Flatiron Scrunbling, Nitric Oxide, Mount Evans Wilderness, Full Moon

Flatiron Scrunbling, Nitric Oxide, Mount Evans Wilderness, Full Moon

Last Friday I got out for a bit of scRUNbling in the Flatirons before work. I cruzed up to Dinosaur Mountain and did five laps on Sunnyside Two before continuing up and hitting up another slab on an unknown formation. I then dropped north and ended up doing most of the East Face of Dum before topping out on the summit of Dinosaur Mountain. Other then sending the sport routes on Der Zerkle and Square Rock a long time ago, as well as sending the FA of the Avs Wall Traverse and some other hard boulder problems in the area, I've never really scrunbled on the flatirons on Dinosaur Mountain. They are pretty cool, and I think I've figured out a set of routes that I can put together into a fun line for a bit over 2,000' of scrunbling: TipToe to East Face of Dinosaur to Sunnyside Two to Mallory Flatironette to South Ramp on the Box to Primal Rib on the Rainbow to the East Face on Dum to the summit. I'm hoping to link this together this fall.

 Top of Sunnyside Two with the downclimb off of Dinosaur in the background

 Cave like feature near the Box.

 Looking down into Bear Canyon from the summit.

 Captured the full moon rising last night, but a thin cloud layer prevented a good photo of the eclipse.

 I picked up an old guidebook (I like collecting guidebooks, you can learn a lot of history and obscure routes from them). Found this photo interesting - I don't think there has been a June with this much snow up high in a long time, maybe since 1982!

I got the opportunity to try some beetroot juice concentrate from Red Rush. I've been reading about nitric oxide and its benefits in terms of athletic performance (see here for some new research, and here, here, and here for previous research), but have not been able to afford/find a way to naturally get it. The beetroot juice concentrate from Red Rush seems pretty good so far, and the flavor is not bad. It may seem expensive for some, but if you think of it as being the same, if not cheaper then a coffee drink, it is well worth it.

Fairly psyched to have finished in 10th place overall in the US Skyrunning Sky series. I really wanted to get to Flagstaff for the final, but couldn't afford it. Not bad for not doing any speed all summer and mostly just trudging in the mountains. Looking forward to next year to place higher, and hopefully they will have more races in the series as well.

Put in a nice long effort in the Mount Evans Wilderness the other day. Ran about 20 miles in 3:45 at a fun pace. I missed the aspens by about a week it looked like, but still found some good views and shots. I was on the southwest side mostly, on Abyss Lake and Rosalie trails. Great trails for running - mellow grades, not too rocky, excellent views - and I didn't see a single person the entire time. Not bad for being only 1 hour from home.

Flatirons Circuit Ramble

Flatirons Circuit Ramble

Had some time to kill after work in Boulder, so I cruzed up and ran a fun circuit that involves a bit of bouldering. I've done this circuit off and on for 15 years or so, and have always found it to be very enjoyable. It combines a bit of solid running, some talus hopping, bouldering, a fun climbing route, and exposure all in one. From Chautauqua I cruzed up to the Second Flatiron access and then up the trail to the Satellite boulders. Since I'm just messing around, I do all of the easy problems in the area, then head over to the Gutter and do a lap or two there. The Gutter is a great climb, and doesn't see much traffic these days. After a solid pump, I go up the flood wash and hop through the talus behind the Second, before doing a fun scramble along a rib to the top. I wanted, this time, to then head up Green and continue on, but since Boulder's trails seem to be an icy mess compared to those in Jefferson county, I took a class 3/4 route down and back to the Mesa trail. From there, I went and ran some of the loops on McClintock, Kholer, and Skunk, which were relatively dry and runnable, before returning back to Chautauqua. Fun adventure running.

The Gutter: Endurance Training on the Second Flatiron

I've been doing a bit of endurance training this spring. Not only in terms of trail running, but also for climbing. Over the winter, bouldering dominates with short, powerful moves. However, now I'm trying to get back into alpine shape for the upcoming season, and to do that I have been doing laps at the Gutter.

Located up on the Second Flatiron, the Gutter is an excellent place to build up strength and endurance. At ~80 feet long, this forearm pumping problem will get you breathing hard and searching for your chalk bag in no time. With two cruxes, some real good rests, and a steep, sustained overhang the gutter is one of my favorite places in the spring.

The last time we were there I tried to get a couple pictures, but the place is hard to photograph. As you can tell from the only one that "kinda" turned out, the gutter is a slot that you can either climb "in" or on the "lip" for a range of 12b to 13a roughly.

Shady in the afternoon, I'll probably hit the place up a couple more times before it gets to hot and the higher stuff opens up.

