Brandon's Birthday Bash

Brandon has to report a new age today.  Yesterday we celebrated another year of his being around on this earth - and considering what we do for fun, for this we are grateful.  For his birthday we engaged in his most recent favorite perilous activity - ice climbing.  

Brandon Schooling Hidden Falls in RMNP

We were planning on checking out a new area of RMNP, however this choice would have required a 5:30am start.  You see, as a young, financially frugal couple - we have not purchased a National Park pass.  The wonderful National Park service, does not open the pay booth until a reasonable hour in the morning - meaning that if you are an early bird, with intention, you don't have to pay the entrance fee.  Thank you American Government.  Well, to be frank, a 5:30 start time seemed a bit overwhelming to the old man and his couch potato.  We opted for the 9am wake up and Not So Hidden Falls.
 

Brandon Through the Delicate Section

The day was beautiful, clear and cold - perfect for ice climbing, uncomfortable for me.  The wind was howling for the first half of the day, but we managed to stay warm enough.  What we have struggled with is how to manage hand warmth while ice climbing.  I have accepted the fact that I get the screaming barfies every time we go out.  I figure its good practice for increasing pain tolerance.  For a complete description of this phenomena see earlier post.   We have tested a fair number of different glove choices, different liners, different weights, different materials, and neither of us have found THE Gloves.  

Brandon and I made a trip to WalMart after a friend had suggested to him cheap acrylic liners and receiving gloves.  The receiving gloves became slippery when wet - not gonna work when you are climbing a major pillar of slow moving water.  The WalMart specials were simply not ok.  I tried double layering them, then I just sucked it up.  Today the barfies were different.  The barfies brought me to my knees. 

Brandon bought new ice axes for his birthday present (Black Diamond Fusions), and then he bought new pics for the new ice axes.  This was his first day out and about to use them.  He was excited about their performance and climbed well throughout the day.



We had a great time, enjoying the outdoors, the ice and each other.  Until next time....