Forest Fires, Heat, and Hard Sends

So, what is required for hard sending: harness, shoes, rope, knee pads, duct tape, pre-spray, finger tape, liquid chalk, chalk, stick-clip, gri-gri, gloves, working draw, and the list goes on...

Our flat tire that we encountered while trying to run from the heat of Rifle, CO.

Unloading the entire care to access the dummy tire...

The view of Rifle Gap Reservoir.

Cleaning the battle wounds and knee pad glue off after a rough day in Rifle (3 one-hangs of my project).

Forest fires near our current home of Maple Canyon, UT. We drove back here to escape the heat in Rifle and also so Krissy could attempt to finish off her project: Sprout 5.13a.

Hank hanging out at the Pipe Dream Cave.

Ben lowering off Eulogy (5.14a/b) after sending. It took about 3 days of work. The actual red-point took about 40-45 minutes!!! Over 100 feet of near horizontal climbing!

Blake sending Deliverance (5.12c).

A rattle snake that is missing its rattle - we think....

Another view of the forest fires.

Blake working on Millenium (5.14a).

Another view of Millenium and the Pipe Dream Cave.

Rifle - A Quick Update

Krissy just before sending Ruckus - 5.12b. Video soon...

Ben and Misty hanging at the Project Wall

Ben working on his current project - Simply Read - 5.13d. Video soon...

Simply Read (5.13d) - starts with a V8 boulder problem, to a section of 5.13a, to another V8 boulder problem to 5.12+...rough!!!

The Project Wall - full of 5.13's

Rifle rock

Krissy and Sammy - a totally deaf dog

The drive from our campsite to the climbing

Rifle reservoir

Rifle. CO: Home of the Hardest Sport Climbing on Earth?

Krissy: the Prana model

Ben pre-hair cut

Ben post hair cut

One of our few forced rest days: loads of hail

Our new home in Rifle, CO

Rest day

Warming up in the morning sun next to the creek

Home

Krissy's collection of home-made jewellery - rest day hobby...

The hardest climbing on earth? Probably not, but is sure has been hard to get used to the climbing in Rifle. It is a tricky style to describe...The rock is blocky, pocketed, tufa'ed, crimpy, polished limestone. The routes here are very beta intensive (knee-bars, toe-hooks, etc). The first time up most routes they feel impossible, until you unlock the trick to climbing them. We have slowly been getting used to the climbing over the last few days and might be finally ready to try and climb something hard. It is definitely not an area you travel to so you can onsight a bunch of routes - you have to work hard for each and every send here.

The Scream - Video

We just finished watching the Boulder World Cup here in Vail, CO. After a couple days off from climbing, we are making our next stop Rifle, CO for more sport climbing. Our last couple days in Maple Canyon went quite well - Krissy nearly sent her project, Sprout 5.13a and I was able to send Millennium 5.13d/14a on our last day.