-
Climbing, Adventure, Gear & Choss
Rants
Setting the Bar High
Starting your season in Indian Creek can be a daunting proposition. I love the climbing there, but the physical and punishing nature of it can be a lot to swallow when you haven’t climbed on real rock in a couple months. Still, we had some good friends we wanted to see, so off we went. […]
When Tomorrow Never Comes
I can only imagine how excited you were, hiking up to the base in the crisp, pre-dawn air. You’d probably been watching this thing grow, knowing it doesn’t come in often. The day before you died, I noticed the same line and thought of you, even though we hadn’t climbed together in a while. You […]
Man, I Love You Guys!
I’ve been thinking about community a lot recently, these groups of like minded people, sharing a common focus, passion or goal. What really stands out to me is the power of the groups. Like a large family, they have their problems, but the shared purpose draws them together and pushes them forward. The climbing community […]
This One’s for the Lifers
It’s hard to scroll through climbing news headlines these days without seeing mention of some young gun sending yet another hard line. And while these accomplishments are certainly worth celebrating, (and I don’t mean to sound like a hater here, because I’m not) I’m just not that impressed. Sure, it’s amazing these young climbers can […]
An Eternal, Ephemeral Love of Ice
I almost quit ice climbing after a bad year in 2007. That season ended with a near-fatal fall on a routine free solo before dark, in which a tool popped out; I narrowly arrested myself by bridging a chimney with my outstretched body, just before taking the Big Ride. Then, on my first day out […]
Aging with Grace
Every year I set out to make this climbing season the best. Until now, there’s been no question that next season will be the best. At 32 years old, though, I’m quite aware that the steady upward trend I’ve enjoyed since I started climbing at age 11 is on borrowed time. There was a day […]
Looking Back, Looking Forward
I always enjoy this time of year, when we take a moment to reflect on the year that was, and look ahead to what might be. Looking back, it was an interesting year for me, one of two distinct and contrasting halves. The first part of 2014 was filled with numerous outdoor climbing adventures, and […]
Cats at the Crag
I’d never heard of anyone bringing a cat to the cliff until I helped a couple in a van look for their lost kitty at the Superbowl camping area in Indian Creek one fall night in 2007. They’d been out for the weekend and it was time to leave, but the cat was nowhere to […]
Glimpses of Grace
Now that winter is here and the year is drawing to an end, I find myself thinking back on the time that was. There is a day from the summer that stands out in my mind in particular. We ended up having a big crew, and somehow had a popular wall in Rifle all to […]
Shine A Light
“You don’t seem that surprised,” she said. “I don’t know what to say. This is the fourth person we’ve known this year that has taken their own life.” It had been a glorious weekend, the kind I hadn’t experienced in quite some time. Good friends, great climbs, beautiful scenery. We watched a sunset from the […]
A Moment of Transcendence
My first trip to Indian Creek was in the spring of 2002. A relative newcomer on the scene compared to many, but it’s starting to feel like a little while twelve years later. I’m not particularly talented at crack climbing, but I love it with a passion that is not often there for me with […]
An Aspiring Hardman
“Hardman” – what does it take to be one? That fabled term has been thrown around by climbers since before I was born, and ever since I started reading the history and lore at age 11, I knew I wanted to be a Hardman. At first it was my understanding that a hardman was among […]
Clinging to the Moment with an Open Heart
I have a heart condition. My aortic valve doesn’t close all the way, so blood flows back in the wrong direction between heartbeats. I’ve known about it for a few years, but open-heart surgery to replace the valve was said to be at least a decade off. However, the condition has worsened much faster than […]
Twenty Years Later
Twenty years ago, sometime in mid-August, I did my first multipitch climb: the Regular Route on Chapel Pond Slab, a 700-foot excursion up smeary anorthosite. My friend Peter and I were working at a summer camp in the Adirondacks of upstate New York, and the climbing instructor had promised to take us up this route […]
Love: A Subtle Key for Sending
Let’s face it. Those of us who enjoy difficult redpoint campaigns are basically married to our projects at any given time. We put in regular hours, we think of the beta while we’re away, and the relationship often begins with a sense of giddy excitement that fades into dull familiarity by the time we finally […]
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 […]
Connect with Us
Recent Comments