OK, so better late than never, but here's the final installment of the voyage west blogs. It's hard for me to find time to blog, especially on the road, seems like I'm always moving from one thing to the next, and the blogging just has not been integrated into that flow...
Anyway, the more I reflect on the bouldering at Rocky Mountain National Park, the more I want to go back there on a regular basis. But I'd also love to check out other areas around there as well - Mt. Evans for sure, and other stuff. I have to say though, unless you have a local guide to help out, its difficult finding problems. Also, depending on the time of year, snowshoes are a must to get to certain areas. Taylor and I of course were snowshoe-less on our trip, so hiking up to Chaos Canyon proved to be difficult. Not only that, but as it is a true alpine setting, the weather is unpredictable, and packing the proper equipment can mean the difference between an enjoyable time bouldering, and being pelted by hail...
On our first attempt to get to Chaos, we were indeed pelted by hail. At the start of the 45 minute hike, we were shirtless, and borderline hot, as we climbed, it got colder, cloudier, and snowyer, until the sky opened up and dropped dime sized hail on us. We were completely unprepared, and had to make a quick decision - wait it out, or bail. Waiting it out meant waiting it out IN the weather, as there was no cover nearby, if we had made it to the field, we probably would have been fine, but that being our first trip up, we didn't know what else the hike had in store for us, so we decided to bail.
It's always difficult to get so close to an area, only to have to turn around. In all it took us about 2.5 hours of combined driving and hiking to get there, all for nothing. Oh well, next time I'll bring my showshoes and a bomber weatherproof shell. We ended up going to the Spot that night for a gym sesh, which was cool, as we'd never been there and it IS the spot...
OK, next day we tried it again - this time success! We found ourselves at some blocs just up from the Kind boulder, and then worked a bunch of stuff around the Kind area. What amazing rock, texture, features, landings, height, this rock has it all. For steep power bouldering, RMNP has got to be one of the best areas around. Taylor and I both flashed The Kind, and I did some variation of it that is supposedly V7/V8 - it felt hard, but probably more like a solid 7. I was stoked though, it took me about 20 minutes and it felt great, even carrying the finger injury, and having not bouldered for over a month probably.
In regards to the cities of Boulder and Denver, I have to be honest, I wasn't too impressed. Maybe I'm not giving Boulder a fair shake, but from all the rave reviews it got from folks, I was expecting a bit more. Granted I didn't have a chance to experience the night life there, but generally, ok, its a nice city, its got mountains, but what's the big deal? There are plenty of other places like that...
So at this point in the trip, I think Taylor and I were getting a little anxious to get to California. I was ready to start unpacking, and Taylor had some buddies he wanted to visit. So we headed out and made the final push through Utah, Nevada, Tahoe, and down into Mountain View. This is where the trip ends and my new life begins, so keep your RSS readers locked in for future updates! I owe some best of video posts, and I can feel some training articles coming on. Until next time!
Anyway, the more I reflect on the bouldering at Rocky Mountain National Park, the more I want to go back there on a regular basis. But I'd also love to check out other areas around there as well - Mt. Evans for sure, and other stuff. I have to say though, unless you have a local guide to help out, its difficult finding problems. Also, depending on the time of year, snowshoes are a must to get to certain areas. Taylor and I of course were snowshoe-less on our trip, so hiking up to Chaos Canyon proved to be difficult. Not only that, but as it is a true alpine setting, the weather is unpredictable, and packing the proper equipment can mean the difference between an enjoyable time bouldering, and being pelted by hail...
On our first attempt to get to Chaos, we were indeed pelted by hail. At the start of the 45 minute hike, we were shirtless, and borderline hot, as we climbed, it got colder, cloudier, and snowyer, until the sky opened up and dropped dime sized hail on us. We were completely unprepared, and had to make a quick decision - wait it out, or bail. Waiting it out meant waiting it out IN the weather, as there was no cover nearby, if we had made it to the field, we probably would have been fine, but that being our first trip up, we didn't know what else the hike had in store for us, so we decided to bail.
It's always difficult to get so close to an area, only to have to turn around. In all it took us about 2.5 hours of combined driving and hiking to get there, all for nothing. Oh well, next time I'll bring my showshoes and a bomber weatherproof shell. We ended up going to the Spot that night for a gym sesh, which was cool, as we'd never been there and it IS the spot...
OK, next day we tried it again - this time success! We found ourselves at some blocs just up from the Kind boulder, and then worked a bunch of stuff around the Kind area. What amazing rock, texture, features, landings, height, this rock has it all. For steep power bouldering, RMNP has got to be one of the best areas around. Taylor and I both flashed The Kind, and I did some variation of it that is supposedly V7/V8 - it felt hard, but probably more like a solid 7. I was stoked though, it took me about 20 minutes and it felt great, even carrying the finger injury, and having not bouldered for over a month probably.
In regards to the cities of Boulder and Denver, I have to be honest, I wasn't too impressed. Maybe I'm not giving Boulder a fair shake, but from all the rave reviews it got from folks, I was expecting a bit more. Granted I didn't have a chance to experience the night life there, but generally, ok, its a nice city, its got mountains, but what's the big deal? There are plenty of other places like that...
So at this point in the trip, I think Taylor and I were getting a little anxious to get to California. I was ready to start unpacking, and Taylor had some buddies he wanted to visit. So we headed out and made the final push through Utah, Nevada, Tahoe, and down into Mountain View. This is where the trip ends and my new life begins, so keep your RSS readers locked in for future updates! I owe some best of video posts, and I can feel some training articles coming on. Until next time!
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