Author Archives: Kate

This weekend’s adventure ended up being a lot more exciting than we expected. The plan was to snowshoe up to Montgomery Pass, which is just north of Cameron Pass. We’ve attempted this hike before, but had to back down due to strong winds. This weekend, the weather was looking better, so, at around 11:30a, we headed up the trail towards the bright fields of snow above.

We flew up the trail, hiking at a high aerobic pace and dodging skiers and snowboarders flying down the hill. There is an intersection at the top, where skiers head for the Sugar Bowls, and the Montgomery Pass trail heads to the right. Our trail to the right was a smooth field of snow between the trees, we were going to have to break trail to the pass. “No Problem!” we said, and we headed off into the woods following the little blue signs on trees that marked our trail. It was supposed to be our own version of Dylan and Ann’s dot-to-dot hiking. We got past about three dots and then lost them completely in the thick woods.

“No problem!” we said. The pass was above treeline and north of us so we headed up to the bare snow, took a long hike to the right, and there it was!

The pass was all the more beautiful because of the unspoiled snow. We were definitely the first people there that day, and possibly since the last snow. We set up a little camp behind a group of trees, where we found warm sun and light winds. I took several yoga photos, and then tramped around the pass taking shots of the smooth snow, bright skies, and sculpted trees for most of an hour. Check out the gallery for more beautiful pictures!

On our way out, we found the blue marks showing us the trail out. We found one, then another, and then were promptly lost in the woods again. We new the highway (and our trail) was downhill and south of us, so we just kept heading that way, hoping to eventually find the trail.

The going was rough, even with snowshoes, our steps sank into the deep powder several inches. Liv was up to her belly and sliding down the hill most of the way out. We took turns breaking trail for each other as we wandered through the forest. It was exhausting, even as we were generally heading down the slope. Eventually, Mark spotted the bright colors of a skier flying through the trees ahead of us, and we triumphantly burst out of the deep snowy woods onto the packed trail. Liv looked happier than she had all day!

We cruised down the easy trail for about 3 minutes before we popped out on the road at our car. Evidently, we had managed to parallel the trail all most all of the way down the hill before we found it. We dragged our sore, exhausted bodies into the car at around 5pm, and headed down the canyon to the warmth of home.

I got sick and tired of the slow speeds, poor up-time and horrible performance of our old webhost. So I signed up with somebody else! So far, the site is loading much faster (at least for me), but evidently moving an existing domain is one of the world’s most complicated tasks. The bureaucracy, the security hoops, the forms to fill out, the emails to respond to are all amazing in their bulk. It probably would have been easier for me to register MarkAndKateClimb.net and just set up an auto re-direct for a month or two until people got it.

But I didn’t.

So, now we’re on step 12 of 18: “waiting for the old registrar to contact me and ask permission to release the domain.” From what I’ve read, if they don’t do that in seven days then it will be released automatically. Hopefully, then the site will be back at it’s permanent address.

Or maybe I’ll give up and pick a new name. What about WeekendWeatherWarriors.com? Probably already taken. Oh, I know: VedauwooIsTheShiznit.Org! Well, that might be hard for my grandma to remember. Let me know if you, the readers, have any ideas.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always seen snow in the week before or the week after my birthday. Some of my more memorable birthday parties included my 12th – where we took a group of girls out for a picnic and kite flying at the big local sculpture park. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? Well, it would have been better if it had not snowed 6 inches two days before, and then we had two sunny 70F degree days afterwards. Needless to say, the mud was legendary.

This year, I woke up on the morning of St. Patties day to the usual assortment of winter storm warnings, blowing snow watches, and heavy snow reports.

Luckily, the storm moved south of us, and the forecasts for epic blizzard conditions fell through. But, we did get a lovely coating of spring snow. For a quick look at who got the most snow you can check out the snow reports page. And here is your pretty snow picture of the day!

Mom and Dad bought us an Aero-grow hydroponic system a few weeks ago, and I finally got around to setting it up today. It’s a pretty neat little contraption. I’ve turned my laundry room closet into a little grow-room. For salad greens! We’re growing lettuce! I swear!

There’s a few more photos in the gallery.

The Big Thompson canyon has rock formations all along the way to Estes Park. Many are difficult to get to, unexplored and unpublished. After having fun tradding like mad the last few weekends, but getting tired of the crowds down south, we decided to check out a local favorite in the BTC: Combat Rock. There are a few more pics from the day in the gallery.

The southern exposure, short hike, and fine granite of the rock make it a great destination for a quick afternoon out in NoCo. But Mark and I found some great looking, very long and exposed, multi-pitch trad routes that are definitely worth going back for. On our Saturday at the rock, we were the second pair of climbers to arrive, and only saw four other people all day. Just the kind of quiet, quality tradding we were looking for.

Rambo Santa (5.7) – We had to start with the easiest but one of the longest single pitches on the rock. It got tricky in some places, interesting in others, and was lots of fun for the whole 140ft. At the anchors, Mark was cold, and I started taking pictures like mad. The scariest part, for me, was the long rap down using our new 8mm tag line. That little purple rope is thin and it wasn’t taking knots very well to begin with. We got it tied in and got down without any problems. I guess it’s just something else for my over-active imagination to obsess about.

Wonderin’ Where the Lions Are (5.9+) – We moved to the climb up and left of where we were for the next one. Mark was nervous on the very thin, but relatively well protected slab moves. I loved every minute of the climb. The thin ledges, crimps and scallops felt great, especially while climbing in near-freezing temps (ok, so, my fingers went really numb). Mark loved the first climb, I loved this second one.

