focusing your efforts with limited time

You aren't going to do many satisfying lines at an area if you don't put in a little time.

March 25, 2007: Matt Karasik warming up on Big Ball Sports Arete, Arthur's Rock, Lory State Park, CO. Arthur's is home to a nice concentration of really good problems in the V4 to V8 range. There are a few harder lines ... for example: Vice, 4 Dollar Arete and The Blue Streak all look very worthwhile, but the vast majority of the brilliant problems like Voodoo Lady, Big Ball Sports, Sir Arthur's Lunge, Godzilla, Mainstreet, Last Resort, Clutch, Enchanting Wizard of Rhythm, Syringe, Ode to Failure, Shotput, The Snake and the Skewer, what we call The Icicle, Childbirth, etc. are all close to - if not within - my price range. I've done a few of these, but over the past several years I've only managed to slog up the hill once a year and my ticklist from Arthur's evidences this. This year will hopefully be different. Those of you on my call list, expect to be lobbied hard and often for day trips to Arthur's this fall and winter.

changing seasons: a double edged sword

The temps are getting good, yet time is running short.

June 25, 2005 and August 19, 2007: Me and TJ Burchfield on a lingering project, Mount Evans Wilderness Area, CO. Summer has come and gone. The days are getting shorter. Time is precious. A lot of strong folks will visit this season. It is THAT time. You've had all summer to shed a few pounds off last winter's coat and whip yourself into alpine shape. You've spent the whole summer hiking in 3 or 4 miles at altitude to climb all day. It's time to get serious for a last few sends. The snow will be flying soon. Bring fly-paper finger tips and mad lip-turning skills for this undone gem.

not out of season ... YET

Hanging on by a thread.

September 9, 2007: Matt Karasik making his first approach to and exit from The Aerials, Mount Evans Wilderness Area, CO. The approach to The Aerials is a little longer this time of year due to the road closure. Fortunately, not much is added in terms of difficulty ... 2 additional miles of relatively flat hiking for a round trip of about 7-8 miles with ~1,500 feet of elevation regained during the exit. The weather threatened at times, but never affected the day. If your climbing experience is about more than just climbing, this place is definitely special.

slappin' slopas

So fun.

July 24, 2007: Jason Tarry on Lip Trick, Mount Evans, CO. What boulderer doesn't like campusing up to and furiously slapping their entire hand down onto a distant/not-so-distant sloper? Nobody I tell you and anyone who says so is lying. Are we all closet-masochists?

all your battery are choss

All two of the photos taken this day are in this post.

September 2, 2007: Me on Sidecar Left, Pierson Park, CO. So, there I was ... warming up on the stellar moderates The Sidecar is adorned with. I pulled the camera out, handed it to Jen and asked her to "just start snapping photos." Within 30 seconds, I heard the familiar ... vzzzzzzzrrrrrmmm. The trick with rechargeable batteries is actually remembering to charge them. Instead of having to take of bunch of photos, Jen happily returned to reading her book. Instead of trying to take get decent shots, I could commence with "sending the sidecar." More photos next time ... maybe.

moisture ... friend or enemy?

A little bit of both.

August 19, 2007: TJ Burchfield on The B Seam, Mount Evans Wilderness Area, CO. TJ was all set to flash this gem of a line UNTIL he hit a seeping often-wet spot that stopped him dead in his tracks. We frustratingly tried to dry the hold to no avail (although TJ returned a week later to find it dry and sent). Obviously, we want dry conditions and low humidity when we're out at the boulders and it's frustrating when it's not PERFECT, but next time it starts raining or snowing (or a problem is seeping), remember that without the water ... our precious little boulders would not exist. In our obsession to send, it seems we sometimes forget that water is responsible for the carving of mountains, gorges and canyons, the erosion of hillsides, the fracturing of cliffs and the release of portions of those cliffs into free-standing boulders and talus fields. And don't forget about the creation of cracks and pockets of every shape and size, the shaping, reshaping and eventual breaking of every hold and feature we use when climbing as well as the one's we don't use. Of course, now that I've given this lecture, I will be the first one to look skywards the next time it rains and scream "WHY NOW DAMNIT???!!!11!!!?"