How the west was climbed: Alpine season is here!

The weather has finally moderated here on the front range and it's high time to get your alpine on. It seems that the season is running a little late this year due to heavy snow this past winter. Me and Joe decided

to check out how the black wall is looking today on Mt. Evans. I awoke at about 4:45am to a beautiful morning just as the sun was lighting the eastern sky. Joe rolled in about 5 and we headed down the road to I-70 towards Idaho Springs.

We arrived at summit lake about 6:30 or so and started racking up. The great thing about climbing at the black wall is that the approach is a "two pack a day, smokers dream". It only takes about 40 minutes to reach the top of the wall. Normally, an alpine day in RMNP would require a long steep hike taking about 2-3 hours. Also, you rap in from the top and climb your way back out and your done!

We had our sights set on a route called Cary Granite, which clocks in at about 5.11c. It's a really clean looking line and truly spectacular. We hoped to climb a second route, but the weather turned to crap and we bailed after our first climb.

Cary Granite has a really cool third pitch which starts with a spooky traverse requiring techy footwork to a thin hands crack. Above the crack looms a roof with a good hand crack but is really steep and powerful.

The climb was truly amazing and we had a great day in the mountains.