Inspired by some blue sky visible through the window when we wake up, we rally to Crystal Wall. We scope out the Palace too, but the river looks higher than we want to deal with. It’s a little windy and cold. Ann has some trouble with cold fingers, but manages to redpoint the 7-bolt 5.7…

Camping near the road on the Saturday night of a giant Vedauwoo kegger somewhere further in is a noisy, dusty affair. We make a note to hunt down more remote camping next time. Nevertheless, we awake to another gorgeous morning. Today is my day to lead something wide. We park at The Nautilus and wander…

We wake up in Vedauwoo, the reward for punching through Friday night fatigue, packing the car, and meeting Kate and Mark in Wyoming. It’s well worth it. The tent never felt better, and the day greets us like a herald of summer sun and warmth. Eagerness for the day’s potential creeps in as water is…

It’s highly questionable whether we should be rock climbing today after we drive halfway to the crag with the hatch of our Subaru open, but these things happen to everyone, right? We also forget to drop our garbage off, so it will cook in the car all day. Hmm. The hike in to Greyrock goes…

We make it up to The Palace about the same time the rain clouds do. The river is 2 or 3 inches higher than our last crossing, and we hope a sudden downpour doesn’t raise the water level much more. We start on Churhill Rejects 5.9+, which is now my favorite starter route here, reminiscent…

The cold, overcast morning does not encourage us to pursue our plans to do a local multipitch climb of Lover’s Leap. We go out for a leisurely breakfast, check out the now-closed crags at North Turkey Creek, realize we’ve lost our phones, and return to Dad’s where we don’t find them. We still don’t feel…

Our plan is to climb in Penitente Canyon on our way to Pagosa Springs on Ann’s birthday. We get there late, though, with just enough time to tour around a bit on foot. The canyon is has an intimate feel, with piñons and Douglas fir scattered amongst a treasure trove of interesting walls of volcanic…

I had planned my first day of bouldering at Rotary Park, but when the time comes I don’t really want to go. It’s chilly and windy. I promised Ann that I’d pick her up there after her hike though, so I make myself go. Of course, as always with bouldering, I’m glad I did. The…

Sean joins me to explore the Buttonrock Reservoir area for climbing options. We want to start on the River Wall, which looks like it will get some early sun. When we see two climbers ahead of us climbing barefoot above the river to get there, we decide maybe we should try to descend from above.…