The Upper PB Boulders: Stellar Stone in the Colorado Flatirons

Today Tara and I hiked our way up into the upper Flatirons in search of some secluded bouldering. The Flatirons offer a plethora of excellent sandstone boulders, with literally hundreds of problems found in the various draws and gullies located outside of Boulder, Colorado. The boulders and problems found on the southern end of the Flatirons offer some of the best options: Lots of problems and boulders, not much traffic, and an ideal setting.

We hiked up past the Blue Boulders found in Benningfield's Colorado Boulderingto the PB Boulders. Partially covered in Samet and Benningfield's Colorado bouldering 2,these boulders are a gem with tall, highball lines waiting to be plucked. Many of the main features have gone once or twice, but there are still a ton of lines just waiting for the strong boulderer (or even climber for some of the taller lines) to come along and tick.

Way up at the top of the PBs is the classic Full Gronky Boulder. This boulder is a real gem, with several lines going straight up and then the stellar Full Gronky, which traverses from left to right and then up the slappy feature.

Next to the Full Gronky is a really nice slappy arete problem that is also well worth doing. All in all, a stellar day on stellar stone. If the hike was not so long I'm positive this place would see more traffic and several hard lines would be established. Anyone looking for a hard highball? Then put on your hiking shoes and get huffing. The PBs are well worth it.

Christmas Day Bouldering in the Flatirons: Above Shadow Canyon

Christmas time in Boulder can always be a little strange. Although it was dumping all week in the mountains (providing excellent telemark conditions), none of the storms made it over the Divide and onto the Front Range. This often happens during the winter. A storm will get stopped by the mountains and just sit up on the Divide, leaving us with cold temps, sunny or semi-sunny days, and a fair amount of wind.

This past week was no exception. Vail Pass and areas west got several feet of snow, while here in Boulder the snow from the week before stuck around despite the mellow conditions. On Christmas, as we had too many family obligations to get away, Tara and I hiked up to the base of Shadow Canyon to get in some climbing outside. Because of the cold temps (nights have been in the teens, days in the twenties to thirties), most of the projects I've been interested in were a no go - they are in the trees or shade and just would be to cold. However, there are walls in the Flatirons that you can climb on all year, no matter what the temps. They face south, have good exposure, are wind protected, and allow for a really fun session. The following two pictures are from Christmas Day, high up in the mini-flatirons above Shadow Canyon.




Although not stellar photos, it is always a pleasure to get outside. Did anyone else get out Christmas Day? Happy Holidays to everyone.

Bouldering on Green Mountain: The Views and Problems are Amazing

I'm a little behind in actual chronological order when it comes to posting. I've got to put up photos of all the bouldering problems down in the San Luis Valley and in northern New Mexico that we were at last week, but first, some more on bouldering at Green Mountain. I love bouldering up at Green Mountain - no one is there (ever), the stone is stellar, and the views are well worth the hike.


Two weeks ago Tara and I hiked up to do some of the ridge problems. Green Mountain has a number of "areas" on it - the Ridge, the first draw with the Highlander and other highball classics, and then the stuff way out there past the ridge and the Standard Block. The potential for new problems is huge, although many of the most classic lines have been done.

Here is Tara trying her darnedest to stay on and prevent the barndoor on the very steep wall in the Sunset Outcrops area.


The arete on the far left-hand side of the wall is also quite good. There are a number of ways to "do it" and depending on if you use any of the face or not, you are looking at anything from V4-8.


This area has a number of fun, moderate to mid-hard problems in it. There are also a couple obscure, very hard undone lines on a couple boulders just a few feet away (one of the projects on Green Mountain still to be done exists down in the Blarney Stones...). But the real beauty of bouldering on Green Mountain - and especially up on the ridge - is perhaps the view you get of Boulder and the Flatirons when you top out.

Classic Flatiron Bouldering Problems: New Gems on Old Stone

Last week we had hiked up to the Burgundy Boulder to do some old classics and some of the newer problems on its north side. On the way up I spotted some new stuff that looked like it could go. So on Monday Tara and I hiked back up to the base of Fern Canyon to check it out. Turns out, there is some really good bouldering to be done.

First, there is an really cool cave/slot problem. Climbing out of the dark cave on some side pulls, you have to match on a slopper, then head right as you move out of the slot. The crux comes as you begin to move right, eventually emerging from the dark and rounding the corner of the boulder. Real cool moves and such a rare problem.

Below, there is a really nice boulder that has several hard problems on it. There is a low traverse along the bottom, angling up left to right. You can choose to do the whole traverse until the top out at the end, or shoot straight up in a couple places. Either way, nothing is easy on this boulder. The traverse goes around V10ish, and choosing to bail earlier and shoot up to the lip doesn't make the problem any easier.

