Category Archives: Rock Climbing

Mark and I decided in the last week or so that we want to try to climb the Grand Teton at the end of June. To warn our readers, the next several adventure write-ups on this blog are probably going to start with the words “As preparation for our up-coming climb of the Grand Teton…”

This weekend, we picked Greyrock as our training ground. We hiked the 3.5 mile long meadows trail to the base of the mountain. When we got to the bottom of the mountain, two parties were already climbing on top of each other on The Greatest Route. Another pair of climbers had just arrived, and seeing the log-jam decided to climb Barfy’s Favorite instead. We only knew of three routes to the top of the rock, so we wandered back to the “Chipmunks” area. There was a large group finishing up a top-rope on the first pitch of one of the three cracks. After they cleaned it, we started up the second part of our adventure for the day.

The last time we climbed Greyrock, we found ourselves on an easy, 5.6 route to the summit that Mountain Project calls Theodore. This time, we climbed the crack that started 10ft to the right, and managed to end up on a completely different route that was much more difficult.

Simon (5.9-) – This climb is usually done in four or five pitches and climbs the crack system to the right of Theodore. We started on the long, fun hand crack the other climbers were top roping. The second pitch was fun slabs and thin cracks up to a huge ledge under an extremely intimidating roof. The guidebook said the crux of the climb was this overhanging hand crack, and it looked horribly intimidating. In fact, when Mark got up to the roof, there was a new-looking sling around a chuck where it looks like another leader may have bailed.

Mark climbed up to the roof, pulled hard and made it over without too much drama. There were a few interesting moments as he jammed in a yellow cam at his waist without being able to see it, and then climbed up the slab to the right and set a belay quickly. I was actually very nervous when I made it up to the roof. The ground seemed very far below me, and that crack was long, and very steep.

But, I dug in, and pulled out a clean ascent. I even managed to yank out the seriously over-cammed pro that Mark had placed. And, after a few surprisingly fantastic fist-jams, one wild scream as I stood up on two jammed feet, and then a few moves of beautiful, exposed crack climbing, I was at the very nice belay ledge.

The rest of the climb went well. We did shorter pitches because the sun was out, the day was warm, and there were lots of good ledges to hang out on. I have been reading the new edition of John Long’s Anchors, and I evaluated each belay point with “WWJLD?” Only one was questionable, on the 5th or 6th pitch (I don’t remember), I found Mark in front of two widely spread cams, with a sling around a television-sized detached boulder. I asked Mark if the boulder was safe and he replied “Sure it is! See!” giving it a kick that rocked it back and forth on the ledge just a bit.

“Take off the sling!” I demanded. “If that thing falls, I don’t want to be attached to it!” Mark complied. He handed me the gear, grumbling about how his “death sling” wasn’t good enough for me.

We scrambled up to the top of the mountain at about 5:30p. There were still a few hikers around, one of whom was nice enough to give me a shocked “Where did you come from??” expression when I clambered up over the edge of a shear cliffline. I love that moment. We re-organized, enjoyed the view, and hiked down (this time we both had shoes). I was already exhausted and sore from the day, but we dug deep and hiked home, taking only an hour and half to descend the 2.5 miles back to our car. I had blisters from shoes that were too small, leg and back muscles in tight knots and knees that are still sore. But it was a good day, and only the beginning.

After our Partner Yoga class last weekend, Mark and I bought the book from the instructor. The Pleasures and Principals of Partner Yoga by Elysabeth Williamson has some really great postures and adjustments for pairs to practice. The other interesting part of the book is the way it is illustrated. They took lovely images of yogis and turned them into sketches. It gives the book a low-tech, artistic feel. Like a traditional yogic scroll, where the ancient hand was only able to sketch out the basics of the asana.

I thought I might try my hand at this effect, and the result is here. What do you think?

The last (and only) time Mark and I went to check out climbing in this corner of Colorado, we got lost, thrashed by bushes, nearly struck by lightening, and spit off of a climb that was much harder than we thought. When Dylan and Sean proposed we go back to the South St. Vrain Canyon again last week, we told them our story of pain and woe. Dylan disagreed completely, and we decided to trust him for another trip back to the area. There are lots of pretty pictures up in the gallery.

The day began with a bright sun, which never left us. We started off climbing some fun routes on the way into the Buttonrock recreation area. We had the cliffline to ourselves on Saturday, and we climbed hard. Dylan has a blow-by blow of our routes for the day, I’m just going to list the first SIX that Mark and I tackled here. We cruised so many pitches because many of the routes were easily top-roped from the same anchors, and because Mark was ON.

Unknown Flake (5.7) – Mark’s first lead, a nice traditionally protected slab. I followed.
Civic Duty (5.8) – A toprope of the thin slab to the left of our first climb. Lots of fun for both Mark and I.
Green Slab (5.9+) – Mark and I climbed on Dylan’s TR. Mark did a fantastic on-sight, and I took a few falls. It was tricky.
The Buick (5.10a) – Mark jammed this overhanging crack so beautifully. I couldn’t get off the first big ledge.
Unknown Face (5.10c) – Mark pulled off another brilliant on-sight on Dylan’s toprope. I took several hangs, but made it all the way up this pumpy little climb.
Beemer up Scottie (5.8) – Mark lead this overhanging hand crack cleanly, with one scary moment. Dylan followed and cleaned it. Sean and I were done for the day and just enjoyed the show.

