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Climbing, Adventure, Gear & Choss
The End of One Season, The Beginning of Another
The setting sun lights up the Cliffs of Insanity after a passing storm.
The time has sadly come to bid farewell to the desert until the cool weather of fall settle’s back in. We were blessed with several great trips, including watching our friend crush 40 pitches in a day for his 40th birthday. We also had some good personal breakthroughs, and we’re looking forward to putting it all together when the sun gets low in the sky again.
On that note, having made the switch to rock climbing year round, it’s cool how there is always something to look forward to, and it gives each season a different perspective. In the winter, we chased the sun, which feels kind of like cheating since most of the year we run from its harsh stare. Now that’s it’s warming up (sort of), we turn our attention to the local choss haven of Rifle, and the incredibly fun climbing there.
The first couple days felt a little strange, like being a teenage boy at a high school dance, but the familiarity of the movement is returning, and we’re looking forward to a lot of learning (read: falling) on the blocky limestone walls. It’s also super fun to have a cliff that you see all your friends at every weekend, kind of like walking into the bar on Cheers.
But maybe the best part of year round climbing, aside from the fact that the fun never stops, is that the end of the season at one venue is merely the beginning at another.
One Response to The End of One Season, The Beginning of Another
Bulldog Creek Dog Walk (IV WI 4+)
Hayden Carpenter and Tom Bohanon recently repeated an obscure ice climb on the south side of Mt Sopris. Given a brief mention in Jack Robert’s ice guide, Bulldog Creek Walk is described as being 100 meters of WI 4. What they found was seven pitches of ice in a remote setting that makes for one […]
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I totally agree. Here in Western NC (Boone) we’re blessed to have year round climbing with a focus on bouldering in the fall and winter and routes in the summer time (even if it is a little manky). I love transitioning between the different styles–there’s always something that feels new to get psyched about.