Tower Power

FRIDAY-

11p.m. -Wrap up with work.

11:45p.m. -Start driving to Avon.

SATURDAY

2:10 a.m. -Get lost in Avon and drive around and around round abouts.

2:30 a.m. -Find John and Erin's new house.  Swap cars. John starts driving and I sleep in the back.

4:?? a.m. -Grand Junction stop.

6:30 a.m. -Arrive at Castle Valley get out and start hiking.

8:00 a.m. -Rack up and John begins mega-long first pitch of N. Face of Castleton.

12:15 p.m. -Top out. Give John shit for a minor breakdown, but secretly thank God I didn't have to lead that last heinous pitch.

12:25 p.m. -We try a simulrapp.

12:27 p.m. -I decide simulrapping is sweet.

1 p.m. -Arrive at Fine Jade in time to watch a party of three block the route.

2 p.m. -Arrive at Honeymoon Chimneys and promptly start whining that it looks like nasty off width.

2:10 p.m. -Still whining.

2:15 p.m. -Pony up.

3:00 p.m. -After a lot of cussing I accomplish half of the pitch and demand to be lowered. I'm now exhausted, sweaty and shaking.

3:10 p.m. -John Lie backs the off width and the Chimney opens up with ample protection and easier moves.

3:30 p.m. -The rope get stuck on second I take a big TR whipper and have to jug on tiblocs then proceed to lead the next unprotectable 70 feet of chimney. Very spooky, very cool.

4:30 p.m. -John starts complaining that he's cramping up, but the next pitch looks nasty and I don't want to do it.

6:?? p.m. -We swing the last pitch to the top.  

7 p.m. -Darkness is now approaching as we simulrapp back inside the very dark chimney- cave and eventually to the bottom in pitch blackness.

8 p.m. -After repeated stubbed toes we find our headlamps and chug the rest of our water reserves before starting the brutal hike out.

9 p.m. -My spirits are high although the hike is very brutal and I think I may be hallucinating. John is complaining of dehydration. I half fall down the scree when I believe a white wolf is stalking me. Yeah I was tripping out.

10 p.m. -Back in camp, no fire, no beer, no hot food, no speaking.  Just calories and liquids and sleep in the Subaru.

SUNDAY 

6 a.m. -Consciousness reveals a puzzled look on John's face after I was touching his face.  Oh my God; are we spooning?  I've been so lonely lately.

9 a.m.  -Up and moving. As we load up, a friendly conversation reveals our plans for Sister Superior. Unbeknownst to us a large group of climbers leaves camp quietly. 

10 a.m. -Road Closures-Moab Marathon? Head scratching ensues.

10:30 a.m. -We arrive at an impassable  washout and it is hotter than blazes and oh shit there are like ten kids passing us to get on Jah Man.

12:30 p.m. -We've given up hope of doing another climb today.  There are three parties on Jah Man and two waiting.  We wait.

1:30 p.m. -Waiting.

2 p.m. -Waiting.

2:30 p.m. -We smoke the first two pitches... Waiting. The other climbers are a bunch of kids out of Gunnison; nice, but slow.

2:45 p.m. -As is my style I switch pitches so John has to do the crux.  Sucker.

3 p.m. -Thin steep hands for the next next pitch. Awe man!  Weak.

3:30 p.m. -We top out and the gunny crew is still hanging out.  The gears start turning and as soon as they offer us a spot on their 70-meter rapp we're already stacked and clipped in and gone to a far better ledge.

4 p.m. -We walk out ahead of the others and head back to the car in perfect weather.  I officially end the 2009 climbing season.

 

  

My new ten speed

Above- Shots from the Crest Crank on the Monarch Crest Trail and the start of the Vapor 125 Enduro.

After a summer of watching all of the cool kids ride around the block on their cool bikes I finally broke down and bought one of my own.
If there's one thing that people in Salida love to do it's probably boating the Ark, but for the rest of the season they love to ride bicycles.
Most of the folk here have at least two if not five rides. The townie or cruiser is a must, then there's the mountain bikes (one for downhill and a single speed 29er for cross country) and the road bikers have road bikes. People love their bikes so much a town of about 6,000 people supports three bike shops.
I got the bug riding the Crest Crank in early September with my buddy Brian Ward after working a deal to get a free loaner from Absolute.
After a lot of shopping I finally turned up a bike at a garage sale for just over a hundo. Well it might not be the cool ten speed I was holding my breath for, but it will get me around the trials until I find something better.

