Cragmama "Not all who wander are lost…" JRR Tolkien

A Rendezvous in Red Rock Canyon Sans Toddler

Climbing. The Wild West.
9 Comments.

Steve following the crux pitch on Birdland (5.7+)

What do you get when you combine the lights of Vegas with the sandstone of Red Rocks?  A perfect weekend with just me and my hubby!  I flew in to meet Steve late Thursday night (he’d been at a conference all week for work…so he says anyway 😉 ).  One of our main objectives for this trip was to take advantage of being sans toddler and do some multi-pitch trad routes.  (Non-climber note: Routes that are longer than one rope length are divided into smaller chunks, usually around 100-150 feet apart, called pitches.  Sometimes each pitch will vary in difficulty, with the route as a whole receiving a difficulty rating of whatever the hardest pitch is.  The first person up, called the lead climber, will stop at the top of each pitch to belay, and the second climber will then follow up.  “Trad” routes require that the leader place their own gear into the rock for protection, while the partner removes it on their way up.)  

A fuzzy friend on pitch 2…

Here’s the breakdown of our individual days…

Day 1:  BIRDLAND (5.7+), 600 feet
Our goal for the first day was to get our “multi-pitch legs” back.  Except for a smattering of day trips to Stone Mountain last winter, Steve and I hadn’t been more than one rope length off the ground together since before Cragbaby was born.  We were looking for something uber-classic that involved easy, mellow climbing, straightforward route-finding, and spectacular views…and Birdland couldn’t have been any more perfect, so thanks to the countless folks who recommended we add it to our tick list!  The hike was pretty short, by Red Rocks standards, a relatively flat stroll through the desert brush for 30 minutes or so before scampering up some 3rd class terrain to reach the base of the route.  

Self-portrait at the top of Birdland!

I led pitches 1, 3, and 5, and Steve took pitches 2 and 4.  Highlights included seeing a very small, fuzzy bat in a crack on pitch 2, a fun traverse followed by a steep jug haul on pitch 3, and of course pitch 5, aka the “money pitch” – an outrageous finger crack that culminated with the hardest move on the route just 2 feet below the anchors.  UN-highlights included going 5 wide on the somewhat hanging belay of the 4th pitch…apparently we weren’t the only ones that heard Birdland was good!

Day 2:  Sport Climbing in Calico Hills 
We wanted to have one day of clipping bolts, although if we had it to do over again, we’d definitely leave the quickdraws in the car and hit up another long trad route.  The rock quality in the hills wasn’t nearly as good as the rock in the canyons.  We found some routes harder than their original grade due to holds that had broken off, and even found a few bolts that were in pretty questionable rock.  Maybe it was just the particular areas we went to.  But despite the fact that the climbing was a bit frustrating, the views were excellent, and it was still awesome for Steve and I to be able to spend the whole day together.  Being so close to world class sport climbing at the New with just a couple of extra hours to the Red, I think we often take for granted what we’ve got in our backyard, and this was painfully obvious in the Calico Hills…But we still managed to find a few diamonds in the rough – Caustic (5.11b) and Save the Heart to Eat for Later (5.12a) at the Cannibal Crag, and Under the Boardwalk (5.11a) at The Pier.  

Copping a rest on the “butterfly wing” holds of Under the Boardwalk (5.11a)

Day 3:  ARMATRON (5.9), 650 feet
On our last day we decided to up the ante a little bit and tackle a line on the Brownstone Wall, high up in the recesses of Juniper Canyon.  A nice thing about Red Rocks hiking as opposed to East Coast approaches is that you can see your final destination from a long way off, often from the parking lot, making it difficult to really get “lost.”  Choosing the most efficient path out of all of the braided trails, however, is another story.  The first lesson we learned was not to trust the approach times listed in the guidebook unless you are familiar with the area.  It took us over 2 hours to reach the base of our route, and the last hour of hiking was mostly 3rd and 4th class rock hopping up a very steep gully.  To be honest, had we known the pre-climbing effort this route required, we would undoubtedly have chosen something else, but by the time we realized how involved our approach was, we were way too committed to turn around.  Thankfully, the climbing did not disappoint us!  (What was disappointing, however, was the fact that we had to wait around at the base for an hour while a party of 3 finished up the first pitch of their route, which was unfortunately shared with ours).  

