Another amphitheater day

We climbed at the amphitheater again today. First climb was the South Face of the Second Pinnacle, which we were thunder-boomed off of last weekend. This time we made it to the top in two pitches -- some tricky route finding involved. We rapped off the back and walked back around inside the amphitheater to climb The Inset (5.6). The weather wasn't making up its mind so this shorter climb was a good choice. By the time we both completed the climb the clouds had mostly moved on, so we chanced another climb, this one up the Third Pinnacle. We didn't have the guide book with us, so we just headed up a crack leading to a nasty overhanging roof. Luckily we made it around the roof. At the top of the climb we realized there was an easy walk-off on the backside, so we took that back to the trail and called it a day.

14er

(click pic to see more)

Today we got up early to hike Gray's Peak. It's a 14er. We planned on taking a 6.5 mile (round-trip) trail, but the road to the trailhead required a higher-clearance vehicle than our Echo. So our hike started 3 miles from the trailhead. Somehow by the end of the day we had hiked 14 miles -- new meaning to "14er".

The way up started easy, but once we got to some snow it became pretty slick and slowed us down. There were clouds overhead but nothing too scary, so we kept going. Closer to the summit we heard some thunder but it was coming from the east, so we kept going. By the time we summited Gray's Peak there were thunderclouds on both sides of the mountain, although at quite a distance and moving slowly. It was surprising that at 14,270 feet there wasn't the slightest breeze. We stayed up there for about 10 minutes and headed back down -- decided to skip summiting Torrey's Peak due to the weather.

The return trip was a blast -- lots of glissading made for a quick descent. It was actually slower and more difficult where there wasn't snow on the trail. At one point there were graupel flurries but nothing substantial.

The weather turned for the better so we decided to recon the start of another hike/climb we had read about. It climbs the Kelso ridge for 1800 vertical feet, starting at a saddle between Torrey's and Kelso Peaks. The guidebook suggested a rope and some rock hardware (and an ice axe if there is snow), so we forwent the expedition for today, but it looks like it's going to be a great way to summit Torrey's Peak next summer.

My morning bike ride

Click here. And yes, I did come back down. I just didn't feel like double clicking down Flagstaff Mountain. There are a lot of switchbacks!!!

Fern Canyon, Nebel Horn, Bear Peak

After recovering a bit from the race, we headed out for a "short" hike in Fern Canyon. I think it's named that because there is exactly one fern on the trail. This steep trail goes up to the summit of Bear Peak. Along the way we scoped out a little cave/tunnel formed by some gigantic boulders.

Further up the trail we scrambled up to the Nebel Horn -- the rock ridge/summit that Adam and I gave up on Thursday. (I found a class 3 approach to the summit but it wouldn't have been good to do on Thursday, so in hindsight, even though the trail was very close, it was good that we turned back.)

The Nebel Horn is really neat! There's a giant hueco on top the size of a 10-person jacuzzi. From the top I could see some climbers on a nearby rock. And if you look closely in the picture above, you'll find Laurel hanging out at the base of the Nebel Horn (zoom in).

From the Nebel Horn up to the Bear Peak summit the trail got even steeper and wilder. It felt like one of the 14ers we've done. We were both winded by the time we reached the summit. I think this is one of the best hikes we've done around Boulder -- excellent views, scrambling, and hiking.

We ate some granola bars at the summit and started the hike back down -- the way up took around 3 hours and we had about 2 hours of daylight to get back down. By the time we got back to NCAR it was just starting to get dark. (BTW, the pink building dead-center in this photo is NCAR, where we started!)

(all pics from this hike)

Boulder Half Marathon

Start of the 2008 Boulder Half Marathon; Laurel crosses the starting line about two and a half minutes into the video:



And this is what Laurel looks like after running a half marathon:


She finished in approx. 2:18, 11 minutes faster than her training times! Here's her official results. Click pic for more.

Gregory Canyon climbing

We're working our way through Roach's guidebook... did a few more climbs Saturday in the Amphitheater. We've climbed 13 of the 25 climbs (not counting variations) in the main Amphitheater area. The last climb we attempted was a 2 or 3 pitch route up the Second Pinnacle. I was at the top of the first pitch setting up an anchor when we heard horrible thunder coming from all directions. Scary and unexpected. I was almost a full rope-length out, so lowering was not possible and rappelling was not a good option. Instead, I downclimbed the pitch, removing pro as I went. Good thing it was only a 5.2! As we hiked out it was just starting to sprinkle.

