10/8/2003

Granite! I love climbing on granite! Today was the one day of our trip to get off the loose, crumbly sandstone that we climbed for two weeks. Accompanied by Tom and his adorable dog, Brielle, we went to Happy Hour Crag in Boulder Canyon. A short but steep hike took us to the crag. There we set topropes on a bunch of hard, single pitch climbs. We did five climbs during the day, ranging from 5.8 to 5.10. The one that most stuck in my mind was Dementia (5.10). After four days of continuous climbing with lots of hard hiking thrown in, Dementia was the last climb we attempted. Our guide book said something like, “Dementia: climb the obvious, leaning, flaring, overhanging, arching, left facing corner.” Yeah, it was all that and more. A very funky climb with a tiny finger crack way in the back of the corner to help with the awkward stemming moves. Fun! How many times can you yell “TIGHT BELAY!” while making less than 36 inches of progress? Climb Dementia and find out.

By the time the three of us had been chewed up and spit out by Dementia, we knew it was time to head to chez Tom for some much needed rest.

Next Day