Steve getting his bearings at the Cannibal Crag

The first pitch was a mix of bolts and gear, and clocked in around 5.8.  Steve led that pitch, and then I took the 5.9 pitch – 2 thin finger cracks separated by a bolt-protected traverse.  The belay station for this pitch was significantly higher than I was expecting, and by the time I got there I had only one sling left and was definitely ready for a break.  The next pitch was Steve’s lead, and although only 5.6, looked pretty intimidating – 160 feet of tick-tacking up perfectly varnished plates that were never quite as incut as we were expecting.  

Soaking up the sun on the slabs below Armatron while the party of 3 moves through

 

 

 

 

The unwelcome hitchhiker that got stuck in my leg on the way to Armatron…

 

 

 

 

 

 

By this point it was approaching 1:30 or so and we had a decision to make.  We had already done all the classic sections of the route, so we could either continue on for another couple of pitches of so-so climbing to reach the summit, or go ahead and rappel back down to the base of the route.  Continuing on would let us sign the summit register at the top, but would add on 45 minutes of gully scrambling (provided we could navigate it easily enough), as well as the extra time it would take to climb the remaining pitches.  Rappelling from mid-way up would be a much faster option, provided our ropes didn’t get stuck on any of the millions of plates, horns, and cracks that all appeared at the ready to devour a rope.  

Splitter goodness on pitch 2 of Armatron!

 After some quick calculations we realized that if we continued we’d have to book it down the gullies in order to reach the mouth of the canyon before sunset, and would pretty much ensure that we’d have to cross the river in the dark.  Although we had our headlamps with us, the dealbreaker was when I realized we wouldn’t make it back in time for C’s good night phone call, and since I hadn’t prepped my parents for the possibility that we might be late, we didn’t want anyone to worry.  Besides, our flight was leaving that night, and by that point we definitely had home on the brain and didn’t want anything to keep us off that plane!  

Our high point on the Brownstone Wall – with the Vegas Strip visible way in the background (in between our ears..)

Surprisingly, neither of us were disappointed at all that we had to bail.  We’d done all the high-quality pitches, and the epic hike had definitely added to the commitment factor of our experience together.  I was really proud of us for pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone in a safe way, and as we sat in the Olive Garden munching on salad and breadsticks and looking out the (dark) window, we were both thankful that we weren’t still outside fighting with cacti and looking for cairns by headlamp.  This is not the first time (and I’m sure it won’t be the last) that I’m reminded that climbing is way more about the journey than the actual summit!

Originally we were hoping to get on one of the really classic looooong routes, but we learned that the short window of daylight this time of year made for some tricky logistics.  This time of year the canyons were fairly chilly, meaning that we needed routes that were in the sun for at least the morning hours, preferably longer.  The sunny  routes are on the far side of a one-way loop road that doesn’t open until 6 am, and closed at 5 pm (7 with a late permit, which we made sure to get every day “just in case.”).  The 3 hour time difference meant getting up early wasn’t a problem, but most of the classic lines are guarded by a pretty hefty approach.  By the time you factor in “travel time” and possibly waiting on other parties, you’ve got a lot to do in a little amount of light.  

Early morning canyon view on the drive in. The green lines are for the approach (more or less), the blue line up high on the left is Armatron, the blue line on the right is Birdland.

I would definitely like to climb in Red Rock Canyon again, but another time I’d change a few things for sure.  I’d go in the spring – AFTER the time change but BEFORE it gets too hot!  I would spend all my time in the canyons (on shady routes that were too cold this time around!), and wouldn’t waste any days clipping bolts.  What I WOULDN’T change is my gear – thanks TRANGO!  🙂  Another thing I wouldn’t dream of changing is my partner – this trip confirmed that Steve is not only my favorite partner in climb, but also in life (cue “awwwww’s” from the hopeless romantics…).  Though our version of “Vegas” probably differs from the majority of visitors to the land of excess, it was everything we wanted it to be…well, maybe not EVERYTHING.  I did lose 3 dollars in video poker…

>

Share

Surviving a Toddler’s First Overnighter

Parenting.
2 Comments.