Mark and Dylan both felt the need to continue down the road after those first six hard climbs. We ended up in a beautiful spot next to the river spilling out of a reservoir. Mark put up a beautiful, smooth lead of Introducing Meteor Dad (5.10d). This was one of the longest routes of the day, and I enjoyed an hour or so without a pack, taking pictures, while Mark and Dylan climbed. It was a great way to end a fantastic day. And then Mark fell in the river on the walk home.

I may not have needed a camera, but by Sunday, I was missing it.

The morning was warmer, and Mark and I felt like we had inadvertently been victims in a South American soccer stampede the night before. Even Liv seemed exhausted as she sulked around the campsite while we packed up.

When it came time to decide where to climb, the simplest option seemed to head up to Sand Gulch. This beautiful limestone canyon towered over our campsite all weekend, and it’s warm sunny east-facing wall beckoned. We have climbed there once before and were unimpressed, but Sunday seemed like a good day for “unimpressive.” We were certainly feeling that way.

I know it seems unlikely, but I actually went on a climbing trip, and accidentally left my camera at home. It was all packed up, ready to go, and on the table rather than in the pile with everything else. So it didn’t go in the car. I realized this around Loveland on I-25, and declared “I don’t need a camera to go rock climbing!” and that was that.

After three days of heavy snow this week, Mark and I decided that most of the rocks and cliffs around Fort Collins would be un-climable this weekend. I took the opportunity to demand one more trip to Shelf Road, and Mark acquiesced. Our last trip had been a lot of fun, and we found ourselves in much better climbing shape than we expected. So we took advantage of the bad weather and headed south to work hard on the long limestone routes at Shelf Road, again.

When we arrived in Cañon City Friday night, the air was clogged with snow like powder sugar in a donut kitchen. As we drove north out of town, the snow began to lighten, and the skies were cold and clear as we pulled into the campground. There was a dusting of snow on the cacti when we arrived, and the desert was white and frozen under the quarter moon.

Saturday morning, we woke late, waiting for the sun to warm up the tent. By the time I crawled outside, much of the snow had melted. We made breakfast and then headed to Cactus Cliffs for some sun-drenched climbing.

Mark had a suggestion for how this trip report should go, so I’ll try to stay as true to his idea as I can. There are a few photos from the day in the gallery.

We went to Lumpy Ridge. It was cold and windy, and we were the only ones there when we left the car at 10:30a.

We walked a long time. The trail was covered in sh!t.

We climbed the first two pitches of Magical Chrome-Plated Semi-Automatic Enima Syringe. It was windy. There was snow and ice on the rocks.

When we walked off, it started snowing. The sun went away. We hiked home.

Sunday morning was cold and overcast. We initially decided to pack up and head back to the Fort, but as we made breakfast and cleaned up, the sky began to clear. By 11a, the sky was completely blue, the desert was warm, and our excuses for not climbing were running out quickly. As usual, there are pictures from the weekend up in the gallery.

As the sun peeked out, we decided to check out the Vault Area, which Mark and I both thought was east facing. As we wandered around the base of the cliffs to the right of the 2150 wall, we did not come upon any of the Vault climbs until the wall curved around and began to face north east and even north. So, we got in two (chilly) climbs on Sunday. Better to come back and climb this area in the summer.

Chip Off the Ol’ Block (5.9) – We found another 5.9 that we’ve never climbed! This one had a ton of stars in the guidebook as well, and Mark and I did enjoy it. The end of the route pulls you towards climbing out on the very edge of an overhanging section of rock. Below your tiny footholds is nothing but 80ft of air. It was very exciting! Unfortunately, it was on a section of the Vault that faces northeast, and we had no sun on the rock that morning. We all climbed quickly, with shivers and numb fingers.

Flight Simulator (5.10 b/c) – Adam decided to start out his morning with a lead of this thin and tricky looking climb. It was still in the sun. The crux was about 3 bolts (15 feet) above a huge ledge, and clipping that 4th bolt looked nerve-wreaking. Adam tried it a few times, and then Mark gave it a go. He eventually worked his way through it to finish the climb amongst large flakes with a swarm of swallows flying in and out.

I was aware of the birds as I climbed this route, but not how close they were to me. As I stood at a rest and considered the crux, and I heard Mark’s voice float up from below me.

“Um, Kate, there’s something I should tell you…” He said.

“Oh, no Mark, don’t do it. I don’t need any advice!” said I. And I set off into the crux, climbing strongly on tiny feet to my left, using the flakes to my right and difficult body tension to balance my weight between them. I moved, pulled, grunted, twisted, and then reached high, pulled and reached higher, reached for a higher crack that would signal the end of the harder climbing….

“THERE’S A BIRD IN THAT CRACK!” Mark yelled from below me.