Tree Ledge (5.8) – Mark ran up the easy bottom section of this climb and then checked out the big 5ft wide roof for a while. He sewed it up with gear, placing four pieces besides clipping the manky bolt under the roof. He triumphantly pulled the roof, strapped some gear to the chains around the tree and then came down. When I got up to the roof, I think I was too high on the wall. I actually couldn’t reach the edge! I fiddled around for a while in the muck seeping out of the roof before coming down. Mark climbed it again on TR and cleaned it. The climb seemed fun, but the slime flowing from bottom of the tree ledge made it really gross on Saturday.

It was a fun day out, and I’m looking forward to heading out that direction again. Just as soon as it stops snowing.

Mark and I have agreed since the day we arrived that Colorado is one of the best places on Earth to live. There are so many reasons to love living in this state, I could not list them all here. But while living in Colorado Springs and visiting my brother living in Denver, I have had a chance to see what some of the more urban areas of Colorado are like. And they are nice. Colorado Springs has a lot of character, and certainly a lot more stuff than the Fort (like real malls, excellent Mexican food, tourist destinations galore, and people of different ethnicities).

But I did discover that I prefer Fort Collins. I prefer it to Boulder, Denver or the Springs. This town is really special, and a lot of that has to do with the rural feel that they have managed to keep, despite the exponential growth seen by all Front Range towns. In Fort Collins, you can find quiet natural areas all over the town. I can walk 15 minutes down the hill and be up to my knees in the cold, clear, rushing water of the Poudre river. We have an occasional bear in Old Town. At night, Mark and I fall asleep to the sounds of coyotes. And Liv has chased everything from prairie dogs to 8-point mule deer bucks in this town. In the summer, you can pass people on their horses riding into town in the evening. Gardens, farms, ranches, lakes, creeks, woods, and wildlife make up the backdrop of life here. It is a special place, and I am happier than ever to be home.

In the last two days, I have started to spend some time working on ways to align my life with the ecological evangelizing I performed while teaching my class on Climate Change. I’ve done some research into E85 conversion kits for the yellow car. I’m starting to make arrangements for our local farm food this summer. And I’m putting together a commuting bike I would like to use this summer.

Which is why I was so tickled when this New Belgium video showed up on another blog today. Look, that’s Fort Collins! Look, he’s riding a bike! Look, he’s being chased by Sean’s dogs! I love living in this town.

I’ve written my thesis, I’ve defended my master’s, and now I’ve finished teaching my class at Colorado College. I’m home, I’m done and I’m taking a small vacation. The day after I got home was my birthday, and in celebration of my first day off in more than four months, Liv and I went for a little hike. There are a few pictures (mostly of the very cute doggie) up in the gallery.

We started at the new trailhead behind the stadium just off of Drake road. From there, the trail winds through grassy open space until it begins to climb the steep side of the foothills. We hiked at a fairly good pace all the way up to Rotary park, to the top of the little summit just south of the parking lot for Rotary. From there, we hiked down to the reservoir for a drink and to stop and take some pictures in a brief spot of sun. After our break on the beach, we hiked back up to Rotary, and down to the car. About 4 miles of hiking and two hours later, Liv and I were back in the car and heading home. A nice way to spend a nice day off.

It was the weekend, so what else would Mark and I do? We headed south to Eldorado Canyon to try out some climbs we’ve been eye-ing for several weeks now. Unfortunately, it seemed like every climber in the northern Front Range had similar ideas. Also unfortunately, there are only a few faces in the canyon that are warm enough to climb on this time of year, so we all descended upon Wind Tower like fanboys at a Valve demo.

There are a few photos from the day in the gallery.

The tower was crawling with climbers when we got there, but we were late enough in the morning that a few groups were leaving. We were able to climb a couple classics despite the crowds and mass confusion.

The Bomb (5.4) – This climb starts on a ledge that we traversed out on to, and left us racking up in an already exposed position. We climbed to the new chain anchors, which ended up being almost exactly half of a rope length. The climb was not hard, but the pro was tricky and the exposure was very nice. With all of the people climbing around us, and the raging creek in the valley below, communication became difficult about 10ft after Mark left the ground. Another problem with climbing in Eldo on a busy day — the constant yells, screams and calls between climbers and belayers are confusing, and often the cause of accidents.

Recon (5.6) – While belaying Mark up the second climb of the day, I actually had a party throw their rope down on me. They tried to avoid rappelling on my head, but as they pulled their rope though the anchor it flew down and smacked me on the helmet. Then another group came down from the anchor, and again I got hit on the helmet by their rope as they pulled it through the anchor. By the time I was climbing, there were snowflakes floating down, people screaming on all sides, and I was not happy.

This climb was just as easy as the first climb, proving that grading in Eldo is nearly meaningless. Mark wanted to continue on to the top of the rock, but I convinced him to head down by pointing out the dark clouds that were beginning to blot out the sun, and the group of more than six climbers that were vying for position to use the next set of anchors to rap down. In order to traverse over to the rap anchors for our pitch, I had to cross over some poor guy’s lead line, and then jump infront of another pair that had just rapped down to our ledge. As we set up the rappel and came down, the other couple trying to get down traversed the ledge under, over and around three other pairs of climbers to get to another set of rap anchors.

I know Eldo is busy on the weekends, but this felt creepy and unsafe. I hope that it is because there are so few places for climbers in the warm weather, and that climbs will free up as the snow melts. Otherwise, these two pitches might be the last climbs we do in Eldo for the season.