Back to Boulder...

Juno with her Sister from another litter Lucy

Hey everyone sorry for the lack of posts lately... First off I want to give a shout out to Mickey for the awesome photos he has given us! After getting flooded out of Rifle and heading to Vail for the Teva Mountain Games Mike and I made our way back to Boulder.  I miss this place.  I dropped by the Brewing Market, the greatest coffee shop and my old work place, and was offered some hours for the summer.  I am gonna be working a few days a week here and climbing on my days off (and days on since work starts at 5 AM).  I went back to Littleton to celebrate my birthday last week.  As is typical with a Seymour birthday (no offense mom and dad) I picked out the majority of my gifts myself which included a new camera tripod, a Boulder Canyon guide book, and a rope and draws.  Perfect gifts for Boulder Canyon which is where we will be climbing a lot this summer.  We have been climbing there a few days already and have had a lot of fun on the granite walls that I didn't climb even once during my 5 years living in Boulder.  Mike and Mickey went down to Newlin Creek, an area south of Canon City last weekend and had a great time.  He should be posting some pics soon!

Which one is which?

Along this trip people are always asking me if the outdoor climbing in Boulder is as great as it is rumored to be, and I can hardly answer with confidence.  I never climbed in Boulder Canyon, Clear Creek Canyon along with many others.  For the most part I have only climbed in RMNP (which IS as great as rumored), Mt. Evans (also as great as rumored), Flagstaff (not my favorite), and some smaller areas near Lyons.  So far since we have been back in Boulder I have climbed in Lincoln Lakes and Endo Valley, 2 areas that have seen a recent surge in development, as well as Boulder Canyon.  In comparison to its neighbor Chaos Canyon, Endo Valley is much more accessible, less snowy and much more condensed.  We have spent two impressive days climbing here working on problems such as Dave Grahams "Extra Alientated" and Johnny Horks "Merkin."  With an easy approach and a lower elevation that Chaos Canyon RMNP, this area is perfect for the early summer months when Chaos is still covered in snow.  Yesterday Kayla, Angie, Mike Holly and I met Kevin and Liesel, some friends from this trip in Endo Valley.  Angie killed it.  Nice work!!!!  I have a few projects there that I am hoping to get a chance to climb again this week before going to Fripp Island, South Carolina for our annual family reunion.

"Extra Alienated" in Endo Valley, RMNP

Our one day in Lincoln Lakes (Mt. Evans) turned out to be less than expected.  Unfortunately for us there is no guide and hardly any information concerning the area, so we went in not knowing what to expect.  After a 20 minute scramble/sled down to the boulders we had a hard time finding anything with chalk on it, and nothing that we recognized from the movies.  Luckily some people told us where to find a few problems that we spent the rest of the day on.  I think I am still recovering from the grueling hike out, but I am psyched to go back with some people that are more familiar with the area.  TJ is getting in some time next week (assuming he doesn't dilly dally like last time) and I'm looking forward to seeing what he thinks of Colorado climbing.

With my work schedule I am planning on climbing in Boulder Canyon almost every day this summer.  On days off I will head to the park, Mt. Evans and Rifle Mountain Park.  In fact, I think I am going to head to Boulder Canyon right now.

Adios!

-Thomas

I will be working on some more video now that I have a tripod that works.  Keep checking!!!  Thanks for following our blog by the way.  I hope it is entertaining.