Double Latte please.

So, the weather continues to be good here in Colorado allowing yet another adventure high up in the mountains.

I've been trying to hook up with my friend Jay who lives over in Aspen the past couple months it seems but our schedules always conflict. We finally made it work and met over at Mt Evans for a trip over to the black wall. My last trip here was with Joe and we climbed a route called 'Carrie Granite". This trip I would be climbing a route called "Espresso" on the far right side of the wall.
I had heard that it was kinda dirty and often wet at the top but sometimes routes like this turn out to be quite the adventure. Adventure climbing is what it's all about.

I rolled into Idaho Springs shortly after 6am looking for a coffee house to help wake me up. I drove thru town and found nothing. I decided to take one last look down an empty street and saw an "open" sign glowing in a store front window. Score! It was a local coffee house. Once I had my double latte, I headed up to the parking area to meet Jay.

Jay rolled in minutes after I arrived and we were in the car headed up to summit lake in no time. It was a gorgeous morning and temps were actually quite mild considering the elevation of the area. Fifteen minutes later we were at the lake and started loading our packs. We walked over and around the cirque to the top of the black wall in about 45 minutes. Man, I love this approach! Gravy...

We simul-rapped in to speed things up and were at the bottom soon after arriving. The last little bit is easy downclimbing in a tight chimney but not too bad. We reached the base of our route and decided Jay would tackle the crux pitch and I would get the 10+ pitch above that. I started up the first pitch which was easy 5.10 with varied climbing. I set the belay and brought Jay up. Next up was the 11- crux, which was a layback crack that arches left near the top. It didn't look too bad from below but Jay later found out that it was really continuous with hardly a rest it's entire length. Jay made an impressive onsight of it with an occasional "ahhh!" when a hard move was encountered. I followed and cast off on the 3rd pitch after reaching the belay.

This pitch was long but not near as hard as the previous and had the occasional rest. At one point I was pulling large bushes out of the rock just so I could see the crack and place gear. After climbing almost an entire rope length I set a belay at the top of the pillar like formation. The next couple pitches were kinda junky and the last pitch, which I led, was completely wet and loose. This last pitch took quite a while to get up because of the loose, wet rock all around. I was so glad to finally top out and be done with it!

It had actually rained some while we were climbing, but since weather moves in from the west and we were on an east facing wall it never got to us. We stayed dry the entire day


Jay coming down the loose ledges



Me racking up for the first pitch.






Me on pitch 1.




Jay on the crux pitch




Jay nearing the belay on pitch 3





rain showers we never felt





Me on last pitch. It was wet and really spooky

Journey to Ithaca

When you start on your journey to Ithaca, then pray that the road is long, full of adventure, full of knowledge. ~C.P. Cavafy

Ithaca is the name of a route on Arrowhead in RMNP I have been wanting to climb for the past few years now. I always knew it would be "full of adventure" as I found out over the weekend.

The journey started about 3pm Friday when Steven arrived at my house. We sorted gear and loaded up, then drove over to Estes Park. After a brief stop at the backcountry office to pick up our bivy permit, we were at the trailhead about 5pm. The weather was great for the hike in but unusually hot though. We arrived at Black lake in about an hour and a half and took a quick break. I was feeling kinda whooped from the heat and was hoping it would cool down soon. We still had about an hour to go and the final push was steep and relentless. When I arrived at the talus field below Arrowhead I was definetly not feeling well. I must have not drank enough water on the way in and it had caught up with me. We found our bivy site just as it was getting dark and settled in for the night. Unfortunelty, I had no appetite from the dehydration issue and went to bed hungry. The thought of food made me want to vomit.

We awoke to blue skies and very warm temps about 7am the next morning. I had been up in this very same area 3 weeks prior and it was quite cold in the morning. We could have been in shorts and been fine though. We discussed the route, called Ithaca which goes at 12a and decided Steven would lead the crux pitch since I felt he was in better climbing shape than me. Steven has been living on the road the past 6 months and been climbing non-stop.

Steven takes the first pitch which is a completely run-out slab for about 130 ft. The guide calls it 5.8 but we both felt it was easier. There were great holds the entire way up. This was good because a fall from it would be nasty. I take the second pitch which goes about 11a. It's a left facing corner and kinda tricky to protect. It ends below the looming ceiling above which is the crux. It's now time for "meat and potatoes" of the route and Steven is up. The guide says there is a "fixed nut" that protects the run-out traverse, but we can't seem to locate it. It's gone.... Steven plugs in a couple decent cams at the start and conjures up his psyche and starts out the strenuous traverse. It looks really awkward and you have to keep your feet really high just so they'll stay on the smooth rock. Halfway out, he thinks about trying to place another cam but realizes it's useless and continues on to easier ground. After about 15 ft, he reaches good holds and places a bomber #2 camalot. Whew! It's over and he onsighted the crux in style! He says, "that ain't 12a dude", more like 11c. After I followed it, I must agree that it's not 12a. I would just say 11+. We were both expecting it to be much harder.

I took the lead and linked pitches 4&5 together for a spectacular 5.11 link-up. Steven took the final pitch which had some spicy 5.10 and fun climbing on jugs to the top. We topped out shortly after lunch and started the long walk back out to the car. Maybe I'll do something on the Diamond next trip before it gets too cold.


Steven starting the heady crux of Ithaca. Notice the "intense" look on his face!


Me leading 4th pitch.


Coiling the rope after a successful summit


On the summit of Arrowhead


Me on the last pitch

Arrowhead

Just got back last night from a kick ass trip to Glacier Gorge in RMNP. This has got to be one of the most beautiful places in all of CO. It also has some of the best climbing in the park. Yeah, Yeah, what about the Diamond on Longs you ask. The Diamond is great, but for shear beauty and solitude, nothing beats Glacier Gorge.

I met my bud Guy Friday over in Estes Park so we could hike in that evening to bivy and get up early Saturday to climb. We arrived at the trailhead about 5pm to sorta sketchy weather but nothing horrible. I actually don't mind this because it makes the long hike in more tolerable with the cooler temps. It usually takes about 2 1/2 - 3 hours to get up there but the scenery is awesome the entire way.

Just as it was nearing dark a rain storm moved in catching us off guard. We still had a little ways to go before reaching our bivy site so we huddled behind a large rock trying to stay dry. After about 20 minutes we decided to make a break for it because the rain didn't appear to be letting up and we were both soaking wet. We decided to head over to a known bivy cave below Spearhead, a neighboring peak, since we weren't sure about bivy sites around Arrowhead. We found the bivy empty and settled in for the night.

We awoke to a beautiful morning, and after a quick bite, headed over to Arrowhead. Some low clouds early in the morning had us a little uneasy, but it turned out to be a nice day. Our route of choice, called Arrowplane, looked wet on the hike over but dried out by the time we arrived. The first pitch is a spicey 5.8 slab with little protection but not death defying. I found the 2nd pitch a tad wet but luckily there were good holds around. I pushed this pitch into a 220ft lead to save some time. A couple more pitches brought us to the crux pitch which is a spectacular finger hand crack. The crux comes right off the bealy and soon eases to moderate crack climbing. A final 5.9 roof puts us on the summit. After a quick rap we are back at our packs and soon begin the long hike out. I always ask myself why I put in so much effort to come back into here, but time and time again I return. The climbing, combined with the beauty of the area always brings me back.

Me on the hike in at Mills Lake

Guy coming up final section before topping out.On the summit! Chiefshead is behind us

Rope art