Some pics from the week

Click pic for more...

Other Adventures with Adam

Well, after Bierstadt Adam was still ready for more Colorado adventure despite his mantra of the week, "You're trying to kill me, aren't you?"

On Thursday Adam and Dan headed out to Bear Canyon in hopes of seeing some bears (crazy, huh)? Our alligator hunter wanted to see if he could take a bear down with the same knife with which he took down an eleven and a half foot, 500lb gator. Fortunately for the bears (and my brother and husband!) none crossed their path. However, they did spend the entire day hiking and scrambling around Nebel Horn and other areas OFF the main trail. Because of all the scrambling they did, Adam got very interested in rock climbing. More on that in a bit...

Thursday night we got ready for CU's Blackout Game. After dressing in the darkest clothes we had, we hopped on our bikes for Folsom Field. With 53,000 fans (many of them drunk college students) we cheered the Buffs on to victory. We FINALLY got to see Ralphie, the CU buffalo!


On Friday Adam and I checked out Lucile's for breakfast. It was excellent Cajun cooking recommended by a friend of our father's. I then took Adam on a mini-tour up to Gold Hill to see what a small mountain town looks like. As I headed to work for a professional development afternoon meeting, Adam hit Boulder Creek and caught a few small fish. In the later afternoon we all met at the Amphitheater for some climbing.

Adam toproped a 5.2 60-foot climb on the West Bench--his first outdoor climb ever! After a second successful attempt, I suggested we try something a little more exciting. So, Dan led a fourth class rather exposed climb up to the top of the East Bench. With some encouragement, Adam summited and waited patiently for me to clean. He then was the first to rappel back down into the Amphitheater. We managed to get back to the car with our headlamps safely.

After a quick shower, we all headed to the Red Lion for dinner. This restaurant specializes in "Wild Game and Continental Specialties." Needless to say, I got the vegetarian entree while Adam and Dan ordered elk and quail. Everyone's meal was delicious!

Mount Bierstadt

On Monday night my brother, Adam (a.k.a. the alligator hunter), arrive in Colorado. Since Dan and I both had to work, Adam went off on his own exploring. With fishing pole in hand, he ended up catching some small trout in a mountain lake in the shadows of Longs Peak and Mount Meeker...4 miles off the road an hour from Boulder. He made it up to 11,500ft on this first day here!

Today he and I decided to tackle an even bigger project. We drove an hour and a half southwest of Boulder to attempt a 14er. Despite construction on the approach road, we hit the trail at 9:30. After 3.5 hours of strenuous hiking Adam summited his first Colorado peak. The skies began to look scary so we quickly started our decent. The way down was cold, a bit windy, and snowy--it actually hailed for a little bit.

The good news is I got Adam back to Boulder in one piece and that he survived to tell about his mountaineering experience!

Gregory Canyon weekend

Yesterday we climbed at the Gregory Canyon Amphitheater. Gorgeous weather all day. First we summited T-Zero a few times -- a smaller rock (50') hiding behind the big pine tree in this first photo. Good climbs, and since there were no fixed anchors at the top we lead-downclimbed a 4th class route each time to get off -- a little too exposed to do unroped. Laurel led two routes up to the summit and I did two as well.

After tackling the easier routes on T-Zero, we headed up for the 1st Pinnacle summit, but this time we climbed the right route (vs. last time)! Amazing what a good guidebook can do for you... This next pic is the start of the East Face Dihedral, which we took to get to the top of the East Bench, then from there it's a step across the top of the chimney onto the east face of the 1st Pinnacle. You can see the bottom of the chimney at the top of the photo.

Now yesterday's weather was great, but today it was overcast and foggy. Didn't stop us from going back for more -- the rock was the only thing around that was dry, lucky us! These pics are all from today, so no blue skies to show. See the low clouds? So it was a bit chilly but we managed to do a couple of routes, Laurel led the first one and I led the next two. We've ticked off a few of the routes marked "Classic" in Roach's guidebook already... our plan is to hit them all (100s), starting at the beginning.

This afternoon I'm tuning up the bikes while Laurel goes on an interview. As I'm working I see this creepy spider checking me out. It's a jumping spider.

Our Friday Evening Bike Ride

Included a stop to pick up Chinese for dinner!