Colorado summer revisited

So unless Bailey on the South Platte comes in, Gore Canyon of the Upper Colorado
was my last trip of the season. Kate is running Tunnel Falls above and below are
some natural springs she knew about out on the Pumphouse section.

Turf house veterans get down at the annual White Trash Party.

Below is the only evidence that I actually ran some whitewater. This
was Castle Creek through Aspen and it was posted on LVM by
Rob Hurst.Visit the link at the bottom of the post to see Rob's pictures.

Hydrological constellations must align causing mountain tides to draw in river rats. It causes the Arkansas Valley to become the center of the boating universe; if only for a few short months.
As far as the river scene goes I had a great time living here. Between work days I made it onto the Ark a few times and checked out a couple other runs in the process, but as I gain confidence as a boater I realize there's a lot out there to learn. I invested time with RMOC early in the season to get checked out as a guide however with a slow start to the commercial season I only guided a handful of trips by the time the water dropped. That's where Kate and the "Turf" crew come in.
My kayaking was deeply intertwined with a Wednesday phenomenon they call Disco Night and it's proximity to the Numbers Buena Vista. Every Wednesday throughout rafting season the guide population that floods Buena Vista every summer descends on the Lariat Bar. Guides dressed to the nines, or should I say half dressed... sometimes undressed, get unconscionably inebriated then bump and grind to classic hits from the 70's and early 80's until the point of blacking out.
Essentially Kate, an RMOC kayak guide, and I would embark on an after work run on the Numbers; a classic class IV about an hour north of Salida. Getting off the water at dusk we'd head straight to the "Turf House". Kate's friends, mostly AAE guides, were sleeping somewhere between eight and a dozen people in a 3 bedroom house that the owner had installed astro-turf around so the tenants couldn't, as hard as they tried, kill the grass. Upon destroying a handle of cheap whiskey the party would carry over to Disco and depending on the next days work load sometimes we'd go kayaking again the next day. With minor variations this is how I spent my days off through the summer.
My paddling improved a bit, however I didn't get my camera out as much as I would have liked. There are some things that will remain in solely in my memory. Now that many the river rats have migrated to follow the high water I'll be waiting until next spring.

Special thanks to Kate Stepen. You were always down to go boating, no matter how bad those ducky trips were. Rob Hurst- Thanks for snaping a few photos and throwing one of me on LVM. Mean Gene- Thanks for saving my boat. Jacob- Thanks for making me feel better about losing my boat. Thanks to Brie, Mac, Dustin, Charlie, Jenny Sass, ect. ect. ect. for keeping the Turf real. http://www.lvmvideo.com/2009/07/05/co-update-castle-creek-and-south-fork-crystal/

Armstrong demolishes local MTB race

Shots of Armstrong riding across the finish line and arriving at the 6:30 a.m.  start. 

As well as a course shot of Armstrong riding ahead of a Trek rider to the left and 

six-time defending champion Dave Weins wearing bib number one.   

(Leadville is about an hour north of Salida and the company I work for owns the paper there.  I received a press pass to cover the event.)  

After coming out of retirement and taking third place in the Tour De France Lance Armstrong returned to Leadville Saturday for some unfinished business.

Fresh off the tour Armstrong, now 37, left the pack after the 45th mile finishing the race at 6:28.50.9 seconds, breaking Dave Wiens’ former record of 6:45:46 by almost 17 minutes.

The seven time Tour de France Winner competed in the 2008 competition while in his third year of retirement with little training. He subsequently took second place last year behind Wiens, the six-time Leadville 100 champion from Gunnison.

Armstrong’s appearance in 2008 brought in a record number of riders for 2009, nearly 1,400 including a group of professional riders recruited by Armstrong for support in the race.

Trek sponsored riders Matt Shriver, Ben Sonntag and Travis Brown of Durango arrived at the start with Armstrong and remained in a group of about six leaders including Armstrong, Weins and Cannondale rider Tinker Juarez through the first third of the race.