All in all, this little conglomeration of boulders has a bunch of real nice test pieces ranging in the V7-V11 range. Fun movements, decent landings, and impeccable stone make these boulders a real gem when one thinks of places along the Front Range. Sorry, I don't know the names, but who cares. They get done so infrequently, each time feels like a FA.

Bouldering in the Flatirons: The Burgundy Boulder

On Monday Tara and I went up into the Flatirons to do some more obscure bouldering. There are so many boulders that have undone lines on them around here it really is a wonder. I guess they only get climbed on by old-schoolers, people like me who like remote problems, or if they get press and some new hard line gets established (Black Ice anyone...). Perfect day, a little cool, not a soul around, and just a fun time.

The Burgundy Boulder, located in a meadow down at the base of Seal Rock is just such a piece of stone. Horan lists it in his various guides with a couple moderate grade problems on it. Nothing really worth hiking to, right? Wrong. The landing is perfect, the boulder has a bunch of fun moderates to warm up on, plus a couple really cool mid-range hard problems (V5-8). Besides those listed in the guides, there are also two really good problems on the north side of the boulder that are never noted.

Below is Tara on the classic V4/5 problem under the small roof.

Here is Tara on the V7ish problem on the north side - the left variation.


Here I am on the same problem, but going right (slightly harder).


There are a couple of other gems in the same area. This is what makes Boulder such a great place... perfect stone, empty climbing spots, and a beautiful setting.

Green Mountain Bouldering: Working On a New Highball

Highball boulder problems are kinda a thing into themselves. Sure, they are just a really tall boulder problem (or a really short route), but the head games are all different.

First, unless you set up a toprope, there is no way to suss out the top moves. Every time you have to start from the ground up, working your way as you go (I believe this was/is John Gill's moto as well). Similarly, because you are not roped in, but easily getting off the deck, the mental component of the route really comes into play.

Yesterday Tara and I went to try out a really nice highball problem that I had noted last fall. Located on the backside of Green Mountain in the Boulder Flatirons, this problem is really a classic.

Start on the arete, pull up with your right hand to a good hold, then reach out with your left to a good sidepull. From here, get a high right heelhook, reach across to a nice three finger hold, and then pop up to a small left hand gaston. From here you are well off the deck and teetering on the final couple crux moves. The top out is 20+ feet off the deck, and the problem does not let up.

It didn't go, but I got pretty close. I'll need to come in with a couple more pads - I only had one Metolius with me and after taking about 10 falls 10 feet off the ground, I had enough. The hike is about 30 minutes, so it is not that bad but long enough to make you think twice.

Lots of other good lines waiting to be done right in the same area. We need some of the strong kids to get inspired by the vast potential still waiting in the Flatirons (some are in the forthcoming Rocky Mountain Highball movie). There are still tons of undone, very hard boulder problems waiting to be had.

The Winter Training Run: Trail Running Out in Eldorado

Well, fall has finally hit here in B-Town. This fall we have been blessed with cool nights, warm days, and a ton of perfect weather. It has been a great fall for trail running and climbing - from up high on the Peak-to-Peak and in Rocky Mountain National Park to down lower in the Flatirons and along the I-70 corridor. Now, however, the seasons are a changing. We've had a small snow in the mountains, and most trails above 10,000 feet are shut down for the season. Besides, the telemark skiing season is just warming up and the winter climbing season is fast approaching. So now is the time to set the winter training run.

Every fall I try and establish a good trail run that I train on during the winter. By setting, I mean that I run it a couple times during the fall to establish what my normal training pace is on it at that time. Coming off another successful season in the mountains, with over 47 peaks run or climbed this season, it is a good way to measure my status over the winter and to see where I am at come spring.

This winter I'm running out in the Eldorado area. Starting at the South Boulder Creek Trail, run that up to the Mesa Trail. Continue up the Mesa Trail west past the turn-off to the Big Bluestem all the way into Shadow Canyon. At the top of Shadow Canyon, cross the little stream and start heading back east. This trail winds around and then drops you back onto the Mesa Trail. Hang a right, head back south along the Mesa Trail, and retrace your run back to the Big Bluestem turn-off. From here, follow the Big Bluestem out into the grasslands again and back to your car.

Total time for training purposes: 1 hour, 10 minutes. Miles: ~7.6 Elevation: A good amount.

This is not a super fast time, nor is it a slow time. It's about how fast I do it with 65% effort - just perfect for training over the winter.

So that is the Winter Training Route. Not only is it a beautiful run - today I saw rabbits, a hawk, a herd of mule deer, a family of ducks - but it has a good climb in it.

On the way out this is the view I was blessed with after.

Anyone else got winter training runs in the area?