This post could just have easily been titled “Surviving a MOMMY’s First Overnighter,” because I feel like this milestone was just as hard for me, if not more so!  As many of you know, my husband and I just recently took our very first trip away from Cragbaby last week…and since our family never does anything halfway, we decided to spend it enjoying the sandstone of Red Rock Canyon, just 30 miles outside of Las Vegas!  (Stay tuned for the trip recap in a couple of days…)

We did a lot of different things to prepare C for our time apart, some of which went a long way towards keeping us all sane.  So based on our experience, here’s a few recommendations for a smooth separation. 

With so many fun things planned at Gaga’s house, it’s a wonder he wanted to come home at all!!!

1.  TALK IT UP:  Toddlers love their routines, and so I wanted to make sure C was prepared, and understood what was going to happen.  About a week before our trip we started talking up the events.  I told him that Mommy and Daddy were going to get on an airplane, and that he was going to ride in Gaga’s car and go to her house.  We talked in a lot of detail about what he would do while we were apart, emphasizing all the fun things that were planned.  

2.  COUNT IT DOWN:  At just over 2 and a half, C has a very rudimentary concept of time.  I wanted him to be able to keep track of the order of events in a way that he could understand, so I made him a calendar.  We wrote in what would happen each morning, afternoon, and night, and as each event happened, we crossed it off on the calendar.  Telling C that Mommy was coming back on Monday morning meant nothing, but being able to cross things off leading up to Mommy’s return was like turning on a light bulb.  

3.  A TASTE OF HOME: A lot of people choose to have their caregiver stay at the child’s house during a time away, but I knew it would be a lot easier on my parents if C could stay at their house.  They only live an hour and a half away, and he’s been to their house lots of times.  However, we did bring a bunch of C’s “comfort items,” so he would still have some familiarity.  I let C pack his own small bag of anything he wanted to take – books, pillow, a couple of toys, and oddly enough…dental floss?!?  

A sweet reunion!

But most notably, I let C take one of my t-shirts, an old, soft one, that C refers to as “fluffy” and “comfy” whenever I wear it.  Apparently I’d stumbled upon a wonderful idea, because evidently C had it with him constantly, a la Linus on Charlie Brown!  During bedtime stories he would  clutch it and kiss it, and stroke his face with it.  He never had a lovey before, but I may have to invest in a new t-shirt, because since we’ve been back he’s slept with it every night!

4.  STAY CONNECTED:  My mom and I sent pictures back and forth to each other via our phones so that we could see C, and he could see us.  The 3 hour time difference made it easy for us to call every morning on our way into the canyon, although a couple of nights we were pushing it to get back in time for a bed time call.  Since we didn’t get cell reception in the canyon, we had also sent a few video snippets of us saying “good night” and “I love you,” just in case C wanted to talk during the day, or heaven forbid if we missed a good night call.  He really liked the videos and would often bring the phone to Gaga so that she could “call Mommy.”  

Home sweet home!

5.  RECONNECT:  Ok so this one is for the moms and dads rather than the toddler…Several folks gave me this advice before I left, and I think it’s worthwhile to pass along.  DON’T SPEND THE WHOLE TIME TALKING ABOUT YOUR KID(S)!!!  For us, this wasn’t that hard, as much of our talk was strategizing for the next day’s climbs.  But had our first overnighter been a relaxing, wine and dine type vacation, I could easily see conversation after conversation slipping back to C.  Not that there’s anything wrong with talking about your kids, but the whole point of getting away is to reconnect with your spouse as your spouse, not as your child’s father/mother!  

