On September 17, I spent the day volunteering as an assistant instructor for the CMC Boulder’s Basic Rock School. Students Walt, Ian, Max, Derek, Chris, and Erin were eager to be belaying, rapelling, and climbing during this first (of four) field trips.
I was excited to be working with Kent, the lead instructor, and Michael, another assistant. There was a lot of material to cover, but Kent did a real whiz-bang job!
On Sunday, I led a CMC day hike up the gentle slopes of James Peak. It was a long end-of-summer day, but everybody had a great time. (more…)
When Rick, Slava, and I pulled into the trailhead for Greys & Torreys on Friday, we were reticent. There had been 5 inches of new snow the night before; the first big significant dose of puffy stuff. We hoped there wouldn’t be any more that night. Especially since Rick & I were bivying! Slava (ever the gentleman) offered us space in his tent, if needed.
Questions bounced around over dinner, would we make the summit the next day? Or, would we have to back off due to premature winter conditions? How icy would the knife edge be? Should we have brought crampons? Winter boots? (more…)
I climbed North Face Center with Michael while John and Russ climbed Empor.
Then, I had a bout of serious dehydration. I chugged my entire Nalgene of water and still felt crummy. It must have been after effects of attending the Stapleton Beer Festival the night before. I felt so thirsty, it was a little unsettling. (more…)
I climbed Bakerdango, a combination of Baker’s Way and Fandango, for the third time. The climb is part of an effort to become a rock climbing leader with the CMC Boulder group. It was my first co-lead and I have one more to go. Rick followed Brenda and Dave followed me. We ladies were the ropeguns…boo-ya! (more…)