2007 June

Last night I called Sean and Colin to cancel climbing plans, thinking I should look at trucks today. We’ve lived in a fifth wheel for two years now without a truck that can pull it. Oddly we are thinking of downsizing the mobile dwelling, but we’ll still need a big truck. Both of us have disliked the idea of joining the gas-guzzling bigger-is-better American masses, but our plans keep insisting we do it.

Yesterday I got a loan preapproved, so I’m armed, but really I just want to play the field and get a sense for what is out there. I know we need a one-ton diesel long-bed. Blue book values make it look like we can afford something in 1997 to 2000 range. I start early near home, just looking at what is on the lots before places open. There are lots of 3/4-tons, but very few 1-tons. The ones I see have the giant double cab, which makes the thing longer than I’d like. I make my way south on 287, stopping at every lot. It gets hot.

The nice thing about wanting something rare is that I don’t have to deal with a lot of salesman courting me. They just don’t have what I’m asking for. I get to Berthoud before finding a real candidate, a souped-up purple 1997 F-350 regular cab with a chrome shifter and peeling tinted windows. It’s hard to drive, and feels way faster than a big truck needs to be.

I nearly turn around after coming up empty in Longmont, but decide to check out one more big truck dealer a little further south. There’s another Ford dealership at the exit, and I stop to see what they have on the lot. They come up with a 2002 F-350 Diesel Supercab (just a little cab backseat) that was just traded in that morning. It looks nice, too nice. I know I can’t afford it, but test drive it anyway. It’s just right. Now I get to see the salesman song and dance.

I’ve seen it before, and I’m steeled for it. What has changed since my last experience is that they give me the whole monthly payment spiel even though I already have my loan. Apparently they can re-negotiate my loan with my creditor online. This throws me a little bit, but I try to stay sober. They keep writing lower numbers on their scratch sheet, disappearing into the back for dramatic effect or whatever, returning and trying to look uncomfortable. I have no idea how much of it is just show business, but eventually I get a sense that I will not find another deal like this anytime soon, and I bite. The “dealer handling fee” is the only bitter pill in the deal, but even with that I’m feeling fairly satisfied. I finish the deal, pick up Ann from work, and we drive it home.

I suppose I’ll find out if everything has worked out the way I understand it this week, but for now we’re excited about the possibilities this will open up for us! More developments are on the way, that’s for certain, as the Big Truck (BAT) becomes Notre BAT.

I haven’t posted an error message in a long time, but this one is too good to pass up. I did nothing unusual to make this happen, it just popped up while I was setting up a new laptop with Windows XP at work:

I nearly sprayed the new laptop with a mouthful of hot coffee.

Near Allenspark, CO

It’s threatening to break 100°F this weekend, yet I’m feeling more interested in sport climbing than high peaks. Doug and Liz want to test their backpacking gear, so I suggest we haul packs up to the Ironsides formation of the Ironclads. There we can camp and climb at a cool 8,800 feet of elevation in the shade of the north face of Ironsides.

The plan works out pretty well. The main parking area is swarmed with ATVs as usual, but we escape them completely when we hike over the saddle on the way there. Even the usual shooting is inaudible except for one exceptionally loud firearm. Ironsides really faces a bit northwest, so it is sunny when we arrive on Saturday afternoon, but tolerable. A little sweat while climbing feels good, and the base has plenty of trees for shade. The camping is a little slopey – it might have been better to tent up on the saddle. How glorious it is, though, to wake up, wander over to our crag, eat breakfast, and climb away on the cool morning stone. The morning passes quickly.

Routes:
Gypsies in the Palace 5.8 / Fire Widow 5.10c Doug nails the lower 5.8 pitch on lead, and Liz makes it her first lead after a toprope! Kudos to the young’uns. I manage not to fall on Fire Widow, feeling solid. Lovely climbs.

Alloy Madness Pitch 1 5.9 Doug has fun with the monkey start to this fun little pitch.

Unknown 5.9+ I love this puzzling route, and felt proud of Doug for flashing it.

Welcome to Dystopia 5.10d Some exciting smearing at the bottom, and interesting stances at the top. I felt good for flashing this one – good enough to call it a day as the sun crept over the face.

This is a pretty convincing portrayal of the contrast between the ghettos and upper class neighborhoods of Johannesburg. The story has plenty of setup for both comedy and melodrama, but wisely chooses to keep it subtle and believable on both fronts. The theme of personal growth threatening our learned methods of survival is one that I imagine operates in every culture, and certainly in my life.