Though it wasn’t always easy, I think the trip was a success for all involved.  Hubby and I truly enjoyed being able to spend so much time together, C had a blast at Gaga and Paw Paw’s house, and my parents were thrilled for the opportunity to spoil their sweet little grandson for 4 days!  C only had one major meltdown, and I only cried once (and ironically it was on the same day…)  Our reunion was sweet, although my last piece of advice would be to caution you not to expect too much fanfare from your toddler upon your return.  I did get some hugs and a few kisses, but when I had to take a tube of chapstick away from him in the car on the way home from the airport, it only took about 10 seconds before he began shouting at me to “go away.”  Then that afternoon we all snuggled into bed together to take a nap, and I awoke to C smiling, and rubbing his cheek on my cheek.  Ah, the emotional rollercoaster of toddler-dom.  🙂

What “time away” traditions does your family have set in place?  

 

Just the two of us!

Share

My ABC’s of Thanksgiving

Parenting. Reflections.
4 Comments.

The alphabet song is definitely Top 40 at our house these days.  And I must say I never grow tired of hearing my little guy gleefully sing “em-em-ento-pee” in between bites of PBJ.  So instead of bullet-listing what first comes to mind that I’m grateful for, I thought I would honor my favorite little boy’s play list and come up with something for every letter of the alphabet.  So here’s my “thankful” list (in ABC order, of course ;))

Kind of a low quality picture, but definitely high quality fun factor!

 A – Autumn.  I could make a case for any season, but I really do think Autumn is my favorite time of year.  

B – Basketball Season.  So many fun (and melo-dramatic) moments on the court and on the TV over the years, particularly in March!

C – Cragbaby.  He is my sunshine, and my life is 100 times better now that he is in it.

D – Daylight Savings Time.  I’m already tired of it being dark at 5.  

E – Early mornings in our tent, when no one else is awake except for me.

F – Flowers.  Especially ones that I’ve planted myself.  

G – Grandparents.  I’m thankful that I still have 2 living, and C has 4 living, all within a 2 hour drive.  

H – Holidays.  I’m thankful that for yearly traditions that bring family and friends together.  

I – Ice cream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!  And it’s been a post-climbing staple for too many occasions to count!

J – Jesus.  It may not be politically correct or socially cool to say it anymore, but I owe it all to a man who died on a cross.

K – Kisses from either of my two favorite boys!

L – Long summer nights spent outside.

M – Music.  From the music that represents every important phase of my life to the music that keeps me running for one more mile.

N – Night Time Cuddles with C.  Our bedtime conversations are quite often the best part of my day, and I’m savoring it while it lasts because he’s growing up all too soon!

O – Ocean.  This past summer I was reminded of just how much fun it is to ride the waves!

P – Parenting.  It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…but never a dull moment!

Q – Queen’s City (aka Charlotte, NC).  We’ve been here for almost 2 years, and it’s really starting to feel like home.  

Let’s hear it for a good book!

R – Rock Climbing.  This sport and this community are truly special and have been the catalyst for so many family adventures and opportunities.

S – Steve.  He’s not a perfect person, but he’s the perfect match for me, and the perfect dad for C.

T – The Tiny Hand that silently slips into mine when we hike along the trail.

U – United States of America.  Though we’ve been anything but united of late, most days I’m still proud to be an American.

V – Vacations.  Climbing trips out west, family week at the beach, or a weekend at the New with friends…life would be a lot less colorful without them!

W – Wildest dreams.  “If you can conceive it, you can achieve it.”  Maybe not always, but I do know the best parts of my life are mere extensions from my wildest dreams.

X – X-ercise.  Ok that one might be stretching it a bit, but the only other X word I could think of was “X-ray.”  Regardless, I’m thankful for the ability to move my body!

Y – YOU, if you’ve read this entire thing!  Seriously though, I’m thankful for people that seem to enjoy reading my ramblings.  

Z – “A Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz, as you can plainly see.”  It’s a line from one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books.  I’m thankful for books of all kinds – big ones, small ones, wordy ones, and picture ones!

And with that, happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Enjoy your time with family and friends, and don’t forget to tell the what you’re thankful for – especially if one of those things is THEM!

Share

Hey Baby Let’s Go To Vegas…Without the Baby!!!

Climbing. The Wild West.
8 Comments.

