Becca, Erin, Hannah, Shannon, and Clare
To celebrate my recent graduation from the CMC Ice Climbing Class, I decided to help organize a girls climbing trip to Ouray. Erin had already been twice this season and, quite frankly, wouldn’t shut up about it. “OMG, Ouray is awesome…we should totally go there!”. With a pitch like that, who could resist!
Before I know it, we have a total roster of 5, super stoked chicks: Erin is the most experienced ice climber of the bunch and our energetic sparkplug. Hannah is a world traveler, accomplished peak bagger, and somehow manages to make you smile no matter what’s going on. Becca is game for just about any adventure, is an excellent dancer, and exudes a quiet, reassuring confidence. Last but not least is Shannon; strong, quick-learning, and agile on the ice! We each brought something to the table, so we made an excellent team.
We all pile into Hannah’s car on Thursday and make our way to Ouray. Thankfully, we have a cargo carrier for the climbing gear! And, even better, Becca has secured us lodging at a friend’s rental. It’s a totally decked out 3 Bed 3 Bath, about a mile from town!
It takes 9.5 hours and we have to use the rumble strip to ensure we are actually driving on the road. In white out conditions, we pass a couple dozen cars who have spun out of control. This doesn’t deter us from our goal. It is a team effort; two girls watching each side of the road, one girl peering into the white out searching for obstacles, one girl checking the maps for mileage updates, and Hannah – our brave pilot maneuvering the vehicle.
We get to the house at 12:30am and unload the car. Wake-up call is set for 7:30am. I manage to get about 5 hours of sleep and am excited for my first day at Ouray!
