The Mouseketeers Club

Hey, So I got in touch with my friend Josh last week who has been out in the "Valley" doing some climbing and what not. We decided to get out and do some climbing and catch up with what we have been doing. Josh suggested "Mickey Mouse" Wall which is just south of Eldo. He wanted to check out a route called the Red Dihedral which clocks in at 12d. I have heard about the route so I was up for the recon mission.

This is a good place to climb this time of year because it gets sun most of the day and the rock warms up quick. We decided to do the "outlaw" approach which follows the train tracks thru 4 tunnels before reaching the wall. The advantage to this way is that it's a level hike all the way over. It also brings back those childhood memories of walking the train tracks growing up as a kid.

Once reaching the area we racked up and Josh cast off on the first pitch which was still in the shade. brrrrrr The upper pitches were already in the sun so the suffering was short lived. Josh tried to sandbag me into leading the crux pitch but I let him have it. Things started out fine until it got hard. It stayed hard for quite a ways and Josh resorted to aiding his way up the 100 ft pitch. He was able to free climb sections here and there but this thing was brutal! After he reached the anchor, I lowered him back to the ledge and I gave it a try on top rope. Wow! this thing is stout I yelled. Probably the hardest route I've ever been on. I free climbed maybe 10% of it and pulled on gear the rest of the way. 12d????? yikes! After being served up a big slice of humble pie we headed down to the lower industrial wall and did a burn on "Soul Train" and called it a day.

Windy Weekend

I was hoping to possibly get out some this weekend to do a little climbing since the temps have finally risen back into the high forties and the sun is shining. But, as always, the wind has decided to make an appearance creating bitter windchills making it better to climb indoors.

So, for a change of pace, I've posted up some of my favorites pictures of the local flora.




Columbine, the state flower










Alpine forget- me- nots. This is probably my favorite alpine flower. It's mostly found at 12,000 ft or above.






Looking west at Mt Evans.


No, this is not Colorado. Believe it or not it was taken in NJ at a local park. It's one of the best photos my camera has ever taken. Be sure to click on photo to enlarge because the detail is really good.

Cold days are here

It's snowing out and a balmy 15 deg. I remember it was like this last year about the same time. I was trying to redpoint the crux pitch of Practice Climb 101 in Eldo when it turned bitterly cold for about 6 weeks. I had to give it up and wait for warmer days before venturing back to the canyon.

I was planning on climbing indoors with Steven, but an old shoulder injury has resurfaced and I have decided to take some time off from climbing to let it heal properly. Being injured is always so depressing because you feel like you are getting fat and out of shape. I still plan on hitting the rec center for sessions to stay fit however.