We’ve got a big milestone coming up in our household.  Any guesses?  Nope…not potty training (unfortunately).  You probably won’t guess, so I’ll just tell you – my first overnighter away from Cragbaby!  For the past 2 years and almost 8 months I’ve woken up every morning in the same house as C (and for a good bit of that time, in the same bed!)  And except for the occasional date night for New Year’s Eve and extended family vacations where C’s grandparents give us a night off from the bedtime routine, I’ve been there to give a good night kiss every night as well.  So the next few days will be monumental not only for C, but for the entire family! 

Why Vegas, you might ask?  Good question.  We are creatures of opportunity, and have established somewhat of a loose tradition of playing for real money in the USA (if doing something one other time counts as a tradition…).  Every year the hubster gets to go geek out at the annual Microsoft Sharepoint Conference – last year it was in Anaheim (which meant that while I was playing the role of single mom for a week, Steve was riding Space Mountain), and the time before that was in Seattle.  But more often than not, it’s in Vegas, which is where the loosely established tradition comes into play.  The last time the conference was in Vegas I was 17 weeks preggers with C.  I had some vacation days to kill, and we figured what better place for a baby-moon than Vegas?!?   So I flew out to meet Steve after his conference was over, and we enjoyed a long weekend of desert sandstone in the land of excess.  We had a blast out there (trip report here), so when we found out the conference would be in Vegas again this fall, I got right on the phone with my mom (aka Gaga), to see if she’d be willing to watch C for a few days.  Thankfully, she said yes, and we went out and booked flights that night.  

Us in Calico Tanks back in 2009 – with my 4 month baby bump just starting to come into view 😉

Fast forward to today – Steve has been gone all week (at the conference), and I’ve had a lot of Mommy/Son time.  Plenty of time to get excited beyond belief about the idea of a weekend with just me and the hubs…and plenty of time to delight in my little guy and realize just how much I’m going to miss him.  It’ll be tough to leave him for sure, but I think this will be a good experience for everyone involved.  C is really excited about staying with Gaga and Paw Paw for the weekend – to be honest, it’ll probably be harder on me than it will be on him! 

 I leave tomorrow!  And our travel agenda will consist of 1 night in the Mandalay Bay (courtesy of the company tab), 2 nights in the Fiesta Rancho (sounds ghetto, but it’s a great  casino option that’s a lot closer to Red Rock Canyon than anything on the strip and there was a strange-looking guy letting people learn how to become a bookie here), and 3 days of climbing (yay, multi-pitch!!!!!).  We’re both taking red-eye flights back on Sunday night, banking on the fact that seeing C in the morning will be worth the few extra hours of sleep lost.  

For those of you that have gone down this road before – any words of wisdom?  How old was your little one when you took the plunge, and how did it go (if it was a positive experience, please leave a detailed comment now…if it was horrible, maybe wait until next week when I get back. Just kidding.  Kind of  😉 )

Share

An “Experience Gift”…and the Need for Speed

Gear Reviews.
6 Comments.

Me, my dad, and Samuel L. Jackson…just kidding that’s the burly seat belt strapper guy 😉

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been the type of person that values a meaningful experience more than tangible luxuries.  I’d rather have a giant birthday bash with friends than open a ton of presents.  Family vacations rank higher on the to-do list than replacing kitchen countertops.  And gift cards are always more enjoyable to spend on a shopping date with the giver.  That being said, when Cloud 9 Living introduced themselves to me as a company that offered “experiences rather than stuff,” I knew this was my kind of company.  

Founded in 2005 in Boulder Colorado, Cloud 9 Living is in the business of checking off “bucket list” items – either for yourself, or for someone else.  Their theory is that memories last longer than stuff, so they offer over 1700 unique gift experiences in 43 different regions of the country – from hot air ballooning to fighter pilot rides, and everything in between.  Cool idea, huh?  Even cooler is that I got a chance to participate in one of these experiences – a “Stock Car Ride-a-long” at the Charlotte Motor Speedway for free, in exchange for an unbiased review!  But experiences are always better when they’re shared with those that you love, so it only seemed logical that I invite…my dad.  Seem random?  It’s actually not at all.  First of all, my dad has ALWAYS wanted to ride on a race track (between you and me though I’m not really sure why, as I can count on one hand the number of times he’s actually sat down and watched a NASCAR race).  Secondly, my dad and I have a long history of father/daughter experiences over the past thirty-some years.  As I mentioned in a Father’s Day post this past summer, my childhood memories of these adventures are a blur of mountains, coonskin caps, bears, and swinging bridges, and our grown-up adventures usually involve bikes and some sort of mishap.  And now I can add “race cars” to that list of memories!  

