Backcountry travel

Here is a great short cartoon illustrating some important points to backcountry travel. How often do these criteria get overlooked when you are in the backcountry (skiing, snowshoeing, ice climbing, etc.)? Which characters best represent your behavior when you are in the backcountry? 

Keep practicing those "shovel guitar" moves and be safe out there!

Telluride Ice Conditions continued...

As promised, here are some images of Telluride ice that is slowly starting to form.

Upcoming will be images of Bear Creek and Ames. Conditions are good in Bear Creek and has already seen some traffic. Get out there if you can!

Telluride Ice conditions

What we are lacking in snow, we are making up for in ice! Conditions are also continuing to improve in the Ouray/Silverton area. Check in tomorrow for some images of the ice conditions in and around Telluride.

Until then, start sharpening those tools...

Early season skiing in Wolf Creek!

 Winter is here! This past weekend was spent at the Wolf Creek ski resort outside of Pagosa Springs, Colorado and the snow arrived just after we did! Wolf Creek offers something for everyone: steep and accessible hike-to terrain in close proximity to moderate gladed runs and only a 3 hour drive from Telluride. While they reported around 18 inches of fresh snow, there were certainly pockets that rode deeper. 

The expectation was that we would not be the only ones with the idea to storm chase, but we were pleasantly surprised to find that any crowds were quickly dispersed throughout the mountain. 

Telluride also benefited from the same storm and locals were quick to jump on the opportunity to access our own resort, although without the benefit of chairlifts! 

Here's to an early start to the winter ski season. Let's hope this is a good indicator of what is to come!

Alex Honnold on 60 Minutes

This past Sunday 60 minutes took some time to spotlight Alex Honnold and his pursuit of dangerous and challenging solo climbs.

Highlights of the interview included outstanding video footage of Alex soloing the Sentinel in Yosemite National Park.

While most of the video footage was through Chuck Freyberger and his video production company Sender Films, 60 Minutes was able to set up several stationary cameras in different areas throughout the climb to have another view of Alex while soloing. Without a film crew attached to the camera I believe this allowed Alex to relax and the result was some great footage of one of the world's top soloists.

To accompany this segment, Alpinist magazine has also featured an article on Honnold:

http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web08x/wfeature-solo-honnold

Overheard at the crag...

"Your shoes should be torture chambers."

I overheard this today while climbing and thought that the topic was worth a post. I think most people have been steered in this direction when purchasing their first pair of rock shoes. Some common things people say are "They should be so tight they hurt a bit." or "Your toes should bend at the end of the shoe." While you do want your shoe to fit in a way that it gives you the ability to edge, if they are your first climbing shoes you really want them to guarantee one thing: COMFORT!

Who wants to go climbing when you are putting your feet into painful shoes? Too often I see people that have shoes two sizes too small struggling to even put pressure on their feet. When you are first starting to climb a large emphasis is on remaining in balance and engaging your legs and feet, so an appropriately sized shoe is a necessity.

There are several shoes on the market that provide all day comfort for climbers of all abilities. Here are a few:

http://fiveten.com/products/footwear-detail/65-anasazi-moccasym

A slipper style shoe that makes it easy to take on and off at the crag. Notice at the toe that it is not too aggressive, or bent.

Here is a much more aggressive, sport climbing and bouldering specific shoe:

http://lasportiva.com/catalogue/catalogo.php?cat=10&cod3=230&Language=EN

A classic lace up. This style of lace up has been around for a very long time and La Sportiva has decided not to change too much about this shoe. It has lasted the test of time and continues to be a great shoe for beginners to experts. The lace up gives you the ability to loosen the shoe in order to stay comfortable throughout the day on longer days climbing.

Every brand of shoe has a bit different feel and some fit quite differently on different feet. Stop in a store and try on several before making a purchase.

And remember, keep 'em comfy!

How to rate a rock.

Confused with the climbing rating system? Let's examine the rock ratings:

The Yosemite Decimal System

Class 1 - hiking or uphill walking on established areas

Class 2 - cross country with hands used for balance

Class 3 - scrambing on rocks, with hands for balance. survivable falls.

Class 4 - exposed scrambling on rocks in steep terrain with the use of a rope to prevent injury if a fall occurs.

Class 5 - climbing involving technical moves and additional equipment for protection. this is where technical climbing truly begins.

Class 5 Subdivisions

At this point ratings stay within the fifth class, but are in subdivisions that becoming gradually harder and require more technical abilities. For instance:

5.0 - 5.4 which has generally easy movements with no difficulty in selections of hand or footholds.

or

5.9 - 5.10 this is seens as a watermark for most climbers who are looking to "break through" to the next level of climbing. This requires thoughful and balanced movements through a series of movements based on sequence.