Taos Anniversary trip

Crystal and I have a little tradition.  Every year we take turns planning an anniversary trip that is a surprise.  This year was Crystal's turn to plan the trip and she didn't disappoint.  We made the 4.5 hour drive down to Taos, NM to enjoy the forecasted 80 degree weather and thaw out after a long winter of playing in the cold.  We stayed at the Historic Taos Inn which initially made me nervous considering it had a neon sign marking its location.  The Inn was actually a great place to stay, located across the street from the city square, our room was large with canopy bed, wood burning fireplace, and really nice bathroom.

Our first day in town supplied 80 degree temps and clear skies as promised so we headed out to an area sport climbing crag after grabbing a morning brunch.  Really unique walls with huge cobble stones and pockets.  The rock was really different then what we were used to but a lot of fun.  We hopped on a couple routes then cruised back toward Taos stopping to do some bouldering along the Rio Grande.  Once back in town we took the recommendation of our friends Brian and Ted and stopped at Eske's Brewpub for dinner and a sampler of beer.  The beer was good with a few brews that even Crystal liked.  The most distinct was Eske's own green chile beer, how New Mexican indeed, surprisingly palatable and spicy, yet not something I would want to drink a pint of.  We also split a huge burrito at the suggestion of Brian who said he still thinks of it on occasion several years later.  As with the next two nights we enjoyed some live music at our hotel bar and called it an early night.  Taos is an interesting town as it seems to attract an older crowd and I suppose in turn doesn't have a whole lot in the way of nightlife. 

Suiting up for some cobble climbing

Rio Grande

Looking for boulders

A little out of order, but this was breakfast

Green Chile Beer!!!

This is for you Brian

The next day is when the weather changed and a snow/rain mix moved into the area.  We headed to Cafe Pasqual's in Santa Fe for breakfast, and remarkably only had to wait a few minutes for a table.  This place is great and I would highly recommend it if you are in Santa Fe, unfortunately it is always busy and is a small place so waiting for a table is the norm.  Last time we waited 30 plus minutes for a table for breakfast.  The food is amazing though.  I had polenta with tomatilla, corn, and chorizo, topped with egg.   It didn't disappoint.   We spent the gray afternoon cruising around Santa Fe and checking out the galleries and shops.  Several inches of snow fell and we regretted not bringing skis for what looked like some promising backcountry.

I can't remember what she got, I was too distracted by mine.

Mmm....Chorizo

Pasqual's Cafe

So much for 80 and sunny

Slim Pickings

Brian agreed to go check out some climbing in Boulder canyon last Tuesday despite the rain falling all night.  The forecast for the day showed a gap in the rain with acceptable temps before noon with more precipitation expected in the afternoon.  Although we were less then optimistic we headed out to the Riviera where we hoped if the sun did peek out it would shine on this south facing cliff.  Our ride up the canyon was not reassuring as the clouds hung low.

Brian tries to illustrate how cold it is (you could see our breath)

Note the freezing line

We hiked up the face and found one, yes ONE semi dry route, a 5.9 that I had retreated from in the past.  The only problem was that water was dripping down the left side of the crux moves making it a more complex and tricky move.  Brian killed the lead in excellent style despite the 93% humidity.  I headed up on top rope and took about 10 minutes to figure out the weird crux moves.

Our dry patch of rock

After playing on the one dry route we took the jeep for some exploration in the woods.  As we headed up the canyon the snow started falling.  We cruised the Switzerland trail in the snow which took us through some interesting little towns that had some near misses with the big Four Mile Canyon Wildfire last year.  The trail was really just a forest road that you could realistically drag and scrap a Subaru down if it was dry, but it was adventurous enough for me considering I didn't have my new spare tire on the jeep yet and there was 2-4 inches of snow on the road.

snow

The scars of the four mile canyon fire

Some old mining ruins

Opps

 And just a few pictures from a trip to Lincoln Falls a few weeks ago.  Note: BV up to his tender bits in snow after he stepped off the packed trail.

-MG

Springtime!