Map

My Thursday After Work Trail Run

Map

My Latest New Career

Wired Berries

Click on the Fitness tab.

Triathalonish?

Bike, hike, boulder, hike, bike was our progression this morning. After playing on the rocks at Sanitas Laurel took me up into Sunshine Canyon and then across to Fourmile Canyon. Steep! Fun going down too :) 14.5 miles on the bike, 1200' elevation gain.

evening bike ride

It was cold and hazy tonight, but we went for a ride anyway. And that's it.

Big F'n gator!

That's my brother!

Backpacking

Matt, Laurel, and I backpacked in the Lost Creek Wilderness this weekend. We started at the Twin Eagles trailhead near Jefferson, CO and headed north for 7 miles towards McCurdy Park Tower. After some 2,500 ft elevation gain we set up camp by the creek.

The three of us brought our rock shoes in case there were any bouldering opportunities. Once camp was set up Saturday afternoon we decided to hit the McCurdy Park Tower. On the hike in we hadn't seen any trail going to the tower and nothing was marked on our topo, so we just started walking up the hill through the woods towards the giant.

This rock isn't climbed very often due to the 6-mile approach -- not your typical roadside crag with cleaned rock and nice landings. The bouldering seemed a bit sketch so we instead decided to scramble up the scree to the left of the tower. It was steep and some of the rocks were loose so it took some time. The views from above were fantastic. Once in the shade the rock was very cold -- and so were we -- so we turned around to get back to camp before sunset.

Back at camp we put on another layer and started dinner. We sat by the fire for a while before turning in. The night was very cold and I don't think any of us slept very well. In the morning we discovered ice and frost on the tents (and everything else of course). [Mental note: camping at nearly 11,000 ft in September is cold. Don't repeat.]


We had breakfast, packed up camp, and hit the trail a little after 8am. The hike back had a fast pace to keep us warm; by 11am we were back on the bridge by the trailhead. Very successful first backpacking trip for us -- many thanks to Ryan for suggesting this area!

Summary: 0 bears, 0 people (except a few by the trailhead), 0 ^oC, 1 small snake, 2 blue grouse, 1 million grasshoppers, lots of horse poo, and 2 wolverine poos (maybe). See all pics. See route on Google Maps.

Day 3 of the long weekend

Dan started the day with an early-morning bike ride. Matt came up from Colo. Springs around 9am for a day of climbing. We tried going to the Boulderado (again) but ended up at Coney Island instead. Found a sport route that looked like it would go and each had a few turns climbing it. Later we found out the route was called Runaway. A website graded it 5.8 but we only did the lower part which was probably 5.7. It didn't look like there'd be any other routes for us on this rock, so we set out to find the real Boulderado. It's a popular crag but there was one route open for us, and it was a good one (Idle Hands, 5.6). We each got a few runs up it before the clouds turned sour. It may not have rained but the sky sure didn't look good! Overall a good day of climbing. (More pics)

There was a neat caterpillar at Coney Island. In the spring it will become a silkworm moth.

A Few More Pics

Labor Day Weekend, Part 2

It was an early start today. The alarm went off and 6:00 and we were out the door before the clock struck seven. We were headed to our second fourteener; Mount Evans. This peak stands at over 14,264 feet and can be seen from all of Denver. To get to it, you must drive into the mountains on I-70 and then 10 miles on a scenic highway. At that point, you must head up the auto road that actually gets cars just shy of the summit. Looking for a good hike, we parked at Summit Lake and planned to go up Northeast Ridge to the summit, then, weather permitting, we intended to go across the famed Sawtooth Ridge to then summit Mount Bierstadt, another 14er. We would conclude the loop by going back across the ridge and head up to Mount Spaulding (13,842) and then back to the lake. In total, this was going to almost 12 miles.

We hit the trail at 9:00 which is a bit late for alpine hikes. The skies were clear and so we began our ascent from the parking lot at almost 12,400ft. There was no trail, so to speak, on the northeast ridge. The entire flank of the mountain was an alpine scree field. So, we made our own trail and rock hopped for the better part of two hours. Though it was a lot of work, this was good practice reading topo maps and we did get to the summit an hour shy of what the guide book said it would take. It was similar to Mount Washington in that there were cars at the top. It was still a worthwhile jaunt and the views were spectacular.

