Colorado

Taking advantage of the Memorial Day weekend, Garrett and I drove west with dreams of 14,000′ mountain peaks in our heads.   We arrived at the trailhead to Crestone Needle around noon on Friday and started the 8 mile hike to its base.  About 6 miles in, we found 8′ snow drifts – something we didn’t prepare for.  It was so easy for 80 degree days in Kansas City to completely remove snow from our trip planning efforts.  Needless to say, we didn’t get to climb the mountain!  On the way down we set up camp and spent the evening with a fire spinning hippie, a Delta Force Army soldier with a rifle and large axe, and his nice wife.  Saturday included a visit to the Royal Gorge and Sunday was spent rock climbing at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs before driving back Sunday night.  As the small town newspapers say, “A good time was had by all.”  We also learned to climb 14,000′ mountains in sunny August!

First lead of the year

I am taking Kate’s advice (she’s a smart girl) and dedicating this year to rock climbing.  It’s hard to do everything at once, and I spent so much time switching between various sports last year that I never got better any of them.  So this year, I shall climb lots of rock and skydive just enough to keep my license current.  Then I’ll jump out of a bunch of planes next year, and so on.

That being said, Garrett and I went on the first climbing trip of the season this weekend.  We got to Sam’s Throne late friday night and set up camp quickly.  After a fairly cold night, we awoke to a perfectly warm day with blue skies and tons of sun – perfect!  I lead Poision Ivy, one of my favorites, then we topped out and set a top rope on Albino Rhino.  While tearing that down, Garrett convinced me to set up a top rope on a climb we’ve never done before right next to Albino Rhino.  I don’t remember what it was called but we made it up, then checked the guide book – 5.10d!  After lunch, Garrett led a quick route on the throne and we top roped another one next to it.  Dinner at the local all-you-can-eat buffet, Cadron Creek Catfish House Too, then woke up to a rainy Sunday and drove home.  ’nuff said.