colorado

my partners and i decided to visit patti in colorado for five or six days. we climbed at clear creek, where patti brought us one day before she had to be at work. this is how cool patti is:she put the first rope up in her work clothes. there was a move that involved a hanging leap across a crevice and then a roof pull -- it was close to the ground. if she hadn't put that first rope up i don't think any of us would have been bold enough to attempt that one move.

that night we had dinner in golden. here we are goofing off with handkerchiefs, which i have recently discovered are essential in spider web and crack funk removal. these handkerchiefs were the napkins at the pizza joint where we weren't even supposed to be eating -- my friend mark was our dinner date for two hours later.



the next day we hired guides and climbed at lumpy ridge, which was fantastic. i have almost no photos of that because i was afraid to bring my camera up -- but kerry may produce some eventually. this is the back of our car -- so full that i couldn't see out the rear view.



the last place we climbed was called shelf road. everyone we met was impressed that we were going there, and i must admit that the place was beyond beautiful. but the climbing wasn't that great, i thought. the rock was alternatingly putty-like, sharp and honeycombed. there were a few routes that i would like to try again at menses prow, but all in all, i'd prefer lumpy if we went again.