Some friends of mine decided to spend their annual vacation in Estes Park - just a stone's throw from here. Sam and Kim invited me to Yosemite early last September in what turned out to be a roaring good time complete with funny colored cars, bears trying to snuggle in bed and excellent climbing with Karl Baba.
For that fun Yosemite trip report, see http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=451091&msg=451091#msg451091.
They are among the nicest folks so I was really psyched they'd be close so we could visit and they could meet Dave.
So, on the 19th, we loaded the car and headed to Estes Park to hang out with them. We arrived in time to grab dinner at a local Mexican restaurant (the Grumpy Gringo). Then we returned to the condo, indulged in some delicious wine and watched Dave's climbing movie "Gray Hairs and Gravity" (see: http://www.dvisionproductions.com/releases.html).
The next morning Kim went to do her thing and we all headed out to climb in Lumpy Ridge. Sam had asked that we do some two to three pitch 5.7/5.8 climbs. He's not been able to get out climbing much lately so his fitness has declined a bit. Dave selected some good stuff we hoped he'd like.
Sam had a friend - Paul - with him on the trip that was coming out as well. He was game for anything. I had no doubt they would enjoy what Dave had selected.
We arrived at Lumpy and hiked in to the Left Book area. On the way, we were greeted with the standard cattle skeleton in the meadows. Ew! Plus, we were blown away by the immense amount of snow on Long's Peak. It had been there about 10 days, and we heard much had already melted. Nonetheless, there was still a LOT of snow there.
Our goal was to climb Hiatus. This is a three star, three pitch 5.7. It was a fun climb and both Sam and Paul really enjoyed it. Great time!
After scrambling down the gully, it was clear the weather was deteriorating so we decided to stick close to the ground on climbs that would allow a quick bail if it started pouring. First we climbed the first pitch of Back Flip. This is a 5.9 climb characterized by liebacking and jamming. Sammy didn't think he was in shape to do this, but he surprised himself (none of us were surprised) by climbing it well.
Next up was the first pitch of Loose Ends. This is a sustained 5.9, three star climb up a thin, left facing flake/dihedral. Sam and Paul both worked hard on this and conquered the pitch. It was great fun watching them. I felt they both exceeded their expectations. Like every pitch before, this was declared "The Best Climb Of the Trip!!!"
Though the weather was pretty marginal, we thought we'd squeeze in one more pitch. Given the weather, Dave led it and Paul followed only. This pitch, includes some flaring hand cracks. It looked like loads of fun. Maybe next time Dave and I are there, we'll do the entire route. Paul did a great job on this route as well. He also did a good job of cleaning and rapping in some wind and rain! :)
Following this, we hiked out (the rain went away as quickly as it started) and went back to the condo to find Kim. Happily, she wanted Italian food for dinner. All day long I was thinking of Italian food. So we headed to a local restaurant.
While waiting for our table, we all raced down a tall, undulating slide. Too bad we didn't have the camera for this. It was hilarious. Especially the way some of us ended up dead stopped in the middle of slide flopping around trying to get back to the ground. Little friction issue on that slide!
After dinner, we headed back to the condo for some quality hot tub time and everyone headed to bed.
The next morning, after another delicious breakfast prepared by Kim, we headed to the Pear in Lumpy. We ended up climbing two multi-pitch climbs here. First up was La Chaim. This two pitch 5.7 (two stars) is described aptly as "delightful" in the guidebook. Not a lot of gear, and what was there was "meh" on the first pitch made it extra fun for Dave no doubt. One wouldn't know this from watching him though. He's as cool as a cucumber.
Next we did the first two pitches on Magical Chrome Plated Semi-Automatic Enema Syringe. This two star 5.7 proved great fun and great photo opps for the crew.
It was getting a bit late so the last climb of the day was selected: Pitch 1 of The Whole Thing. This 5.10- three star was super entertaining as it had a roof to be pulled at the top.
The book states "Climb the steepening rock to a notch in the roof band...Pull over this on good horizontal "Gunks" edges, which unfortunately disappear on the final hard move." The book doesn't mention how polished the bottom part of the climb is, or the cruxy face move a bit below the roof.
Dave climbed up and fired it providing excellent entertainment with his one hard hanging monkey-routine. Paul was up next and, as he put it, engaged in a "battle with gravity." He worked hard at the roof, even trying some swimming type maneuvers to pass the roof before coming down with a huge grin.
Next I went up. I tried the roof the strong-guy way and was shut down. A second time was successful as I found multiple excellent crimpers to use. This move was such fun I did it again and repeated it in my head falling asleep later. I love that kind of stuff!
The hike out was a lot of fun due to some silly photo sessions. Unfortunately my camera battery died during mid-day so I didn't get any photos of the last few climbs or our silly photo sessions. I should get the pics from Paul soon. Plus, they should show up soon on a trip report on Supertopo.com.
We all headed back to the condo and visited a bit. Kim, Sam and Paul headed to dinner and we headed home. The trip was a blast. The three from Memphis loved the Estes Park area. Paul wants to come to law school at CU possibly, and Sam and Kim are hoping to move near here sooner than later.
I hope they all get their wishes!
1 comment:
A month after this trip, Paul passed away unexpectedly. We're so happy that we had the chance to spend this time with him. His smile was a highlight of this trip. Give everyone you love a hug - you never know when they'll be gone.
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