Archive for April, 2012

Rock Climbing – CMC Boulder Leader’s Day

Sunday, April 22nd, 2012

The summer is coming soon and with it comes CLIMBING season!

In order to get all the rock climbing leaders psyched up, Jeffrey arranged an outing on the First Flatiron. The plan was to climb various routes and then talk about setting up some summer climbs for CMC members. It was a great deal of planning on Jeffrey’s part and I was happy to take part in the fun!

I climbed with Slava and Mike. We carried up some fresh fruit for everybody to enjoy after the climbing was over. On the way up Bakerdango (what I like to call my variation of Fandango-starting at Baker’s Way), we ran into Rick. Rick was climbing with Eileen and her husband Bob. I also ran into Brenda on the summit and briefly saw Jeffrey as he was ascending the summit ridge. Excellent times!

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Rock Climbing – Swanson’s Arete, Eldorado Canyon, CO

Friday, April 20th, 2012

Jeffrey and Clare at Start of Swanson's Arete (5.5)
Jeffrey and I climbed Swanson’s Arete. The last time we attempted the route, we had to bail because of high winds. This time, we showed up midday and, thankfully, we were blessed with excellent weather. We started climbing around 2:30pm and finished at 8pm, in the dark! (more…)

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Day Hike – North Table Mountain, Golden, CO

Sunday, April 15th, 2012

Clare & Dennis on Top of North Table Mountain

Dennis and I went hiking up to the top of North Table Mountain in Golden. It was a cool spring morning, with threatening thunderstorms in the afternoon.

Top of North Table Mountain Looking East

It was originally supposed to be a CMC newbie welcome hike, but everybody except 1 gal bailed…So the three of us went out anyways. On our way back, there was hail and blowing snow for small bouts of time. Exciting!

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Rock Climbing – Kamikaze, First Flatiron, Boulder, CO

Saturday, April 14th, 2012

Clare & Doug on Top of First Flatiron Flatirons View South
Photos above courtesy of Doug…Awesome Shots!

Doug and I went for a romp up the First Flatiron. We intended to do Zig Zag (5.7). Not so surprisingly, we missed a turn at the very first Zig and ended up on Kamikaze (5.8). Or so we think that’s what happened!

Part of the fun of the Flatirons is routefinding, one never really knows ones true location which makes for an exciting day. We had a blast even though we weren’t really certain where we were; great weather and a “can do” attitude fixed the wandering woes.
(more…)

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Rock Climbing – Swanson’s Arete – High Winds…Bailed!

Friday, April 6th, 2012

Clare After Rappelling West Chimney Jeffrey Still Happy Even Though We Bailed
Jeff and I attempted a spring ascent of Swanson’s Arete. It had been a couple years since I did the route, so I was looking forward to another romp up.

Unfortunately, as we ascended the west side of the Redgarden formation, it got increasing windy. By the time we got to the base, it was a little gusty. After all that stair stepping just to get to the start, we really both wanted to give it a shot. So, we did!

Jeffrey on the Red Ledge
Here’s Jeffrey topping out on the West Chimney Pitch. He did the pitch in about 20 minutes, removing the pro and climbing. Not too shabby!

We decided to call it a day, when we got to the base of Swanson’s and the gusts were non-stop. We met a crazy youth, out climbing with his sister, who still ventured upward…but we decided to play it safe. I think we made the right choice, to save it for another day. The rappel would have been extra gnarly with all that wind…!

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