Alpine season is finally here. Say hello to long hikes, high elevation, and the best bouldering of the year. Last year I only went to Rocky Mountain National Park once. This year the park was climbable pretty early thanks to a fairly dry winter. On my one trip to the park last year I tried Outta Season_V8, established by my good friend and fellow Miramont route-setter Brian “BC” Camp. I did all the moves and linked it in two sections. So, on my first trip this season I had some unfinished business. Paul and I hiked up to the Secret Spot which is the area where Outta Season and Into the Wild are. It was a good re-introduction to hiking in the park. There was still a lot of snow and we post-holed for most of it. When we arrived, the wall was better than I remembered; amazing crimps on a very steep boulder with bomber rock quality. If only I could remember the moves. I warmed up on the top-out of the climb, an easy traverse on jugs. Then I re-worked the moves. The crux, for me, is a big move to a small right hand side-pull. I rested, rotated my approach shoes which I had set out to dry, and got ready to fire.

I did the start moves no problem. When I hit the crux hold I only got my ring finger and pinkie on the good part but I held on and did the dropknee to go for a good left hand crimp. When I hit the first jug of the traverse top-out I felt awesome! After topping out, celebrating, and taking off my shoes; I began thinking of the next project I had left unfinished from last year.

It was a great feeling, having a mission and accomplishing it in a couple of hours. It was still daylight when we hiked out, a new experience for me during alpine season. I am insanely stoked to seek and destroy, in other words to takedown unfinished projects and start new ones. Summer in Colorado is the best in the world. The climbing is enough to make me want to quit school and my job so I can climb full time. Hitchhiking to the crag is cool, right?