After a couple of photos, we started heading to the Sawtooth Ridge. By the time we got to the trail that headed over there, the skies were not looking so great. Gray clouds were accumulating and we opted to cut off the Bierstadt part (to both of our disappointment) and just head up to Spaulding. We hiked along a beautiful ridge that had a number of snowfields on the other side. The summit of Spaulding offered great views of the Mount Evans summit and the entire ridge. From there, the trail headed back to Summit Lake. We got back to the parking lot just in time, as the skies were really looking nasty and rain was starting to fall. Overall, it was a great 5 mile hike that took us under 5 hours to complete with lunch and all!

Labor Day Weekend, Part 1

Gallery



Saturday we headed to the hills...we drove up to the Gregory Canyon area to try some climbing. After parking, we trekked up a bit on the Saddle Ridge Trail to what we thought was a cut-off trail to the Gregory Flatironette--our project for the day.

The guide book descriptions seemed clear enough, but on the ground proved very vague. "Hike 200 yds west of the Amphitheater on the Saddle Rock Trail for North Ridge Route. leave trail before it swings to the west side of the Flatironette. Hike up to the low point of the rock. Start at the lowest point of a scruffy ridge below the main piece of rock. Scramble 100' along this ridge. Without leaving rock, get onto main east face."



Yeah, let me tell you about scruffy ridges of rock in the foothills of Boulder. They're everywhere! We spent a good two-three hours scrambling around rock and trying to hike up steep, steep hillsides. We then got to what we thought was the main piece of rock and roped up. Dan led a for about 30 minutes and then decided to back off the route because there was just so much lichen and no clear route. So, again we took to hiking and scrambling. This got us back the same place on the rock, but still without a clear route.



We finally decided to get back on the hiking trail and see if we could get to the summit of the Flatironette and get our bearings. This, of course, led to more scrambling and hiking around. We found another ridge of rock that we thought could be the base of the scruffy ridge, but after some more investigation, it proved to just be a small ridge. After a bit more hiking we got to the true summit of the Flatironette. Dan scrambled along the top for quite a while. After he was satisfied, it was actually the rock we meant to find originally, we hiked back down to the car. All of this exploring took us over six hours in the hot sun. Though we didn't get any 'real' climbing in, we did have our rock shoes on and did get a lot of exercise!

This Week in Boulder

We've been up to quite a bit this weekend. At the beginning of the week, Dan's folks were still here. On Monday, they headed down to Golden again to check out more tourist attractions. On Tuesday Dan took them to Eldorado Canyon for a morning hike. Tuesday evening after dinner, we brought them to the bus station so they could catch the bus to the airport. It was a busy and fun time for everyone!

On Wednesday Dan and I went bouldering on Mount Sanitas after work. We rode our bikes out to Sunshine Canyon and hiked up the 12 minutes or so to the good rock. We climbed for almost an hour and headed home.

Thursday Dan worked as a volunteer facilitator at Community Cycles. He got to help other people fix their bikes and had a lot of fun. Afterwards, we headed out to Neptune to see a slide show about climbing in Verdon, France. It is a huge canyon with thousand foot blue granite cliffs. All the pictures were just breath-taking. The presenter and photographer were the subject of the cover article for this month's Rock & Ice Magazine. They were also handing out free beer, magazines, and stickers. Very fun.

On Friday after work we headed back out to Mount Sanitas for a little bouldering. We explored some other walls and then headed downtown for the CU Kick-off Stampede. At this pep rally before tonight's big CU vs. CSU rivarly game the marching band and football team walked down Pearl Street greeting their fans. The band sounded good and played throughout the mini-parade. The team just towered over everyone. I even got a mini-football with the CU Buffalo on it!

The Weekend

On Saturday we took Dan's parents to Rocky Mountain National Park. We did a lot of driving, some hiking, and a lot of picture taking. Here are some of the highlights.











Sunday morning I ran 13 miles in 2:29!!!! I think I'm prepared for the half marathon on September 21st. See below for the bike ride that Dan and I did when I got home from running. For dinner we went up to Gold Hill. Yummm.

Lots to Catch Up On

So, you may have noticed there aren't any pictures up from RoMo last weekend. That's because it poured all weekend and we had to call off our camping trip. Saturday, though, it stopped raining in the afternoon enough for us to hike around Chautauqua a bit. We headed up between the second and third Flatirons to scope out the area. We made it to the top of the third (as high as you could get hiking, anyway) and back around the park. As we were heading back up towards the First, we ran into a small bear. When we reported him to the rangers we were told he was probably just over two years old. They then proceeded to put up a sign in the area that there was bear activity (we actually saw it the other day!).

