Spring in Colorado.. Snow, rain, sleet, hail, all in a 2-minute space, followed by sunshine. The days look nice, with all that clear, end-of-winter light and moisture in the air. Everything is greener, which gives kinda-dry Colorado a sort of European feel. A lot of time is spent searching for boulders in between the precipitation; patience is pretty key this time of year.

I cleaned a project near a sport crag last fall, before heading to Hueco and Bishop for the winter, halfway thinking it would be done before I could get back, but, coming back with Seth Allred a couple weeks ago we saw barely a trace of chalk in the most sheltered part of the overhang. A couple days of proper cleaning on rappel, working out the moves, and lots of weather dodging, and Boulder Canyon has ANOTHER new line. The moves are fun, the holds are friendly, and the last couple moves are engaging, with a balancy sorta-rock over at the lip, from a sloper, to a sloper. It can be an odd experience, huffing and puffing in a heap after falling from a high crux for a couple days, only to get that fine breezy hour on a dry day when everything works and sticks and goes.. You snuck up on it, and topped before it knew you were coming.