Colorado Day Ten: The Final Day - OR - The poor, poor deer

It's cold in Boston as I write this. The wind is howling at 20mph sustained, and the temps are hovering at a cool 17 degrees. I don't even want to imagine what the wind chill is like. My fingers are nearly frozen, and the keyboard isn't making life easier with its stiff keys and poor response. I wish I was back in Colorado, just like on our last day of climbing when it was hot enough to split the

Colorado Day Seven: Back to the Garden, Nearly the Original One

"Jello"'s comments in ItalicsAnd so it was back to the Garden for one of our final days of the trip. Our plan was to hit New Era (5.7) in the morning, a route that "Jello" had free-soloed earlier this summer, and one of two other options that we had also planned for that afternoon or early evening. It turned out that we got ahead of ourselves.Garden of the GodsGrey Wall or Kindergarten RockNew

Colorado Day One: Garden of the Gods (an introduction to soft sandstone)

"Jello"'s comments in italicsEveryone needs a break every now and again. While I'm not disadvantaged in any realistic manner, I certainly have felt under the gun the past year or so. Life changes do make things interesting and challenging, especially against the pressures of expectations. And I've worked hard to maintain some semblance of progress in my life. Despite some important setbacks, I've

I Recently Had a Near Life Experience

So my trips have been slowing down as of late. After a day trip to Grand Junction and a personal trip to the Black Canyon I was back in the Springs. The boss left for his own trip to the Wind River Range earlier and so I was basically in charge. I also had 5 trips that week. Pretty good.So one of my trips was with an older woman doing multi-pitch climbs in the Garden. This was a great trip. We

Seeds of Doubt I Am Without

Doubt gnaws at my uncertain mind. Like some carnivorous beast it eats at my insecurities and dignities alike, clean and efficient. I'm simply reading a book but the conversation in my mind prevents me from anymore than the appearance of attention."You're going to die.""It's 5.7, you've already climbed it, you know what to expect.""Something will break and you'll be splattered on the talus. You're

Work is always Work

So I've been guiding out here in Colorado for about two months. In some ways it's been really awesome. In other ways it is occasionally a drag. So here's what I've experienced/learned/done so far.My climbing since coming to Colorado has been pretty much devoted to climbing in two places. The Garden of the Gods and Red Rocks. Climbing in the Garden is practically an art. First you must except that

Welcome to the Wild West

"It should not be denied... that being footloose has always exhilarated us. It is associated in our minds with escape from history and oppression and law and irksome obligations, with absolute freedom, and the road has always led West." -Wallace StegnerSo I have headed west with a new job and a new set of adventures to go on. Wait, let's back up a minute. For the past eight months I was employed