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Bouldering at the 420s
A leisurely day with some leisurely bouldering in the Poudre Canyon. Ann and I both make our fingers pink and raw, arms exhausted. There are wild berries everywhere here, and I wonder if we’ll see more bear sign, but none appears. During the night, however, there is a loud huffing outside our tent that sends…
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Greyrock
We felt we were long overdue for an overnight, and a climbing outing. The fact that we see the 700-foot granite face of Greyrock when we look out our window must have influenced both of us, because we both suggested it as a destination for the weekend at the same time. We didn’t really consider…
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Vedauwoo – Valley Massif
I can’t resist this area of Vedauwoo. This time our friend Eryka comes along, and we hike into Valley Massif from the west instead of east. The flowers have totally changed, from pasque flowers and paintbrush to evening primrose, harebell, yarrow, and many I don’t know. The mosquitos are out in force now, and poor…
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The Ironclads
At last the sky was clear at dawn, so we packed up to check out Poacher’s Rock at the Ironclads. We were actually thankful that the road was a little too rough for the Subaru, requiring us to hike two thirds of a mile in to the rocks. Poacher’s Rock is the site of 11…
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Quickie at Golden Cliffs
We didn’t have much time, but we figured we could squeeze a climb or two in (yes this post is about climbing) before meeting my Dad for a concert. Just like we thought, the place was clearing out in the afternoon, and we got right on a popular route. It was hot, but tolerable. A…
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Parakeet Belay at Rainbow Rock
We join our friends Pete & Jess, Jess’ brother David, and his daughter Alex at Ruby Mountain campground on the Arkansas River today. It’s a little cool for floating so we rally to Rainbow Rock, a wall of pumice cliffs along the river, for some climbing. There are a couple of anchors good enough for…
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Contemplations, Switched Plans, and Golden Cliffs
Our plan was to head back to Vedauwoo today, and we told many people that we’d be there for an overnight trip. But even though we’re very excited to spend more time at Vedauwoo, there is another idea stewing in our heads, and this morning our conversation turned to it. Ann and I have been…
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Antics at Vedauwoo
At last, my old childhood stomping ground is melted off and climbable! We headed up to Vedauwoo with our friend Alan to introduce him to climbing, and I eased back onto the lead on Easy Friction, 5.4. We all had a ball on this familiar slab, Easy Lieback 5.5, Cold Fingers 5.7, and Dropzone 5.9.…
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Morrison Bouldering
Another gorgeous, sunny day of Morrison bouldering. As beautiful as the weather was, I’m getting tired of hard overhanging problems. After a couple of nice warmups I flail the rest of the time on one or two moves. Ann may have had the right idea bagging the boulders and climbing up to the ridge with…
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Bouldering at the 420’s
I forgot to ask why this place is called The 420’s. It’s a wide, forested meadow about 35 miles miles up the Poudre canyon, strewn with a variety of shapely granite boulders. There’s still a little ice and snow in the shadows, but when the sun came out this was a really nice place to…