On Saturday, I met with Kristi, Xanthe, and Brian in Boulder Canyon. Our desire was to climb, and our hope was for stable & sunny weather. I’m happy to report our expectations were met. We climbed from about 10:30 to 14:30, and we only saw two other couples at the crag. There were also two dogs, but they were well behaved beasts. (more…)
On Sunday, I met up with Chris and we climbed at Hawk-Eagle Ridge in Eldorado Canyon. This ridge is high above the canyon floor (around 700 feet above!).
It is quite the workout reaching the top of the ridge, and there is an eliminate crux about 2/3 the way up. I was a little nervous, in one spot in particular, as there are some simple class 5 moves with severe consequences. We took our time climbing the ridge, and finally, after about an hour, we were at the crag.
There was an ethereal mist swirling around us, and the sun was nowhere to be seen. The temperature was probably around freezing. Lucky for me, Chris is determined and he can handle the cold. It must have been his extensive background climbing at the Gunks…
Chris put up the following climbs, and I seconded (with my gloves on!). All day, I was climbing with my down jacket on, and it never really warmed up. We climbed during the warmest part of the day (11-3pm). We did four climbs at the very top of the ridge. Varied in ratings from 5.6 to 5.8.
Eckhard & I went climbing at West Ridge in Eldo Canyon. It was a chilly day. I remember leading Washington Irving (5.6), but I don’t remember much else about the day. I took a few pictures. The day was pretty cold, except for the few times the sun came out. I think we only climbed 3 or 4 pitches, as it started getting really cold around 3pm.
On Friday, I met with Eckhard and Tim to climb in Eldorado Canyon. From what I can remember, I led the first pitch of Vershneidung (5.6). Eckhard led the second pitch (5.8+). Tim followed both pitches.
It was insanely cold outside. I think the temperature was hovering at around 40 degrees. With the wind, it was even colder. To this day, I don’t know how Eckhard led that second pitch. It’s in a shady dihedral, and the climbing is consistently tricky. A wide crack for your hands, and small edges for stemming with the feet. My hands & toes were completely numb by the time I reached the anchor. (more…)
Eckhard, Dennis, and I went climbing at West Ridge in Eldorado Canyon. I was feeling crummy, having a cold, but I wanted to get out and climb. We hiked the long way round, to the top of the Ridge, and by the time we made it to the crag, it was warming up nicely. (more…)