This week is my birthday so while this video inspires me at any time of the year, it is particularly inspiring this week. Enjoy and get out there.
My favorite line: “We all have dreams. But they don’t mean much if we don’t act on them. If we put them in a drawer labeled someday.”
It’s desert season and I’m anxiously flipping through guidebooks to prepare for an upcoming Moab trip to climb some towers.
Here is Holier Than Thou, a classic face climb on The Nuns in Castle Valley, Utah.
Holier Than Thou on The Nuns, Castle Valley, Utah.
Spring is in the air here in the Roaring Fork Valley. Warm temperatures and sunny skies have been quickly melting the snow away and prompting climbers to hit the cliffs and to venture out on weekend trips. This is a great time of year to get out.
Below, the picture of the week, is from The Cape, a climbing area south of the main climbing areas at Ibex, an obscure, out-of-the-way area in western Utah. It’s a great place to escape and get away. In November, we climbed here for three days and saw one car. Glorious!
View from The Cape at Ibex, Utah.
I recently read Pete Takeda’s An Eye at the Top of the World. Not my favorite book but an interesting story about climbing, the CIA and a Cold War attempt to spy on the Chinese with a plutonium-powered surveillance device. What’s not to like about a story with those elements? Check out this video to hear about the story and if you’re really interested, check out the book.
The Pleasure Pillar in Rifle Mountain Park, CO.
Prepare to have your palms sweat while watching Alex Honnold in Mexico on what may be the biggest, hardest free solo ever. Enjoy you Monday!
Warm weather has hit the area but have no fear, there is still ice to climb! Here’s a look at current conditions in Rifle Mountain Park. As usual, give us a call at 970-319-0656 if you’re interested in sticking your tools into some ice!
Final Curtain at Rifle Mountain Park, CO on 2-19-14.
Tree Slab at Rifle Mountain Park, CO on 2-19-14.
Soul On Ice at Rifle Mountain Park, CO on 2-19-14.
Stone Free and Ice Palace at Rifle Mountain Park, CO on 2-19-14.
On the far right of Glenwood Falls is a lower angled, easier climb that is less susceptible to the dangers of sun and warm weather than the main, traditional line. A large pine tree is the customary rappel point for the route but the uphill side of the tree has been hammered by rock fall and has a large gouge in the bark with oozing sap from at least one quartzite block making impact. A few old slings are partially or completely severed from that rock fall and serve as a stark reminder of the importance of checking what you are trusting for rappel.
Rappelling from the far right side of Glenwood Falls in Glenwood Canyon, CO.
The Final Curtain in Rifle Mountain Park is some of the most consistently forming ice in western Colorado and is a virtual playground of climbing opportunities with lines ranging from WI3 to challenging WI5. Here, Martin tackles a variation on the center or standard middle line up the Final Curtain on a beautiful, sunny day.
Ice climbing on the Final Curtain in Rifle Mountain Park, CO.
Rifle Falls State Park. No ice climbing but a beautiful winter destination when in the area of Rifle Mountain Park.
Despite a week of sun and warm temperatures in the valley, the ice in Rifle is super solid. Minus the typical stuff that suffers with prolonged exposure to the sun (Ice Palace for example), there is plenty of stuff to throw your picks at. Here’s an updated look at conditions in Rifle. Get out there and, as always, give us a call at 970-319-0656 for a guided day or personal instruction.
The Final Curtain in Rifle Mountain Park on 1-20-14. Still fat with some ill effect of the sun, particularly on the Pleasure Pillar (far right) because it gets an extra hour or more of sun a day. The nights have been cold to help things stay in shape.
Lone Tree (aka Upper Ice Cave) at Rifle Mountain Park on 1-20-14. The right side hasn’t come in like it has in recent years but the left side is a little fatter, illustrating the fickle nature of ice.
Lower Ice Cave in Rifle Mountain Park on 1-20-14. Usually of little interest to ice climbers, it’s currently looking kind of interesting and may be worth a trip, particularly if you’ve done everything else. The right side looked particularly fat, steep and sustained.
Soul On Ice in Rifle Mountain Park on 1-20-14. The lefthand pillar at the bottom has been climbed but it just doesn’t seem to want to get any fatter. Many have chosen to lead it by starting on the right and traversing left but have reported it to be pretty hard.
Stone Free and Ice Palace in Rifle Mountain Park on 1-20-14. Ice Palace, as expected, has been hammered by the sun but Stone Free has been getting climbed and looks pretty good.
Glenwood Falls on 1-20-14. Just for curiosity’s sake, Glenwood Falls is quickly disappearing with the sun and warm temperatures. Elsewhere in the canyon, Hidden Falls is fat, with a Tyrolean across the river and a trail broken in. Mystery Falls looks good from the road although it’s hard to be sure of the first pitch.
