April 13th, 2008
File this one under something I didn’t think I would do for a long time, climb the ultra-classic line the Yellow Spur in Eldorado Canyon. The Yellow Spur is a beautiful 6 pitch route on the famed Redgarden Wall(look closely for 2 climbers on the crux pitch near the top). Eldo 5.10 routes are definitely at my climbing limit right now but I was encouraged by the fact that there are old pitons and bolts at the 10a crux that allows you to aid climb the pitch if needed.
Since Greg had commitments on Sunday morning we weren’t able to start climbing until about 2 p.m. Originally we planned to climb the Green Spur but when another party was on that route and the Yellow Spur was wide open, the time had arrived. To move as efficiently and quickly as possible we decided I would follow Charlie while Greg would lead up Tara and Ray behind us. The first pitch has a 5.9 roof to pull which everyone did fine except for me. I was a bit pumped from rock and ice climbing the previous day so pulling the roof was a bit desperate but I got it eventually.
Pitch 2 and 3 are fairly straight forward 5.8 pitches we were making good time up the massive Redgarden Wall. Just as it would be mine turn to follow Charlie, Greg would arrive at the belay and bring Tara and Ray up behind him. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky so weather wasn’t a concern at all.
Pitch 4 had a nice hand traverse to the right below a huge roof that led to a very exposed belay stance. The nature of the climb definitely changes right here, the exposure ratchets up intensely and staring up at the crux is a bit unnerving as it is dead vertical pointing to the heavens. Looking hundreds of feet straight down between your legs doesn’t help much either.
Charlie led off and got through most of the crux before having to pull on a draw. He has climbed it clean before and it was his first day climbing outside this year so he wasn’t too concerned, wish I could lead the Yellow Spur right out the gates!! I was actually relieved a bit because if Charlie had to pull on a draw, then I felt exempt from having to clean the pitch myself.
I was hoping to just be able to get through the crux any way I could, cleanly or aided made no difference to me; I just needed to get through it. Given the late hour in the afternoon I also wanted to get through the crux as quickly as possible to not hold Greg, Tara and Ray up waiting for me. It wasn’t pretty at all but I made it, having to aid the pitch which was actually kind of fun because I have never done it before. It was one more really short pitch to the top and Charlie and I topped out probably around 6 p.m. or so.
We sat on top for awhile waiting for Greg, Tara, and Ray but the wind was whipping so we downclimbed to the notch where the rappels begin. After awhile Greg topped out of the crux pitch and told us to go ahead and descend without waiting for them. Greg had climbed the Yellow Spur before, knew the rappel descent well, and they all had headlamps so we knew they would be fine.
The first 2 rappels are pretty straight forward and no problem with a 60 meter rope. A party rappelling ahead of us had a 70 meter rope and told us we could rappel off their rope for the final rappel since we would be able to just barely reach the ground with a 70 meter. While I was rappelling I stopped about 30 feet from the ground, it looked like there was no way I would be able to reach the ground before the end of the rope. The group assured me I would make it so I continued down very cautiously and sure enough, just as my toes touch the ground the rope popped through my belay device.
Greg and company had to do the last rappel in the dark but made it down without incident as well and we all reconvened at the Southern Sun. It was a fabulous day on a beautiful climb with sunshine, friendship, and the spirit-rejuvenating energy that only a limit-pushing day in the mountains can provide. I didn’t think I would be climbing the Yellow Spur for years. I’d like to go back sometime and get it cleanly, but right now I’m too ecstatic to care.
This past weekend the gang made the annual pilgrimage over to the desert single track trails of Fruita and Grand Junction. Despite one of us suffering a separated shoulder and myself banging up my knee, spraining a finger, breaking a rear derailleur, and getting 4 flat tires we managed to get some decent riding in. We managed to ride Gunni Slide, Lemon Squeezer, Holy Cross, Horsethief Bench, Mary’s Loop, and part of Moore fun until I depleted the whole gang’s allotment of spare tubes. Below is a photo of the gang getting ready to descend The Ribbon before all the carnage ensued.
At the beginning of March the gang invaded the beautiful sandstone of Red Rock just outside of Las Vegas for 3 days of climbing. Camping out Wednesday night was extremely cold, some Gatorade that was left outside froze overnight so the temps were definitely down in the 20s. I had my 32 degree summer bag and it definitely wasn’t enough, luckily every subsequent night got progressively warmer.
On Thursday Matt, Greg and I climbed Frogland, a 6 pitch 5.8 in the Black Velvet Canyon. This north face route was a bit chilly in the shade but Matt saved the day by bringing some chemical hand warmers that we all were grateful for. On Friday Matt and Greg were off to climb Levitation 29, a tough 5.11b so Tara, Ray, and I did some single pitch routes in the Willow Springs area including Curving Crack. Friday night the rest of the gang arrived including Brie, Carolyn, Jason, and Andrea.
Saturday the whole group assaulted Johnny Vegas, a very fun 4 pitch 5.7. Greg, Carolyn, and I led the way with Ray and Tara following up behind us. We made pretty good time so we decided to press on and climb Solar Slab until we needed to rap off and get Tara and Ray to the airport. Once the sun went behind the mountain and the wind kicked up things got a bit chilly. We spent much of the rappels shivering to stay warm but we manage to make it down just before dark. Photos of the journey are below:
Well the ski-mountaineering documentary STEEP finally came Boulder. I had been waiting for this movie to hit Boulder for a long time and couldn’t contain myself, I went and watched it right after work at their 5 p.m. showing. The movie definitely didn’t disappoint at all, and I had my expectations set really, really high. This movie is very different than your typical Warren Miller or Teton Gravity Research flix. It is a documentary chronicling the evolution of ski-mountaineering in the continental United States, Europe, and also Canada and Alaska. The story follows some of the pioneers like Bill Briggs that put big mountain skiing on the map and also the next generation like Doug Coombs who took it to a higher level. Being a Wyoming native I especially enjoyed the tale of Bill Brigg’s first ski descent of The Grand and also the glimpse into Doug Coombs’ life before it ended much too shortly. I went into the movie completely drained and in a bad mood from a long work week and came out of it completely inspired and invigorated. This movie will either speak to your soul and you’ll dream of taking your own personal games to the next level. Or you’ll be left scratching your head saying, “I just don’t get it, why do they do it?” If you have to ask, you’ll never understand. Anyway, I can’t recommend this movie enough. Here’s the trailer:
Also, for another fine film featuring Bill Briggs and Doug Coombs skiing The Grand CLICK HERE.
On Saturday Greg and I met up for some climbing at Hiddens Falls near the Wild Basin area of Rocky Mtn. National Park. Despite going to far on the trail and having to do some bushwhacking in thigh deep snow, we were the first party to arrive at the falls. The day ended up getting a little crowded, but everyone was cool and swapped ropes and we were able to get about 4 or 5 laps in. Photos are below:
Welcome to my blog, here you will find reports, photos, and videos from my various adventures in the Rockies and beyond. My main hobbies are climbing (rock and peak bagging), biking (mountain and road), snowboarding (resort and backcountry on my splitty), and any other activity that gets me outside. I have a website devoted to solely to mountain climbing here which has trip reports of all of Colorado 14ers, many on the Western state's highpoints, and Wyoming mountains in the Tetons and Wind Rivers.
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