Cragbaby was stoked that I got to ride in the “M n M Car.”

But the best part about this father/daughter experience is that my mom and I were able to keep it as a surprise from my dad until the day of the event!  For the past two months he has been insanely jealous, under the false impression that he and my mom were going to sit with Cragbaby at the race track while I took my victory laps.  Every phone call of late has included him asking if there was any way he would be able to ride too (to which I would always reply, “I’ve never seen a race car with a backseat…”).  So you can imagine the look on his face when we get to the race track and I took him by the arm and headed to the Rider Check-In station!  Priceless – that right there made the entire experience worthwhile!  

Although I was slightly disappointed that we didn’t get to wear racing suits (they were only for the folks taking part in the “Driving School”), I must say that we looked pretty tough in our helmets and neck straps.  But it obviously affected my hearing, because I couldn’t understand a lick of the driver’s safety spiel as I climbed into the car (FYI race cars don’t have doors…).  While I was watching his lips move and nodding, a burly man secured me into my seat with a strapping system so elaborate that I had no hope of being able to get out of it on my own.  The burly man gave me an encouraging pat on the shoulder, the driver said “Here we go!”, and I gave Cragbaby a wave…and then we were off.  And I mean OFF.  I had read that each ride-a-long consisted of three laps – a warm-up lap, a race lap, and a cool-down lap.  So needless to say I was shocked that my face felt like I was riding the “Gravitron” at the very first turn.  

“Go Mommy, Go!!!”

I like to think that the focus and mental toughness required in a sport like rock climbing has given me a fairly high fear threshold…but evidently something is lost in translation from rock to race track because this was a lot more intense than I was expecting.  You know that feeling when you’re at the tail end of the first big drop on a roller coaster, and you start to get that almost panicked feeling that your stomach can’t take much more (and then 2 seconds later the roller coaster starts going back up)?  That’s how I felt for pretty much the entire ride.  We screamed around each turn so fast (170 mph to be exact) that I couldn’t figure out how all 4 tires were managing to stay on the track. I found myself death-gripping the sides of the seat, and at one point I even had to close my eyes for a couple of seconds to take a deep breath.  (When I opened them, we were just as close to the side walls as we were  before…)  I’m pretty sure that the guy driving the speeding bullet we were enclosed in wasn’t stressed at all – in fact, it was probably a pretty casual day at the office for him.   As we hit the second straightaway on lap 2, I pictured all the folks I’ve taken outdoors for their first time on the rocks and realized ironically, that the level of intensity I was feeling is probably similar to what those first-timers were feeling…(and what is it they say about “Karma?”)

I would definitely say that I have a newfound respect for Nascar drivers – I can’t imagine the focus and fine motor control it takes to manuever a car that fast amongst 40 other drivers…all of whom are trying to cross the finish line first!  (Geez, and people say that CLIMBING is dangerous?!?)  Obviously, there are different strokes for different folks, but as for me, I’m far more comfortable in the vertical realm.  

And my dad?  He loved every minute of it!  According to my mom he talked nonstop about it the entire way home.  And I’m pretty certain his buddies will start tuning out his play by play long about the 18th time they hear it!  Though it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, you could make a case that a part of Christmas came a little early this year for our family, especially for my dad.  I’m grateful that I had this opportunity to share with him, and I would highly recommend considering an experience gift for that hard-to-buy-for person in your family.  Poke around Cloud 9 Living’s website to see what opportunities are available in your area, and while you’re there, be sure to enter their “9 Days of Christmas” contest.  It’s running now all the way through December 23rd, and there are (you guessed it) 9 chances to win, all in the days leading up to Christmas!

You might as well enter – what have you got to lose?!?

 

 

Share
“Not all who wander are lost.” —JRR TOLKIEN