, anybody know how to post blog entries from WordPress into MySpace? Is that possible?

Why Pete Takeda Loves Vedauwoo

…I started up with confidence, but the edge was too rounded to lieback and my only relatively big piece—a number 3 Camalot—was soon a few bodylengths below. The smears and edges felt insecure, and my pinchy, down-toed slippers—great for overhanging limestone—made my feet hurt so much I couldn’t stuff them into the flare.

At last I found some crystals outside the crack for my feet, but the mineral clusters inside tore up my bare hands. I’d always contended, like any good Valley local, that taping was aid; now blood began to lube my naked jams.

A huffing mantra of “It’s only 5.8” brought me quaking over the final awkward bulge. Profoundly relieved, I clipped the anchors, my heart racing.

Other climbers were filtering into the area. I did my best to look collected. Oversized, umbrella-like cams and spring-loaded tube chocks the size and shape of bazookas clanked on their racks.
…
“Bob” glanced at my fresh gobies and unlaced slippers.

“Enjoying yourself?” he asked, Cheshire-Cat-like.

“Yeah, sure,” I replied, the metallic taste of the 5.8 still in my mouth. Your climbing area sucks, I wanted to add.

Fourth of July Crack swept overhead, parallel to Horn’s Mother, equally aesthetic. The alcove’s symmetry of crack and sculpted stone evoked the architectural ambiance of a cathedral.

“Nice slippers,” a man in a rugby shirt and shredded canvas pants said as I reached the ground. He nudged another local, pointing at me.

We drove off in a huff. A few days later I read a Todd Skinner quotation in an old issue of Climbing: Vedauwoo’s offwidths “filter out the weak, the soft and the spineless.”

I’d been filtered.

“… but don’t count on luck to survive.” –Mark Houston and Kathy Cosley in Alpine Climbing: Techniques to Take You Higher

So, this is the advice ringing in my ears when we take off to climb on Lumpy Ridge in the Rocky Mountain National Park on Sunday. As we were heading south at around 9:30 that morning, we knew we were really late. Really late. But hey, you never know. Only a 20% chance of rain, maybe we’d get lucky?

When we got into the area, the clouds were already thick and getting worse. We decided to change plans from a multi-pitch climb on top of the ridge to single pitch climbs closer to the trailhead. We were hoping to make it to Crescent Wall or Fin City.

The first rolls of thunder hit us not more than 10 minutes after we left the car. No visible lightning yet, but we got sprinkled with rain a few times. While we could see the crags in the distance, we never found the approach trails and eventually found ourselves all the way up at Gem Lake.

It was a pretty little lake, with gorgeous views. But it’s still annoying to hike 30 lb packs of climbing gear up 2 miles and 1500ft of elevation gain, and know that you won’t be climbing that day. We rested for a few minutes at the lake, and then started to jog down as the thunder got closer and lightning began to flash around us in earnest. The weather deteriorated rapidly, and we took shelter in a small, dark cave while the worst of the lightening pounded the cliffs around us.

The storm moved off, and we hiked back down to the trail head. Still nervous of flashes in the distance, and a little too-close-for-comfort thunder. The trail through the woods below us was coated in a thick layer of pea-sized hail. It looked like rough, icy, snow had reappeared in patches all over the valley. I guess it’s summer in the mountains!

Maybe we’ll get up earlier and have better luck later this summer.

Monday morning was our last day of vacation, and Mark and I both woke up feeling stiff and sore. Three days of climbing is a lot, but I hadn’t yet had a chance to lead anything. We waved good-bye to all of our CH Ranch friends as some headed home and other scattered to the cliffs for one last day on the fantastic Shelf Road limestone.

Kate’s Favorite 5.7 lead (~5.7) – This climb is not in any guidebook or on the web. We found it once on the hike from the Bank to Cactus, back when the trail followed the cliffline and nobody else bothered to walk. The 7 bolts are shiny and perfectly placed for an interesting (but not too scary) lead of this 50-ft climb.

On Monday, I led it up slowly, placing my own gear, and puzzling out the tricky sections. I felt more confidant than usual on the smaller footholds, because I had spent so much time climbing thin slabs this weekend. The section of thin, tough climbing at the anchors still made me shake like mad, but I didn’t fall or hang.

Mark suggested I take a few laps on this climb, working the moves until I felt comfortable. I climbed it carefully on toperope once, and then pulled the rope and led it again on my own pre-placed gear. This second time felt great! I felt fully confidant in all the tiny, sloped ledges and sharp, shallow, pocket holds. I was still nervous clipping the anchors, but much less shaky, and it took me about half as long to complete the climb as my first trip up.

I cleaned the climb and came down. Mark was happy to not have to climb again; he felt completely done. And I felt like my weekend had come to a successful, and educational close. I’ve had so many problems with leading during my six year climbing ‘career’. I’ve tried so many things to get myself on the sharp end, and so few have helped at all. The idea of being able to run laps on comfortable climbs until I’m comfortable leading felt like a good one. Maybe this tool and some commitment will help me take the baby steps I need to become a consistent and confidant lead climber.

We packed up and hiked out before noon. On our way back to the Springs, I got to really enjoy my happy-post-Shelf glow. A little sunburnt, a lot sore, and very happy with my accomplishments.