I can't believe that I went sport climbing outside in January. In Colorado.
Jan 6 started out with temps in the upper single digits. By the time the temp reached the teens, my new climbing bud and I started making plans to trust the weather man and go climb at Puoux in Glenwood Canyon. The prediction was for all day sun and highs of upper 30s. The hardest part about our plan wasn't the task of bringing my two boys (ages 4.5 and 2.5), it was ignoring my usual requirement that the outside temp be at least 45 degrees in order for me to climb and enjoy it.
I've always heard of people sport climbing during the winter and I've always wondered how they did it. I've climbed when it was 40 degree before and my toes and fingers couldn't tell if i was crimping or edging on quarter or dime sized holds.
We decided to meet at the crag around 1:30pm. Due to natural occurances, I didn't get there with the boys untill just after 2pm. You see, 1:30pm is usually Fisher's (2.5 years) nap time. Indy usually naps too out of sheer boredom because his best-friend is off "sawing logs." Without the nap, Fisher exploded when I dressed him up in snow clothes like the little brother on The Christmas Story. He kept ripping off his clothes faster than I could put them on. With love and kindness, Fisher and I fixed the problem and hit the road.
Five to eight minutes later, we arrived at Puoux to find that this south facing wall radiated the sun rays to allow for my climbing partner to climb in a t-shirt. Ignore the fact that it was 35 degrees. With the boys bundled up in the sun and watching the new Go Diego Go dvd from the library, I was able to run up a fun 5.11 before I had to book it back home to unlock the house for my hard working wife.
For this to happen, I had to pack the climbing gear, dress the boys and their needed supplies, wrestle with "Thing 2," and carry all the stuff with my youngest in my arms for 100 yards in the snow. I may have only climbed one route, but the new friendship, the flash, the sun rays, the limestone, and the new experience with my boys made it well worth it.
Jan 6 started out with temps in the upper single digits. By the time the temp reached the teens, my new climbing bud and I started making plans to trust the weather man and go climb at Puoux in Glenwood Canyon. The prediction was for all day sun and highs of upper 30s. The hardest part about our plan wasn't the task of bringing my two boys (ages 4.5 and 2.5), it was ignoring my usual requirement that the outside temp be at least 45 degrees in order for me to climb and enjoy it.
I've always heard of people sport climbing during the winter and I've always wondered how they did it. I've climbed when it was 40 degree before and my toes and fingers couldn't tell if i was crimping or edging on quarter or dime sized holds.
We decided to meet at the crag around 1:30pm. Due to natural occurances, I didn't get there with the boys untill just after 2pm. You see, 1:30pm is usually Fisher's (2.5 years) nap time. Indy usually naps too out of sheer boredom because his best-friend is off "sawing logs." Without the nap, Fisher exploded when I dressed him up in snow clothes like the little brother on The Christmas Story. He kept ripping off his clothes faster than I could put them on. With love and kindness, Fisher and I fixed the problem and hit the road.
Five to eight minutes later, we arrived at Puoux to find that this south facing wall radiated the sun rays to allow for my climbing partner to climb in a t-shirt. Ignore the fact that it was 35 degrees. With the boys bundled up in the sun and watching the new Go Diego Go dvd from the library, I was able to run up a fun 5.11 before I had to book it back home to unlock the house for my hard working wife.
For this to happen, I had to pack the climbing gear, dress the boys and their needed supplies, wrestle with "Thing 2," and carry all the stuff with my youngest in my arms for 100 yards in the snow. I may have only climbed one route, but the new friendship, the flash, the sun rays, the limestone, and the new experience with my boys made it well worth it.