Thursday, July 17, 2008

Rocky Mountain Adventures

I woke up early today and met up with an acquaintance to go climbing with Ashley and David (two of the nicest people I have ever met) in Rocky Mountain National Park. My first time in RMNP, I decided to go with David and the girls to Emerald Lake, founding ourselves at the Kind Boulder with a couple of other climbers.

After a warm-up or two, I started to work out the Kind. In only about three or four tries I had nabbed the ascent! What an amazing line that is; I will have to agree with its classic status. While I wish I could state that many more climbs were ascended, that is not the story of the day for me. Enticed by another line on the Kind, Mr. Wimpy, I wore my tips out repeatedly attempting to work out the moves on the problem. While I was able to pull through the crux move independently, I was having a hard time sequencing into it . . . my first RMNP project (of many to come). A group of Japanese (or other Pacific Island descent) climbers showed up and began campusing the Kind . . . they were an interesting group of kids that certainly pulled hard. I believe a couple of them were working on the Kind Traverse.

Hiking out in a gentle rain that turned a bit harder, we got back to the car tired, hungry, and a little damp. A quick stop at Ed's allowed us to procure a drink or two and some much needed grub. I also ran into my friend Shawna bartending at Ed's where she poured me a not-so-modest helping of Don Julio 1942 . . . delicious. My acquaintance and I returned to Fort Collins and had a hard time watching a movie due to the droopy nature of our eyelids.

The next morning, while I was sleeping, she used my shower, flipped through a couple of magazines, used my internet, and possibly stole my pants. I know, this sounds odd, but I can't find them anywhere. This girl is a rafting guide in Clear Creek and I had run into her in Fort Collins a couple of days in a row when I decided she might have a fun time up in Rocky. I thought I was being an accommodating person, giving her some amenities that she had been lacking throughout the summer. I wish I could have told her my pants weren't included in my accommodations.

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