We met Ann, Dylan, and Mark at Mimi’s Cafe just down the highway from Golden. We had a liesurely breakfast and got caught up-quite a bit of conversation to cover the highlights of the past year! Breakfast was quite filling, and we did a great job of cleaning the plates. I must say, Mark’s Cinnamon French Toast looked the yummiest! Even Ann stole a corner of one as “dessert”.
It was a solid half day of climbing, I was sufficiently pumped after 6 routes. Note: All pictures courtesy of Ann & Dylan-we left our camera in Ridgecrest. It WAS a gorgeous day, the sky was so clear we could see all the way to Aurora (30 or more miles away!). Astounding.
The weather was quite warm, so I was stripping off layers in the restaurant. And even more came off in the parking lot. Soon, I was left with no option but to climb in my jog-bra. No way, man! Ann was gracious and let me borrow her brand new super comfy hotline tank top. Patagonia really got it right with this top-it’s da bomb!
Dennis climbed a very strenuous 5.9+ crack to start the day-and after that did one more. For not climbing in something like 9 months, he did great. Unfortunately, the grip in the fingers was just not there-so he spent the rest of the afternoon admiring the view and giving belays.
Ann has worked out like a fiend since I last saw her. Losing weight and keeping it off is not easy. She claims to have been on the “starvation” diet. I do not like the sound of that one, but it seems to have worked for her! She’s also climbing wicked strong, impressing me with stealth moves both in cracks and on face. Ropegun Ann.
Later on, Mark & Dylan were psyched as they conquered some unknown hard climb-probably 5.10+ or 5.11. It looked like the top part was fun, and it turns out that both of them enjoyed it, achieving an Onsight and a Flash! Unfortunately, it did not lend itself to TR because of where the anchors were placed.
At the end of the day, I asked Dylan if he got enough climbing in and he claimed he did…but I did not entirely believe him. He looked smooth even through the tough moves of the last “cool-down” 5.10 climb. I bet he had at least 5 more climbs in him!
I had two favorites for the day, one called Lemons, Limes, and Tangerines (5.8) and the other is a fun 5.7. They both have high and ballsy first clips, if you’re short. I would like to go back for a redpoint of the notorious Deck Chairs on the Titanic (5.9+). I did DCOTT on TR, after whimping out from a lead. Subsequently, I watched Ann make steady progress up the climb, and saw how she made the clips. The second clip on this climb is quite dangerous-you will deck if you mess it up and from 15 feet off the ground, it would not feel good!
Totally fun day, and felt just like summer. I was tired! Enough to climb around the hardest moves of that last route…
Clare, This place looks way cool! That’s it, Rebecca and I are coming out to visit next week … oh wait, you won’t even be there yet … okay, well maybe next summer. Seriously, looks like you’ve got some cool climbing out there.
Golden, The Lumpy Ridge, Eldo Canyon, and Vedauwoo! You guys better come for a whole week! We’d love to show you around, heck it’ll be just as new for me…8^)