Chris, Devin, Jon and I took a great early-season climbing trip to Colorado the weekend of March 4.
Day One was some challenging slab climbing in a new area near Garden of the Gods called Red Rock Canyon Open Space. I led three 5.9's, which felt like 5.10's owing to the almost complete lack of hand- and footholds. Jon, our calendar boy for this update, took more than 30 minutes to lead a 5.10b and cried like a little girl most of the time. We all had a great time doing the running dyno start to a small jug on the last route of the day.
Day Two featured my first climb of the First Flatiron, a 1000-foot face that took us eight pitches. Free soloists were passing us constantly, but we stayed roped up. It got a tad chilly on the summit ridge, with sustained wind speeds of 30mph+. I'd do it again with a lot less gear on a much warmer day.
Here's a slideshow.
