One of those days. We get to crag late, it’s busy, and the climb that is free is cold and shady. Neither of use climb very well. We’re hoping that too much climbing in the gym isn’t ruining our footwork.

It’s a bright, sunny day, but there’s a cold wind blowing. We follow Dave and Lisa to Lower Arthur’s Rock at Lory State Park. There’s the usual parking permit to deal with, and the trail up the arroyo is more like a bobsled track in places, but the rock is dry, out of the wind,…

Morrison is a small but appealing spot proposed by our friends Dave and Lisa when the foothills look a little snowy for Eldorado Canyon. The south facing, overhanging sandstone faces catch the sun, turning a cold morning into a hot day. The spot is a little crowded, but the locals are so laid back and…

With a clear sky and temperatures soaring into the 60s, we weren’t the only ones that headed up to Horsetooth for some bouldering. We met Lisa there with her 3-month-old Dyson on his first bouldering outing. It didn’t take long to shred the fingertips, but it sure felt good. Very nice also to finally get…

For a morning that started by looking out the window, seeing big snowflakes falling, and turning over again, we got a few good climbs in. My Dad said on the phone later that the weather looked OK at his place, so we threw the climbing gear in the car with our skis just in case.…

I peer over at the fun roof I just climbed on toprope, during which Ann was too busy waiting to catch me when I flew off to snap a picture. But I managed to keep myself scrunched up in there with my hands working quickly into the smooth crack long enough to get over it.…

It’s a nice day above Golden. We start on Killian’s Dead (5.6), a reference to the giant Coors brewery below. It’s a steep crack with some good, awkward moves. After that we return to Lemons, Limes, and Tangerines (5.8 ) , which feels much better than last time. I almost manage a downclimb of it.

After scoping out Golden Cliffs, a sport climbing area above the monstrous Coors brewery in Golden, we’re inspired to get the gear out of the storage unit. We attempt two 5.8 routes on top rope, a crack and a face. The rock is good basalt, reminiscent of the rock in Owen’s River Gorge. We can…

A variety of oddball climbers have been my family in Ridgecrest, California for the last two years. Many of them show up at Wagon Wheel for my going away party. My need to blow off steam after my last day of work seems contagious, and we howl and drink our way late into the desert…