Bouldering first ascents have been hard for me to come by
throughout my climbing career. I have definitely
found new rocks and stunning lines but usually I am out with my husband, Adam,
or another strong fellow who happens to be waiting their turn for the first
ascent. They politely hang back and
encourage me for a bit but then it is time for me to step aside and the problem
is done. This is how the Brown Frown at Emerald Lake was
established by Adam and how Buffalo
Solider at Pear Lake was put up by Mike Wickwire.
I was fortunate enough to have a friend, Gustavo Mosier,
hand me my first first ascent of note (there is a chossy warm up overhanging
arête at Pear Lake I can claim). Gustavo
was exploring the ridge of rock along highway 34 in Estes Park. This ridge has
produced bouldering areas such as Elkland and Nicky’s Boulders. We all know
there are more lines up there --some are in Privatelandia and are not easily
accessible.
One day this spring when the snow had finally stopped
Gustavo went exploring further down this hilltop away from the private land in
Rocky Mountain National Park. Here he
found a few gems that he and friend Brett Rios did quickly. They also spied a slightly overhanging
crimpy rig that they cleaned and chalked up.
Not one for small crimps Gustavo took a picture and a pass on this
rig. Right before he left for a trip he
posted it on instagram tagging a few friends that might be interested including
me.
Happy that the approach was not epic or snowy I was excited
to check it out. I made two trips to
this boulder. My first trip there I had
no expectations except to try to see if we could figure out the moves. Friends Cletus and Ashley who are both strong
climbers accompanied me. I speculated that Cletus would be the one who would
have sent this rig first since Ashley was coming off of a break while she
dedicated her time to nursing school. We
all were doing well but the crux proved to be a bit bunchy. Cletus tried to figure out a way around it
but I was the one who was able to do all of the moves that day! We all got
tuckered out pretty fast due to our lack of long climbing days caused by all of
the snow in May. I left with hope and
some thin skin.
I returned later that week again with my Ashley and hubby
Adam. Adam falls in the category of a
strong male and has snaked a first ascent in the past; however, because of his
elbow tendonitis he had taken three months off and was “weak as a kitten”
according to him. My skin was thin and I
was not feeling it but I warmed up by trying the moves again. I was half convinced that I wouldn't be able
to repeat the moves but I did them quickly so it was time to try from the
start. Two burns down and a no go. My index finger was about ready to split
open. Adam was slowly figuring out moves
but was stumped with the same bunchy crux.
I was thinking maybe this was not going to happen and then the third
time was a charm—I sent it!! I moved
through the crux quickly and was slightly surprised. There were still a few moves left that were
easy but a bit reachy for me—fortunately I kept it together and I soon after I
was on the top slightly in disbelief.
It was a good feeling as I walked away from the rock to have
done a somewhat challenging problem quickly and to be the first person to climb
it! Now a name was in order. I always thought naming a problem would be the
easy part but it took me longer than it did to send the problem. I finally wound up calling it Ain’t No Thing But a Chicken Wing v8.
This name won due to the bunchy crux. “The chicken wing beta is crucial,” I
explained to Adam when he was trying the move, “ain’t no thing but a chicken
wing” he responds and it worked.
In the process of thinking of names I did come up with several more that need a good boulder problem. Training has continued and I have had a few days in the park but I recently ruptured a pulley tendon which has left me training some but on the move hiking the Rocky Mountains seeing new beautiful destinations and searching for new rocks.
In the process of thinking of names I did come up with several more that need a good boulder problem. Training has continued and I have had a few days in the park but I recently ruptured a pulley tendon which has left me training some but on the move hiking the Rocky Mountains seeing new beautiful destinations and searching for new rocks.
Awesome work Melissa! Always inspiring!
ReplyDeleteso rad! i can't wait to come and try it! ps, i might come out in september. wooo
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