The weather forecasts for the weekend have been dismal, so when the sky is blue this morning I decide to see if we can take advantage of whatever window the weather might leave open for us. Mark and Kate agree to join us. It looks pretty good going up the canyon, though there’s a dusting…

A bright, warm Fall day introduces Sean, Ann, and I to Mark and Kate, and the Poudre Wall at The Palace. A little later cousin Doug and Liz show up. It’s a great group, reminding me of the many fun group outings I took part in in the Eastern Sierra Nevada with the Ridgecrest social…

Some comments for the record on the climbs we did on Ironsides: Port Side 5.6 I lead this, putting in small nuts and cams. We then pull the rope and Ann re-leads on my gear. Enjoyable. Alloy Madness Pitch 1 5.9 Fun overhanging start. The holds are big, and Ann is happy to nail it…

After enduring some icky Fall weather that made me feel like curling up in bed for the weekend, I needed a clear, crisp day like this to draw me back out. After making a particularly frigid crossing of the Poudre River Ann, Sean, and I are treated to a gorgeous day of climbing at the…

Sean and I cross the river at last to explore this area we’ve been gazing at all summer from Crystal Wall. We cross the river carefully and find the trail up to The Citadel, a small tower. There are a trio of guys from Santa Cruz here who have a free guidebook from Dr Topo.…

I finally manage a clean ascent of the 5.10b I’ve been working on. I do it first, slipping into just the right meditative state of mind. It feels really good. Ann has a hard time with this one due to a big reach at the bottom, but we sample some of the new route to…

We’re eager to show Dennis and Clare our favorite climbs at our favorite place, so we take them to Valley Massif at Vedauwoo, and put Clare on Soft Touch 5.5. She’s solid, but it’s tough to dive into leading Vedauwoo cracks, which is why I’ve been proudly leading the lowest grades I can find here…

We set out to give Dennis and Clare a little climbing introduction and tour of the Estes Park area. I haven’t been to Combat Rock before, but I see there are bolts in the guide and figure it’s a sport crag. Not quite. Clare is thankful for some extra gear on Rambo Santa 5.7, and…

There is another brief rain shower early in the morning, but then it seems to clear up, so we hike back up to Mount Boner where Ann takes her turn leading Shaking the Pope’s Hand 5.7. There’s a freezing wind blowing, so we decide to hike further in to Ironsides. It’s cold there too, so…

We drive up the South St. Vrain creek despite heavy cloud cover, hoping for the best. I retain my optimism, but we set up our tents before starting the hike, just in case. About five minutes into the hike a steady drizzle convinces us to have a beer in the tent before climbing. This works…