Wiens said the riders pace was faster than the previous years due to the additional athletes and faster pace cars leading the group out of town.  

“The whole dynamic was hard for me.  My legs were wrecked immediately. Last year I was pressing the pedal at mile 45. It was a different race (this year). I was cooked on the first climb,” said Wiens.

In addition to the advanced pace, varied weather conditions left riders feeling the chill. With a low of 37 degrees recorded in Leadville just before the 6:30 a.m. start, sporadic rain showers passed through the area as the riders began the series of high altitude passes that make the race a test of endurance.

"There were probably six or seven guys on the way out, then guys just kept dropping off. So I sort of had to decide what to do. If you wait for other guys or if you just sort of go for the rest of race by yourself. It was a little risky to do that,” Armstrong said. “In the end you're wasted, but I rolled the dice a little bit. Plus I was freezing. I wanted to start riding hard because I was about to freeze."

Armstrong turned the race into a ‘time trial” situation.  From that point forward he gained time leading Weins by more than 10 minutes at about the 65th mile.

The only thing that slowed Armstrong was a slow leaking flat tire at about 10 miles from the finish line.

"I don't normally change flats. I call up the car and they change it, that's how it works in road cycling," Armstrong said. “When I'm out on a ride and have to change one, I'm just terrible at changing flats. So that's why I just put more air in it, thinking that foam would seal it.”

Armstong pushed on with a slow leak arriving at the finish line with a sagging rear wheel.  Weins, now 44, finished in second with a time of 6:57:01.

Ring my Bell

With a distinct reddish hue and a glassy pond underneath the Maroon Bells are the most photographed features in Colorado.  They also have a reputation as two of the more difficult 14,000 foot peaks to hike due to precipitously loose rock and very direct routes straight up the things.

I was stoked to get up both of them and never have to climb those chossy peaks again. Widerman rallied me to Independence Pass at 4 a.m. and we were gaining elevation above Aspen by 6.  

We chose the Northeast Ridge of North Maroon because it's straight forward and safe.  Then we headed across the Bells Traverse to South Maroon and back because it's super exposed, class 5 and sketchy.  Yeah, what was the thought process behind that?

There were a handful of class five sections (enough to get your heart racing).  We could have used a half length alpine rope, because there were three strategically placed rappel anchors to descend some small head walls in the traverse.  Down climbing and re-climbing them wasn't bad though and saving the weight was in our best interest.    

Pervertical Sanctuary

Proposed routes in blue and completed route in red. My squiggles may be a little bit off.

John making the first of three rappels  down to Broadway at 4:45 a.m.

Late afternoon view of the Diamond from camp at the Boulderfield.

Boulder climbers on D7 above and John on Broadway below.

As the climb turned into a series tiny finger locks and the crack system disappeared into more of a water channel I took a breath of the thin 13,000 ft. air, pushed a tiny .3 inch cam into the rock and embarked what appeared to be a strenuous lie back up to (hopefully) easier climbing. As I edged up higher above my last piece of protection everything fell apart. Without warning my foot blew of the lichen covered rock and got caught behind the rope. It looped around my ankle and kicked me upside down before catching my weight and slamming me shoulders and head first into the wall leaving me dangling above Mill's Glacier nearly 1,000 ft. below.