“What??” I said as I gratefully sank my hand into the giant hole in the rock, and then immediately thought better of it. Uh…

“Oh, don’t worry about it. If nothing has happened to you yet, nothing will. Maybe the bird left,” I heard Mark say below me. I decided to trust (or ignore) him and continued climbing to the top. It was a great route. And nobody got pecked.

After the two climbs were summited all around and we had removed all of our gear from the wall, we hiked back to the car. This time, we walked down the hill to the Cactus Cliffs trailhead and then back to out parking lot on the lower trail. This was much faster. We ate lunch sitting in the sun, enjoying the desert and mountain views from the parking area.

Mark and I counted when we got home, and this was our 8th trip to Shelf Road in 4 years. For a pair of climbers that consider ourselves traddies, we do spend a lot of time sport climbing! This time, Doug passed on the invitation to his friend Adam, who brought his girlfriend Jackie along. There are pictures from the weekend up in the gallery.

On Saturday, we hoped to find some nice moderates that we had not yet climbed. Adam and Jackie stopped off at Alexi’s Climb for their morning warm up, and to teach Jackie how to clean a sport route. Mark and I hiked off down the cliff-line, past Spiney Ridge and around to the east-facing Gym. We were the first ones there!

Our goal for the day was to climb 5 routes – a high number for us, especially this early in the season. Throughout the day, clouds came and went. The sun would come out and warm everything up, and then dissapear with a chilly wind. I think I chaffed the back of my arms from taking off and putting on layers all day long. But it was plenty warm enough for a pleasant day of climbing.

Black Mamba Arete (5.8) – Immediately after Mark left the ground to lead this one, I remembered climbing it before. No matter, it was a fun warm up, with big flakes and little feet. Just my kind of climb!

Ga-stoned Again (5.9) – This climb was definitely on the to-do list. The book and MP.com both give it tons of stars, so we waited in line to experience the sporty goodness. Mark climbed it quietly, and came down saying “Yeah, it was fun.” I climbed it, and was un-impressed. It was a fun stemming, jamming, laybacking 5.9. But it was, in the end, a bolted crack. There wasn’t anything particularly special about it. A good workout, yes. The best 5.9 at Shelf? Doubtful. Seriously doubtful.

New Rule (5.9) – This climb looked awful. The rock at the bottom looked crumbly, there were plants filling cracks to either side, the bottom three bolts had homemade hangers, and there was no dirt (only grass and cacti) at the base. Vegetation at the base of a climb is a bad sign at Shelf. But, it was a 5.9, and in the sun, and Adam and Jackie were working on Black Mamba, so we decided to try it out.

This little gem turned out to be the best route of the weekend. All of the rock on the climb (despite appearances) was utterly solid. The bottom section was as prickly as the nearby cacti, so the salvation of fingertip skin demanded careful footwork. There were hidden pockets, prickly shelves, and every other weird formation you could imagine in the most thin, but solid, black limestone we have seen at Shelf so far. The top two thirds of the route were thin (THIN) slab climbing. We worked balanced and technical moves between well spaced and huge pockets. The climb was bolted in a more traditional manner that left Mark to run out the last 15 feet to the anchors – a task he enjoyed the thrill of. I loved every minute of the slab, and came down happy to have found such a wonderful climb in a sea of mild disappointments.

We took a break for lunch, and then Adam climbed and cleaned New Rule. By the time he was done, we had been in the shade for a while, the wind was picking up, and I wanted sun. We hiked together over to Spiny Ridge, where Mark and I realized that we had climbed everything below a 10c here. Wanting something new, we wandered further back, and eventually found ourselves at the base of a wild looking 10 on Cactus Cliffs.

Relampago (5.10b/c) – The guidebook says the name means “lightening” in Spanish, and I guess it comes from the shape of this narrow fin of rock, which unexpectedly emerges from an otherwise normal looking corner. The bolts climb a buttress lower down, then protect the left side of the fin, and finally cross over to the right side about 20 ft below where the climb finishes. Mark made the bottom hard by jamming his way up a pair of overhanging flakes/cracks. The thin face in the middle required strong body tension to keep from loosing balance and swinging right off the flake. In the top third, Mark actually did a few full body stems (hands on one wall feet on the other), as he worked up to the anchors.

Adam and Jackie were done for the day, so I climbed and cleaned the route. I took the easy way up the lower buttress, and then took a look at the fin. Mark had cleaned the draws on his way down, so I could choose whatever route I wanted up this climb. I decided to start and end on the same side, and tackle the right-side chimney the whole way up. The lowest part of the chimney was a little loose and dirty, but plenty of fun. The upper part was just as wide as Mark found it, and I opted to climb the thin holds on the flake alone to the anchors. Definitely another good workout for the day.

The group decided it was time to head back for the day after this last adventure. We hiked back to camp, and had tasty cold beer and bratwurst for dinner. Mark and I went looking for deadwood to help feed the fire after dinner, and found another site had left 6-8 large pieces of log cuttings next to their fire ring. These were long boards: the edges from logs that are squared for timber at a mill. Mark and I dragged them back to our site, and Adam and Mark worked late into the night splitting wood, burning huge logs, and trying not to loose limbs or set themselves on fire in the process. It was a great night.