Shark's Breath in September

Tara's son, Trent, does a fine job following my lead on Shark's Breath. He did not care for it all that much. It was a little too long to stay in uncomfortable shoes, there were a lot of draws to unclip and reclip, and it is a very exposed climb. Trent's a really good climber who is very thoughtful when figuring out the best way up a rock. I love his calm and pleasant demeanor even on a route that's not his favorite. We also spent a little time on Boxcars and Airplanes. I found that scarier, because it's such a long way between the bolts. Trent, however, loved it and tried it 3 different times, starting out in different directions.

The Conn Diagonal and Jugs, September 28

The Conn Diagonal is one of those Hills classics that I've been wanting to do for a couple of years now. It gets great afternoon sun, but on a beautiful fall day like we had, the temperature was great even in the morning shade. Joel and I found Chris in the Sylvan Lake parking lot around 9 am. He hadn't seen any sign of his climbing partner so, to our good fortune, he joined us.

Chris leads the first pitch.


Joel approaches the first belay station then will keep going to lead the second pitch.

I think this is where the famous traverse starts. For some reason I had vertigo the whole climb. I had a very hard time getting out of that little space and unto the wall. Much whimpering ensued. It's odd to feel fear when I wasn't actually afraid of falling or being dropped or any bad things happening. It was just fear. I found it strange. At least my fashion sense is still good.

Chris's outfit works nicely with the fall color.

Joel, sporting man-pris, with Chris on this grand, spacious summit. You could have a picnic or a game of twister.

We set up a toprope on Jugs, a not particularly well protected sport climb on the flip side of the diagonal. Chris of course just glided up it like it was some easy little thing. He could've at least grunted a couple of times. I spent about a half hour trying to work out a stickly little section which was much closer to the ground than I first realized. There are a few notable times when height is a factor. This would be one. With great envy I watched Joel stand on this near-ledge and stretch up to a huge jug right past the section I couldn't get.

I thought the downclimb to get out of there was frightening. I prefer much larger holds when it appears I will be stepping back into an abyss. It wasn't at all frightening with a belay, so I was fine. Chris and Joel didn't seem bothered at all.

Tricouni Nail, September 19

Joel had been itching to lead Tricouni Nail for awhile so who were we to deny him? It was after noon before we started; the temperature was good in both the shade and the sun.

Joel's shown here early in the climb; most of the route was in the sun. Mark and I had to climb through a little more shade by the time we went up. It took about an hour to get the three of us to the top and finish all our picture-taking.

Mark staying ahead of the shadows. Joel up on his hanging belay.

Photographic proof I made it to the top.

Another view from the summit.

For more pictures, check the link above.

Not Climbing on June 24

When making plans with teenagers remember that they might end up grounded and not be able to go.

When making plans with adults remember they have busy lives and are easily distracted.

Remember the old "we'll-leave-a-note-on-the-windshield" plan depends on many things going just right.

Remember it's always good to have a back-up plan. Let's say you're going to meet some people at a lake on a hot day but you never find them. If you brought your swimsuit and a floaty thing you would be quite content.

Relief from the Blistering Heat

So maybe it hits a 107 degrees fahrenheit in town; that doesn't mean a person can't find a pleasant place to be. Skip, Cindy, Tara, Shayna and I decided to meet at the crack of dawn, or 9 am, whichever we could manage, to increase our chances of finding a comfortable climbing place.

We met at Sylvan Lake and hiked back to the site of Pumpfest '06. The routes on the rock we picked were completely shaded until noon. Tara and I team-led the bolted route to the far right. We set up 3 ropes on permanent anchors. The belays were shady till shortly before noon, although we had to move very close to the rock.

After 1 pm good shade could be found in front of Krull's Market in Hill City. Interior cooling devices such as Bomb Pops could be found inside Krull's Market.

Pantsplitter on a Hot June Day

Mark's at the summit, but wait, the summit is only the middle of the climb. How fortunate for me, I get to do my first gear lead on toprope. And I only need one piece. There was no hiding from the sun on this climb. And I did want to.

Mark and I hiked in with Lindsay to look for the complement to Even Steven, Uneven Steven, a Conn route she was looking for. These routes are in the neighborhood of Calamity Peak. The easiest access is accross private land, which we had permission to enter. We stopped to talk to a neighbor who was painting a fence. Trim and elderly, grey hair in a bun, she told us the first time she had clambered up Calamity Peak was in her patent leather shoes and Sunday dress when she was about 6. She said she'd spent a lot of time climbing around those rocks. When Lindsey asked if she'd used ropes she said, "Aww no, I'm from around here."

Sharp and Grace Note, Noon on April 25

Mark and Tara pause on the path to the One-Two gully. Yes, that's snow on the ground and Mark in a T-shirt.
Mark is at the crux. It's not tough, but it has that nice committing feel when you leave the security of the chimney and step onto the face.

Tara styles up the lower section.

Pat, our fearless leader of the day, sets his first piece of gear. He looks like he's in the sun, but it's a trick of light. The crack was cold and it was a chilly belay.

We didn't climb Grace Note, but both climbs start the same. You begin in the crack/chimney to the left, step right onto the face and head to the crack on the right; follow the crack up to the notch. For Grace Note, you spiral around the back of the spire to the left. It seems like there's a bush you have to climb through. For Sharp, head up the ridge to the right. It's very fun, but could stand to have some permanent anchors. Mark donated his 30 foot cordalette for us to wrap around the spire to rap off of. There are no pictures of the summit because I ran out of batteries.