Wash your hands! :)
Colorado Road Trip - January 2022
Another wonderful trip to Colorado for Mary Beth and I. We missed last year because of COVID and the lack of a real Ice Festival in Ouray.
On the drive out we visited friends in Missouri (Sherry and Bill) and Kansas (Nancy). We really enjoy the time with them. Spent the night in Salida on our way to Olathe where we visited with Lisa at her ranch. Had fun working on an automated gate that kept the horses and other critters in. Lisa and I rustled a couple of Fainting goats that needed to be trailered to the ranch. Mary Beth, Lisa and I had a great hike in Dominguez canyon with the puppies Stella and Sadie.
Headed to Ouray for the Ouray Ice Festival. We stayed at the Box Canyon Lodge. Normally I sign up for a couple of climbing clinics so that I can get on the ice without walking miles. The clinics normally sell out fast. I was surprise this year that I got all 3 clinics that we tried for. The first clinic was with Conrad Anker. He let me use his Petzl Nomic Ice axes on a climb. Max Lowe was helping Conrad with the clinic. Max is the oldest of the three boys adopted by Conrad after Alex Lowe, Max's father, and David Bridges died in an avalanche on Shishapangma in 1999. Conrad was injured but survived. Max directed a movie about the family called "Torn". The movie won Best Feature Film at the 2021 Banff Film festival. It's available on Disney+ or in theaters.
I took it fairly easy in Conrad's clinic because I would be doing an all day clinic on Saturday. Big mistake! The next days clinic was all day in the Five Fingers area. The sun doesn't shine there and it was cold. It was a lead climbing clinic. As it turns out you don't climb much in this clinic. You spend a lot of time practicing putting in ice screws, building anchors and learning terminology and strategies. They should have spent more time on learning about hypothermia. We only had time for one climb where we tested our new skills.
Sunday was only a half day clinic but it made up for the lack of climbing Friday and Saturday. Jackson Marvell ran the clinic in the School Room area. After I did a couple of climbs Jackson started egging me on to climb some mixed ice and rock. I had a ball.
Our friend Ellen Lapham invited Mary Beth and I to Sunday dinner with her Husband Jim McCarthy and some friends. She asked me to pick up Carlos Buhler on the way and come early to make Guacamole. Chatting with Carlos was a real treat for me. I had a couple of climbing clinics with him at the past few ice festivals.
While making the guacamole I shared the kitchen with Connie Self. Although it was my first time meeting her she looked so familiar. I assumed I'd seen her over the years at the ice park. As it turns out she was Jeff Lowes partner the last years of his life and she produced and appeared in the movie "Jeff Lowe's Metanoia". I had seen the movie a couple of times.
Another amazing couple joined us. Peter Hackett and Ruth Higdon.
After dinner we retired to Ellen's woman cave to watch a couple of videos from Jim and Tom Hornbein's "AAC Legacy" project. I'm looking forward to more of the series as they finish them.
We spent the next three days at a yurt between Salida and Monarch Ski area. Five inches of snow allowed us to get out on the snow shoes and take some Milkyway photos.
Skied 3 days at Monarch after leaving the yurt. Dan, Soo Yeon and their 18 month old son Woo Jen joined us one evening at an Airbnb in downtown Salida. We left the Airbnb a day early for home when we saw that a storm was coming in. We were ready to be home.
I miss that the 2020 Ouray festival didn't have the Ice sculptor. The 2018 festival was especially fun with the sculpted ice podium and the snow storm.
I was lucky to have Will Gadd as the instructor for a mixed climbing clinic at the 2020 Ouray Ice festival. This video caught my eye because he is climbing Wicked Wanda with the same crampons, harness and ice tools that I climb with. His jacket is the same color as my but different brand.