This last weekend was a bit of a let down. On Sunday, Crystal and I opted not to pack up all of our ice gear and instead decided to take advantage of the 60 degree temps and head up to the Satellite Boulders at the base of the second flatiron for a bouldering session. On our arrival in the parking lot it was sprinkling and it looked as if clouds were building over the flatirons. After much debate, (mostly by me, Crystal was game) we headed up the 20-30 minute approach. Lucky for us a few patchy sprinkles was all we encountered and by the time we walked out the sky was clear. Just goes to show you have to put yourself in a position to get lucky. We climbed several problems including a few long traverses. On our way out I played around on my long-standing project Aerogel V5 and to my amazement stuck the crux and the last move. I was too whipped to give the whole problem a solid try but I am stoked to head back and put this thing to rest. 

Wasn't looking good initially.

Crystal rocking a V1 on the Sputnik boulder.

 
Now for the disappointing part...
 
That night I was packing for a day of sport climbing in Clear Creek the next day.  As part of the deal making process with Crystal I agreed to fill up my jeep with gas in exchange for taking her car.  On the way back from the gas station I noted a weird noise coming from the jeep. On investigation the Jeep's rear drivers side wheel was about 3 inches farther back then it should be. It turns out the U bolts holding the axle to the leaf springs loosened up causing the axle to shear the spring’s center pin.  The result being the axle walking back on the spring. Needless to say the next two days were spent in the garage and driving back and forth to the 4x4 shop. Now it is fixed and I am looking forward to spending some pent up energy this weekend. I have also renewed my interest in my Jeep and will hopefully get it on the trails now that it’s trailready again.
 

'Til next time, 

-Mike

 

March

March...

So March was a fun and exciting month but I didn't have any big trips so I kind of neglected to post any pictures.   All of my trips were relatively short, a weekend at most.  I had a couple of people ask me why the lack of activity so I thought I would post a little summary of my March activities.

Crystal and I headed out to Jewell Lake one morning in RMNP to grab a couple pitches.  Jewell Lake is nice consistently forming icefall in Glacier Gorge in the park.  It is approx 3 mile approach with snowshoes or skies.  Amazingly it was pretty easy to find which is always stunning when it is your first time to an area.  I have killed hours trudging around in snow looking for some hidden climb.  We found the ice to be 100 feet wide and 30-60 feet tall.  The ice was a bit inconsistent quality.  I specifically chose this climb for its potential to be my first lead climb.  I initially started the easiest line I could find but quickly found that the middle half was rotten ice thinly smeared over rock.  I backed off and reconsidered.  The toproping potential hear is somewhat limited due to the lack of an easy way to the top.  To the right was a deep snow slog that in the right conditions would avalanche.  After poking around I tried the lead again, this time slightly right of the previous line finding better ice.  I topped out after placing 4 screws in 30ft.  Probably a bit overkill.  We toproped a few more lines on the right side and then booked it out of there as Crystal was slowly becoming a popsicle.  

Lincoln Falls

We took BW out on his first ice climbing trip to Lincoln Falls.  The Ice has been super fat here in the last couple weeks as freeze/thaw cycles are kicking into full gear.  Bryan even found some crazy mixed line to climb.

BW sinking some tools for the first time!

Bryan inching out...

Also our buddy Nate got married the last week of March.  CONGRATS NATE and CASEY!!  We headed up to the beautiful Devils Thumb Ranch for the wedding.  Devils Thumb is a ranch style resort catering to cross country skiers.  It truly was an amazing venue and a great place to spend a few days surrounded by good people.  Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures while we were there....lame right?

With spring in full force I will be starting to transition to mountain biking and climbing as my focus.  Stay tuned for some new posts.  I am vowing to be more active in my posting and drag my camera with me everywhere I go.

1K update
 As of today I am 29% done with my 1K project (see January post if you're confused)
I have over 206,000 ft of ski descent, 39 Ice pitches, and almost 10,000 ft of mountaineering elevation gain.  I must say that this challenge has really forced me to take full advantage of every day I get out.  It forces me to grab one more run, pitch, or problem.  I get at least 2 and usually 3 days a week out in the mountains.  I am sore and tired, which I think is a good thing.  Even if I don't meet the goal the challenge has pushed me to get better.

Til next time,

-Mike