Had a chance to check out Eureka and South Mineral some more. Still pretty slim pickings.
We climbed Stairway on Wed. It was a little more engaging than usual, but there were a few decent screws and all the fixed anchors were easy to use.

Then we went to SMC today. We climbed the DNF thru the first three big steps via the M5 variation on the right of the 1st major pillar. Fun choss scaling, all you need is a grey C3.

There was a friendly party of 3 on the route as we rapped. Pictured below is their leader topping out on the slightly wet main pillar crux.

We went over and climbed Snowblind thru the first chockstone, the rest looked fine as well, but Davy caught a piece of ice with his nose and we opted for PBR at the Brown Bear.

Slow start, but some climbing can be done. Cheers, CC.

Eureka

Went over to check out Eureka today. Still pretty bony. I went part way up Gully 2, but every pocket of snow was cracking out, so I opted to bail before the final gully. Jim T. soloed Stairway though after I left, said the top outs were a little spicy but overall pretty fun.

Probably best to wait a bit longer before heading onto the ice for most folks.

Cheers. Think Cold Thoughts. CC

Skiing!

Our AMGA exam was cancelled today due to snow - so what else to do but get out and play in it!?

Ryan, Tracy, Bean and I (along with Avellana and Stella) went out later in the day on the second wave (Clint got out before us) for some wiggling in the white fluffy stuff.

While still a bit shallow of a snowpack - we had some great turns just off Red Mountain Pass. Here are some photos...

Seems like winter may be here to stay now?!

Ice climbing for Halloween

I think this may have been my earliest outing ever for ice... and what a great day it was. Drove up Eureka to take the skis and ice tools for a walk. On the drive we noticed a little flow just south of Whorehouse that looked good - and no skis needed. We drove a little higher to make sure it was the best looking flow; here's the report:

Stairway - thin, fragile looking, but had ice on all the pitches
1st & 2nd gullies and the rest of the S. facing flows - very wet, thin and falling down
Whorehouse - thin and lots of water, a little ice

Heard news of some very wet conditions and marginal ice in S. Mineral Creek, but didn't check it out.

Here's the flow we climbed. Sorry for the bad pic - all I had was the cell phone...


Also worthy of noting - there was good ice forming up on Gravity's Rainbow and the ice up in Bear Creek. The afternoon heat is melting it all fast though...

The Dolomites!

Just wrapped up 11 straight fantastic days in the Dolomites with Paul M. As always the company was fantastic, and the climbing was pretty good too! Here's the breakdown.

The view of the Tofana from Hotel Montana.

A friendly slobber to welcome us to Cortina! I'm a sucker for Saints.Day One. Paul cruising up Via Miriam on Torre Grande in the Cinque Torri. A classic 8 pitch UIAA V+, and a great way to get feel for the dolomite. Day Two: Torre Piccola di FalzaregoContemplating the Italian good life on top.Day 3: Torre Grande di Falzarego, just a little bigger and harder.Day 4: A well deserved rest day of sport climbing at Crepe du Oucera. Paul cranking away on the steep French grade 5c.Day 5: Spigolo Jori on Punta Fiames. Can you spot the line?
A little bit of air between Paul and the track as we approach the arete proper.On top with the hikers. Where did we come from?
Day 6: We went sport climbing at Sas di Stria. Too many pitches of French 5 to count.
Day 7: The Primo Spigolo, Tofana di Rozes. What can you say, its primo.10 pitches in with the famed Pilastro behind.Beautiful line. Worth another look.Day 8: The Grande linkup of the Torri di Falzarego. Clouds threatened, but Paul was getting pretty fast by now. Brits and Germans provided some good entertainment and motivation, but we were the first to the top!
Day 9: Via Ferrata di Innerkofler to the top of Paterno.

Day 10: Sport climbing in the rain under the huge overhangs at Landro. Paul cranked out 10+ pitches of stellar limetone that day, impressive. He was insistent we were first to be there, last to leave. the other guide thought we were a little weird, but dedicated.

Day 11: The beautiful Mazzorana route on Piz Popena Basso. Only 5 pitches, but sweet stemming for the last 60 meters. Then the crux of the trip, negotiating Piazza di Roma in the heart of Venice. Paul made it in, and i made it out alive. Mission accomplished.

The gorgeous Croda di Lago. Next year Paul?

Summer in the San Juans

Its been a great summer season in the San Juans this year. We've had lots of great adventures all over the range. I've slacked a little on blogging regularly so here are a few highlights.

Rainbow Overflow in the Uncompaghre Gorge

Beautiful Blue Lakes from the pass.

Grady makes the FA of Grilled Cheese Sandwich 5.7. One of the new sport routes put up by SJMG guides in the Pool Wall Alcove.

I'll keep working on this, I'm in Italy! CC

Mt Wilson - El Diente Traverse

I had the pleasure of spending the weekend with JD from Highlands Ranch. We have had a few adventures together over the years, including a fast ascent of the Tre Monts Route on Mont Blanc.

We started off with a day of rock climbing in the Alcove. Below is JD working up into the crux stemming moves on Groove Tube 5.9.

After that we packed up and hiked into Navajo Basin. We had some hail on the hike, but it was beautiful camping in the upper basin. We got up at 0330 and started climbing up the steep snow couloir on Mt. Wilson's North Face.
We climbed the 1500 feet of good neve, and headed over to the summit block on Mt. Wilson.
After topping Mt Wilson, the weather was holding ok, so we headed across the ridge to El Diente.
There are a couple ways to make the traverse. What I like to call the climber's traverse or the hiker's traverse. We opted for the high line and did the majority of the traverse on the crest itself.

As you approach El Diente, the ridge becomes more sharp and you are faced with this drop-off. An airy 20m rappel leads to the notch on El Diente and the summit shortly thereafter.
We descended the North Couloir on El Diente, and made the hike to camp and out to the trailhead. One of the sweetest ridges in the state. Good work JD!

Cheers, CC.