At Home On The Road: Joe's Valley..... and other happenins

FINALLY!!! Summer is here!!

For the next few months, the more motivated climbers in Colorado (and from all over the country) will be trudging up and down monster hills, snow and talus fields to get to some of the best boulders in the United States. Alpine season is a kind of treat in the sense that the majority of these boulders are only climbable for 3 to 4 months out of the year.

RMNP with Long's Peak in the background

Emerald Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park has been uncovered, climbed and then recovered in snow countless times. Climbers are staying true to the Park despite the bad May weather though. The re-emergence of Endo Valley has RMNPers just as motiovated as last year's Lincoln Lake aka Wolvo Land development. The opportunity to climb first ascents brings a renewed motivation and the simple fact that climbing on new boulders (especially in Colorado) is a treat. Check out Jamie Emerson's blog for info about Endo and (as always) a ton of interesting comments.

The Kind Boulder in early May 2011

This weekend marked the opening of the summit road at Mt. Evans. For many, this was a long time coming and over the weekend dozens of climbers descended on familiar territory. Lincoln Lake was a huge hit among the bouldering scene last summer and I can only hope that the same energy returns to the boulder field this season. For those that want to know the official elevation at the boulders is around 11, 500 ft.

This summer, like the last few, a bunch of buddies from the South East are heading out to test their skills on the granite boulders. We will be taking pictures and shooting lots of video along the way so stay tuned for a massive media dump!!

Enough spray about the CO scene.

Every Spring and Fall, climbers from all around the world gather in a small valley outside Orangeville, Utah. Joe's Valley has been known (for the last 20 or so years) to be home to some of the nicest sandstone boulders in the country. There is a sort of remote feeling that surrounds the area, making it a truly unique climbing experience.

Weather rolling into Joe's

I was able to make it out to Joe's a couple times over the last few months. Highlights of the trips include climbing Resident Evil (video here - thanks to Ivo Penchev), waking up to 3 inches of snow outside my tent and drinking a few beers at the local bar.

Check out a quick video I made highlighting the shorts weekend trips we made during the spring.



All for now...