Well the summer has been freaking amazing! I sent my first 5.13b, established two bouldering areas, a cliff band, and made a lot of First Ascents. Back in May I was working a route in China Cave called Bassoon. It was one of the most satisfying moments of my climbing career; being able to say that I have climbed 8a is a stepping stone for me to build on.
I sent on May 31; two days before I left for my Colorado summer. I spent two months in the South Platte. Stacey and I lived in Lake Wellington which is near Bailey, Colorado. We worked at a place called Camp Firewalker. I was encharge of Rock Climbing and Rappelling; we worked with High School aged teens to help them experience the outdoors. While there I was able to establish 30 new problems/routes. There were two bouldering area and a cliff band. I named the first area Guano Rock and the second Land of Magical Creatures. The hardest problem I ended putting up was a long standing project in that my friend found and had been trying for a couple of years. I named the problem Voldemort which ended up being V11.
The next problem that amazing route at Guano I named Quidditch V9. The mantle at the end of this problem almost made my groin explode. It is really only a one move wonder with a wicked top out!
The next amazing route was at a different area that I established this summer. The other area I named Land of Magical Creatures; mostly because I named every route after a magical creature from Harry Potter. The problem that you see when you first walk up to the boulder is amazing! It is this blunt roof arete that just begged to be climbed.
I established 20 boulder problems and 6 routes while out in Colorado. While out there I visited a few areas around Colorado Springs: Red Rock Canyon Open Space, Garden of the Gods, and Shelf Road. While in Shelf I got on a few routes, but it was so hot that only climbing in the morning was the way to go. We were there for two days and didn't get into camp till late Friday. That night we climbed a little bit, but didn't get on anything hard. The next morning I jumped on the route Bad Brains (5.12a) to try and see if I could get the onsight and I did! It is always gratifying when you haven't roped up on long sport routes to be able to onsight a grade that was once a challenge for you.
We also spent 4 days chasing the "cooler" weather at Red Rock Canyon Open Space. We got on a lot of my old favorites and tried some of the classics. My all time favorite route in RRCOS is Rethinking the Ethics it is a 5.10a slanting crack and it is absolutely amazing!
Some of the new lines that I tried this summer were Solar Flare (5.10+) which is another slanting crack and unlike Rethinking the Ethics is not bolted. It takes pretty good gear, but is also rather intense. This summer was a the summer for firsts on the slab I sent my first sandstone slab 5.11a (The Ripple Effect), onsighted 5.12a (Up Until Sunrise), and redpointed 5.13a (Jason's Bicep). In all it Red Rock Canyon Open Space is one of my favorite areas I have ever climbed at!
Jason's Bicep (5.13a)
Jason's Bicep (5.13a)
Jason's Bicep (5.13a)
Solar Flare (5.10+)
Solar Flare (5.10+)
The Ripple Effect (5.11a)
The Ripple Effect (5.11a)
The Ripple Effect (5.11a)
Since coming back to Utah I attended the Summer OR, ran the Snake River in Wyoming, and went back to work. In all it was one of best summers I have ever had. There is more to come in the way of FA's and Fall climbing!
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