Mt Evans 5

Evans was wonderful today. There were tons of people, just like I like it, so there's lots of pads and little worrying about what a fall might be like. Sunny weather, breezey, and sometimes overcast meant great climbing and tanning conditions. Unfortunately, I burned, but it's a small price to pay for an awesome day with new and old friends. Today was also special because it was my first trip to Evans in which I did not go to the Dali Wall. Instead I chose everything else in Area A and we made our first visit to Area B this season. In general, Mt Evans feels like a wilderness, but as soon as you arrive in Area B you have no more doubts that you are nowhere near civilization. Beautiful, serene, and intriguing describe what Area B is like if you have never been. I didn't actually complete many climbs today, but I was falling off of the last move on nearly everything. It's hard to accept such narrow failures, but in such defeats were monumental gains, which were only short-sighted by not doing the last move from the beginning. Here are some photos from Dan Michels and Annie Tedesco of what was climbed today.

Sometimes just getting started feels impossible.

Sometimes you grab the last hold and still don't finish.

Atleast the sunsets are always rewarding for all the hiking.

Mt Evans 4

So this season, I am choosing to put numbers with the posts for The Park and Evans since I will probably be going to each at least once a week and it should be a nice way of keeping tabs on how many visits are made. Today Annie, my roommate, and I made her first visit to Evans. Needless to say she enjoyed it much more than The Park. She topped out her first boulder in The Ladder, which I believe to be a true classic in Colorado and put in some pretty good work on some other 3s. Hopefully, she isn't too sore in the morning and keeps up the good work as of late. Below is a picture of her trying Cherry Top Pick, or some other name, near Seurat.

I however got no points again today. I see this as being a reoccurring theme this season, but I'm okay with that. By the words of Ty Landman, "sometimes you got to kill a cat to catch a dog." What a true philosopher and a guy who knows how to consume boulder problems. Today I opted for the Chris Schulte tour of Area A and commenced work on Ground Control and Child Stars. As it turns out, not that many people have sent either, and both problems are of a fairly similar style (roof climbing, compression, slopers, and lip encounters). Both problems turned out well and I hope to be doing them in the next few visits. I wouldn't mind it taking a few more sessions on both if I could do them the same day! Well, I shouldn't get my hopes up too much, because I got spanked on Silverback. Depressing, but that's how it goes most of the time.

Also, a bit of motivation never hurts.

Park 4

Here is an image of a great arete in Lower Chaos. I'm not sure of the name, but it's next to Deep Puddle Dynamics, which is another classic Park climb. For some reason I can't seem to climb proportionally equal boulders in the Park as I can in other areas in so far as difficulty is concerned. Something about the library of holds there seems to capitalize on all of my weaknesses and my strengths rarely come into play. However, I love going and being there. Even going to simply warm-up and take pictures is wonderful to me. Well, hopefully my Park climbing will change soon and I will continue to take pictures of friends and acquaintances that remind me of such an special place. Also, there is a picture of Skyscraper which is a complete death wish of a boulder problem without snow and tons of pads. I am comfortable taking pictures of it for now.

Seasons

Seasons are a wonderful thing. The changing of weather can be quick and abrupt or gentle and graceful. No matter, what makes it special is that the change is never the same regardless it countless occurences. In the month and a half since I last wrote, it feels wholistcally like summer. Strong sunlight, long days, storms, and new smells dominate where chilly nights and first flowers resided. Quite a bit has changed for me as well. I live in a new place with a new person. I am constantly fighting being sick, but climbing outside is now the overwhelming desire when not working. Work no longer takes up my whole life, which lends time elsewhere. New Year's resolutions were made that include getting a new job, so hopefully the beginning of this season will be fruitful in that aspect. Changed can be frightening if not embraced, but with courage it can be cataclysmic. I'm hoping for the latter in my relationships, work, and climbing.

Here are some pictures from the last month and a half.