Sunday I did a 12 mile run (2:18) and then Dan and I did some mountain biking north of town. There were some really fun trails!

Monday we both worked and I swam after school. Dan's parents arrived on Tuesday and Dan took them through the Canyon and downtown.

Wednesday we took his folks up to Chautauqua hoping to get to the base of the First Flatiron. Jackie and I turned back after about an hour, Paul and Dan made it to the top. For lunch we hit the Great Harvest Bread Company. Jackie and Paul then went up to Celestial Seasonings and the Leanin' Tree Museum. After some time spent on school work I headed out for a bike ride in Four Mile Canyon. I ended up doing about 17 miles and gained 1,000 feet in elevation. Coming down was a blast!

Thursday Dan's folks went out to Golden to see some tourist attractions. That evening we all headed to Ras Kassas Ethiopian Restaurant for dinner.

Friday Dan's parents went to NCAR, the Boulder History Museum, and they took a bike ride to Community Cycles on the Goose Creek Path. After work I took my bike and headed into the hills (Dan and I also went for a run this morning). I went up into Sunshine Canyon and then cut over to Fourmile Canyon.

Zooom!

Laurel and I went for a great bike ride -- the ride down from NCAR (around mile 11) was a blast! 30+ MPH, according to the speed limit sign at the bottom of the hill.

Morning Run

Went for a run with Laurel this morning.

Boulder Happenings

On Monday we attended the Shakespeare Festival here in town. We saw a special, one night only performance of "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare." It was hilarious! Three actors took two hours and touched on all 36 of Shakespeare's plays and inserted plenty of toilet humor, silly costumes, and physical comedy. I can't remember the last time I laughed so much.

That morning I did my longest run to date... 9.92 miles (yes, I later rode my bike along the route with my GPS) in 120 minutes. I know I'm slow, but I just keep going, and going... I've got five weeks until the Boulder Backroads Marathon and 3.108 miles to go!

Sunday night Dan brought home a bike from Community Cycles that he fixed enough to ride. As part of the earn-a-bike program he volunteered there for 10 hours and was then able to make a bike of his own. Though this one was pretty intact to start with, it's very cool that he knows enough to be able to fix it. Now he will be volunteering there as a facilitator (helping other people) every Thursday night.

But Tuesday, he got to take the bike out for a spin. We rode out the Boulder Creek Path into the canyon. About five miles from our place the path enters the mouth of the canyon and turns to dirt. Since Dan's bike is a mountain bike he was cruising on this part! It was a ton a fun and we're looking forward to doing a lot more biking in woods and open space around here.

What else? I've been interviewing quite a bit and it looks like I'll be work part time as an elementary school music teacher (yes, little kids---ahhh!) for the next year. I only need to go in three days a week so that will give me some time to try out other things. I'll also be teaching for the LifeLong Learning program here in town. It should be a different challenge to teach teachers.

Well, that's it for now. Tomorrow we're going up to RoMo (Rocky Mountain National Park) with Matt to camp and hike for the weekend. It should be a lot of fun, despite the snow in the forecast. Check pack for some pictures Sunday night! Then Dan's parents come for a visit starting Tuesday. It will certainly be fun to show them around town. Oh, yeah, school starts on Tuesday, too. They start very early out here but finish up by Memorial Day.

Boulder Weekend Part 2

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Sunday is climbing day. So, we got up this morning and went back to the Gregory Canyon/Amphitheater Area at the foot of Flagstaff Mountain. Dan led what we thought was a 5.2 route up the first pinnacle. It was not the route we thought it was, as most of the climbing was 5.6 or 5.7. Dan also had a difficult time with the route finding and really meandered his way up. The top of the pinnacle, about 110ft off the deck, was very pretty and offered great view of the surrounding rock.





We rappelled down the north side of the rock and tried to find another route to climb and then eventually get back to our packs. Unfortunately, our guide book sucks and we didn't find what we were looking for. Being that it was around 1:00 it started raining a bit, as it does every afternoon, so we decided to pack it up. We left the parking lot straight for Neptune's to pick up a much better book for the area. Hopefully next time we'll have a more successful day.