Referred by Fast Forward Film Reviews

Near East Albany, WY

Doug decides to subject his mom Beth to a weekend of camping and climbing with us at Vedauwoo. We all pool resources to make her first night in a tent comfortable. We supply the two-person tent, Kate & Mark supply the ample air mattress, and Doug & Liz supply the sleeping bag. Beth is a great sport about all of it, and she gets at least a small dose of many of Vedauwoo’s offerings: gorgeous sunsets, zillions of stars, wind, a hike with a wrong turn into bug-infested forest (compliments of yours truly), a shady rest at the crag (Valley Massif), creek crossings, beaver ponds, campfires, smores, and slightly ashy fire-roasted hot dogs. We keep the climbing mellow and enjoyable, which boils down to three routes for me:

Soft Touch 5.5 I never get tired of this route – it’s worth the hike in just to climb it. Liz and Sean both agree, I think.

Zipper (Lower Half) 5.8+ I put a toprope on this one. It’s a very nice climb, with some tricky moves and unmistakable Vedauwoo offwidth. The wide section before the big ledge challenges all of us, and I feel fortunate to make it up without falling.

Stand and Deliver 5.10a Ann and I stop to do this bolted slab route before heading home. The crux is definitely the first move, but I find a sequence for it which I won’t divulge. The rest is a dance with Vedauwoo crystals, a nice break from the offwidths.

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Near Golden, CO

We’re looking for some easily-reached climbing before we head home today. I have a very old guidebook with some routes in Clear Creek Canyon above Golden, an easy drive. After perusing The Mountain Project information as well, we choose High Wire Crag for its selection of moderates. It turns out to be a popular choice, but just uncrowded enough so there is always a route available. The day is hot, and Ann is feeling not so hot, but we get a few fun sport climbs in and leave happy.

Stone Cold Moderate 5.7 has a juicy, overhanging start to the first bolt. After that, easy slab.

Ace in the Hole 5.10a starts oddly, with feet on one rock and bolts on the overhang above it, but then heads up an arete with fun face climbing.

Bypass 5.10 has some good, strenuous moves up and over an overhang, then easy slab to the anchors.

Deuces Wild 5.10a is, like the others, hardest at the start, with nice thin face moves. This one stays good with a very fun, easy roof, and a tricky traverse to the anchors. Didn’t do the second pitch.

This is the finalé of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra season finalé we’ve been attending for two weeks. Jeffrey Kahane has conducted and performed seven great Beethoven works so far, returning from his months of recovery from hypertension with a Herculean performance. The piano introduction to the Fantasia sounds as difficult as any of it, but tonight we hear a couple of small mistakes early on. He’s human after all, a relief, but will he make it through the piece? To our gratification he pulls it together, warming up to his usual confident, fluid style. The piece still feels a little under-rehearsed when the orchestra and Jeffrey fall a bit out of time, but the joyful effects of the music are almost enhanced by this tension. I’m amazed at how buoyant I feel at the end of the piece.

The performance of the great Ode to Joy is not at all sketchy, and part of the joyousness is the knowledge that Jeffrey has successfully performed all the piano works he set out to perform. He’s not resigned in the least bit though – he conducts every moment with great gestures and a body full of visible enthusiasm. The symphony is gripping from beginning to end. When the full choir joins in the final movement, it’s impossible to resist. The hair on my stood on end at times, and Ann said hers was doing the same through the entire piece. Thank you Jeffrey Kahane and Ludwig Van Beethoven, I wish everyone could have this experience at least once.

I can’t help wondering to myself whether Jeffrey Kahane can maintain the intensity of the performances he delivered last week through another long weekend. Tonight he has no help from the orchestra – the piano sits alone on the stage. Only Beethoven will be there to keep him company on the music stand, Sonata No. 30 and 33 variations on a waltz by Diabelli. Jeffrey jumps into the sonata with gusto. Again the theme hits me of Beethoven pushing the classical forms to their limits. The four movement structure is familiar, but the music in each contains far fewer strong resolutions and cadences than I recall from earlier sonatas or the concertos. The floatiness of it brings Debussy to mind, and occasionally Chopin. The innovative feel is as undeniable as the flow of emotion, which Jeffrey expresses wonderfully.

The variations are a different experience entirely. Sarah calls them “tedious exercises”. I also struggle to keep pace with them, especially without the benefit of any knowledge of the original waltz or the allowable ways to create a variation from it. Nevertheless, I appreciate the variety in the collection and the apparent uniqueness of each. In some I imagine I hear the frustration and rage of composer unable to hear his music performed, in others a tender forgiveness of life’s cruelties. The playing looks incredibly difficult, so much so that I feel a touch relieved for Jeffrey when he finishes the list without deflating with fatigue. I wish him a good night’s rest before we all return tomorrow for the grand finalé.

Near Bellvue, CO

In improvisation mode, Mom asks for a drive up Poudre Canyon, and then a short hike along Greyrock Trail, one of my favorites. The flowers are in bloom here too, and today I get some very nice photos of Scarlet Globemallow and Bull Thistle. Mom spots a new bird I’ve now forgotten, and Fairy Ring mushrooms on the way back.