The Last Hoorah: Part One

Brandon and I decided to take a little road trip before he begins his position as Director of Youth Ministries at Crossroads Church.  This will mark a serious reduction in our hedonistic adventures and a welcoming to the new kind of adventures that lie ahead.  

We took 4 days and skied, ice climbed, rock climbed, canyoneered, hiked, searched for shooting stars in the desert and drove 1,093 miles - welcome to a Marissa planned excursion.  

Part One: Vail Colorado

We started our adventure in Vail.  A beautiful day with 12 inches of fresh powder for us in the back bowls.  I was excited to get a good day of tele skiing in before the end of the season, there is something magical about dropping a knee into that fluffy white stuff.  Brandon waited patiently for me as I learned to negotiate the deeper stuff.  This means more than one would expect as Brandon's mantra is "no friends on powder days".  I was well prepared for us to spend the day doing separate runs.  However, his mantra has been modified: "no friends on powder days, but always the wifey".  I appreciate the addendum.

Our agreement was that we would spend several hours skiing in exchange for a late afternoon/evening ice climbing session.  So we bid Vail goodbye and headed toward the Rigid Designator area.  We were hoping to climb an ice formation called The Fang, but it was not in shape to be a safe climb.  

The Fang

However, its artichoke-esque formation and beautiful color were stunning. 

The Bottom Looks Like an Artichoke

Brandon led his first mixed line, a M5+ route and then top-roped a M7, no falls. 

Brandon "Sussing-out" the Route

Brandon has so much grace when he climbs, he's strong, makes precise placements - a feat I have not yet grasped.  I hang awkwardly, scraping the rock with my crampons and flail with sharp extensions coming from all appendages - imagine a spasmodic Wolverine.

Brandon Getting to the Ice on Mixed Climb

We finished the day as the sun went to bed.  2 gentlemen who were climbing allowed us to use their rope to set up a climb on the Designator, a long, steep ice formation.  We were grateful for their generosity (thanks Randy and Chris).  To me, it seemed The Designator should be renamed  Energizer.....it kept going and going.  Brandon was able to do several laps before we called it a day.  

Marissa on The Designator

We slid our way down to our car (literally, making slides through the snow) and ate some burritos before hitting the road.  We pulled over outside of Grand Junction and spent the night in Ralph.  There is something contradictory in sleeping, and, parked on the side of the road in the back of your car.  Those two terms seem to be mutually exclusive, but none-the-less what we did.