The weekend update

My first lead climb, a 5.7

Marni climbing a 5.7

Chris placing pieces on the 5.7

Saturday morning Chris and I set off for our monthly 100 miles on the bike.  This particular Saturday was a bit overcast and dreary.  The northwest part of our ride, from Westminster, Golden, and a bit further south on the C470 we got misted on.  The rest of our ride was rain free, which was sweet as there was a pretty good chance of rain by the local weather forecasters.  We kept a pretty good pace for about 90 miles and then turned it down a bit for the final stretch.  We did not stop for anything except stop lights and stop signs.  Four months with a 100 mile bike ride down, eight months to go!

Sunday Chris called and said he and Marni were going to climb a bit in Boulder Canyon.  I met them about an hour later and we hiked up to some places where we could top rope.  We got a little higher than we thought and ended on top of where we intended on climbing.  Chris set up an anchor and we had to rappel down about 100 ft.  We picked a route that was a 5.7 to warm up on and Chris led the first route.  I went up next, and felt ok.  Its been a while since I climbed outside, and it is a bit more nerve wracking.  Marni went up after that.  Chris asked if I wanted to try lead climbing.  I went up the 5.7 and was kind of fluent.  It was nice having tried to lead something that I'd just done so I was confident I could make it to the top.   Chris then tried a 5.11-5.10 and made it up pretty good.  I then climbed the next route.  It was tough getting started, but I kept moving.  There were a couple moves that were pretty difficult for me.  There was one point that I was more or less on the toes of my left foot.  My right foot wasn't on a solid position, and neither of my hands had a good hold.  After a bit of careful planning, I went for a move that was a bit out of my reach and was able to grab the rock.  Once I got past that, I was able to get to the top.  The next route we climbed was a 5.8.  Chris led, rapped down and pulled the quick draws and then the rope.  The second lead I attempted to place the draws and the ropes.  I had to climb about 20 feet up before I could place the first one and proceeded to place the next few without any hiccups.  The 5th and 6th were a bit more difficult, and I crossed the 5th, so I had to down climb to fix my mistake.  I was pretty nervous up top.  Then I got to the top and had to place the anchor, which was about 10 feet above my last draw.  Thankfully there was a nice ledge to stand on to place the anchor.  It was a fun day and I overcame a couple things that had previously made me pretty nervous.  I can't wait to build on what I learned today!