Pervertical Sanctuary is a route up the Diamond formation on Longs Peak in the Front Range of Colorado. The formation is more than 900 ft. of vertical face that lies entirely above 13,000 feet and it has dozens of climbs in addition to the route we were on. Or in my case the route I thought I was on. Well if you've been looking at the blog at all over the last six months it's apparent that my climbing partner, John Widerman, and I have been climbing consistently and as long as I'm living in Colorado there's a checklist of climbs I'd like to accomplish with the Diamond at the top.
Longs Peak was most likely climbed by Native Americans hunting for eagle feathers however the first european expedition was assembled out of John Wesley Powell's surveying expedition in 1868 via a non-technical route. The Diamond face wouldn't see a first ascent until 1960 with several lines developed throught the 1970's.
Many professional climbers are still pushing their limits on the face; as recently as September of 2008 Steph Davis free soloed the route we accomplished Pervertical Sanctuary, while Tommy Caldwell and Topher Donahue climbed five free routes on the Diamond in one day during the 2002 season. Among other accomplishments Caldwell went on to free the Nose route on El Cap in 2005.
Our goal wasn't to push the boundaries of climbing however just to tick off some great climbs on a a classic North American alpine wall. The initial intention was to do three routes over the course of four nights sleeping on the mountain, however the approach, descent and our abilities impaired those ambitions.
The famed British climber Doug Scott once said, “The Himalayas are a great place to train for Longs Peak.”
After yo-yoing up and down the peak, both on and off the wall, it became apparent that we were exhausted and maybe a little bit out of our league, so although I've never been to the Himilaya I can sympathize with the remark.
The first night we went up to scout the wall it had stopped raining just before dusk and it was unuasually calm. Several hundred feet below we heard course yelling and saw two climbers still on the wall. After a brief exchange we established they had gotten their ropes stuck well rappelling and needed search and rescue assistance. There wasn't much we could do except try to hike out far enough to place a 911 call. I'm not sure what happened in the long run, however they weren't there at when we returned at 5:30 a.m. .
We got some excellent advice where to sleep and how to approach from Mike Soucy, a friend and guide who works for Colorado Mountain School. The advice was great, but it was very dependent on the fact that we would summit successfully. After second guessing our course and getting into the epic pitch (cited above), calling it quits turned out to be significantly difficult.
My breakdown resulted on a route called the Curving Vine, just right of where we were supposed to be.
I sucked it up, tried to climb though, had to aid the crux, ripped off a dinner plate sized rock, dropped some gear and after wasting a good hour plus the clouds started building. We made the call to bail.
Bailing looked like an easy two step proccess rap off the face to the glacier and make the walk of shame back to camp. We made the call at 1:30 p.m., but after six rappels down and nearly 1,000 feet of elevation gain in hiking over several miles we got back to camp at 8 p.m., completely wrecked. The call was good though because a violent hail storm battered the climbers still on the wall after we got back to the glacier.
Round two was more successful. With better route beta, an extra hour start and having our gear all racked and ready we cruised. John took the 10c crux pitch, although many reviews say that since the 1975 FFA that rating is a bit sandbagged and it's more like 11a. Regardless the route was consistantly steep to oveerhanging and was the real deal in Alpine Mountaineering.

Limestone Caves

So the name of the climb above was "Turd in the Punchbowl" 12a. I don't think the name did it justice.       The natural springs below were something else.

John on "uckfay ushbay" - a sweet 11a.   Below is Phil entering the CAVE!

John has been talking up this place called Lime Creek for the last month and to be quite honest I was a little bit skeptical. It seems like there is a recurring trend that remote crags go in and out of style and the hype is usually built up too much. To his credit the spot was actually pleasant.
My last real climbing trip was out to Rifle and it was amazing how many people there were and how polished the rock was. Lime Creek was the same style of single pitch limestone sport climbing, however we saw a group of climbers leaving as we went in and that was about it; we had the camping and crags to ourselves for the next two days.
My big regret was that I wasn't feeling very strong when I got out there, but in the long run going on a camping trip with friends in a remote setting and looking at new rocks was what I needed.
The big surprise of the trip was after we were rained off the rock however. Phil is a great geologist and he has a penchant for explaining the names and formation of the rocks that I enjoy climbing on so much. Phil pointed out that we were on the Leadville Limestone formation and after looking at a large natural spring he speculated about the underground river system that lays beneath the rock.
Phil had mentioned a cave in the vicinity of Lime Creek and to be quite honest I didn't pay it much mind until we were on our way back to Vail with an afternoon to kill.
I wasn't sure what to make of Fullfort Cave as I found myself wiggling backwards down what appeared to be an irrigation culvert with an extension ladder inside. After about 40 feet of this the cave opened up into a larger chamber and went back forever. While maybe not forever, but we probably went more than an eighth of a mile back and only saw a piece.
It was a cold and dark labyrinth with passages that led up through chimineys and down shafts with ropes adding a sense of security to the muddy slick descents. I thought the underground river and waterfalls were cool, but Phil swore up and down that he knew of a secret room with more traditional stactites. We never found it, but that's a good reason to go back.