Jen and I filled the truck with climbing and biking gear and headed for Colorado for a week. First stop was Estes Park, which is definitely high on the list of coolest towns in the country. After our Saturday drive, we got up Sunday morning and headed into RMNP to do a route on the North Face of Hallett Peak. It’s only a touch over two miles to the base of this 1000-foot wall, so it was plenty crowded but we lucked out and didn’t have any issues with it. We decided to climb Love in order to pass the parties on Better Than Love (which indeed looked better). I’m fairly certain that we were on route for at least two of the first three pitches, and then some of the next pitch. After that, who the hell knows. Not really sure of where I was or where I was going, I just ran the 70m rope to the end, built an anchor with whatever I could find, and then did it again. That climbing was pretty chill, but the top of this wall is definitely runny enough to get really hurt if you fell in the wrong place. Cutting out a belay or two helped us make good time on the face, and it was still sunny and clear when we topped out.
The altitude really took it out of us, and weather was a bit sketchy on day two, so in addition the single pitch of climbing we managed to get done, we played some X-treme mini golf, and went to the driving range where we were so shitty that some dude donated a bucket of balls toward our cause. Then we played cards for hours while it absolutely poured. Later that night Jen woke me up with a quiet “what is that!?” and I opened my eyes to the sound of a bear tearing up our camp. We didn’t get much more sleep that night, but we still got up at a reasonable time to get into Lumpy Ridge where some kind locals pointed us toward Magical Chrome Plated Semi-Automatic Enema Syringe (the best route name ever!) when we asked about something fun and shady. The route was both, and we topped out just as the afternoon thunder storm started.
The 4th of July took us from Estes through Boulder Canyon (where we got in a few more pitches) and to Colorado Springs to hang out with some fam and get a much-needed shower. Clean and re-packed, Jen and I headed to Winter Park for a little DH riding. This was the first time on the big bike since I broke my thumb, and I was very happy to get through three-days of riding without a single crash. Big Rigs got a bit of a shock and then had to sit in horrendous rain for a half hour after the chairlift he was riding got struck by lightning and went dead, but other the that everyone had a kickass time. Winter Park isn’t quite Whistler, but it’s about half as far and pretty damn good. I can’t wait to get back.
