IMSAR Jan 1999 Expedition

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This trip was 10 days of total fun climbing all across Colorado. Due to avalanche danger and bad weather, this trip turned into a climbing trip with *alot* of driving every night. We went to Ouray, Red Mountain Pass, Camp Bird Rd, Silverton/Eureka, Cascade Canyon, Telluride,Ames, Lake City, Wolf Creek, Rocky Mt. National Park, and Roosevelt National Forest, Lincol Falls, Vail, and Boulder!

Me on Middle Ames Falls This is me topping out on Middle Ames Falls. Usually this climb is alot taller, but the whole lower part was melted out, and the path through the canyon was also all melted out. So we just dropped in from the top for a few quick laps.


After climbing the middle falls, we went to check out the lower falls. We rapped in to lead this, but it was very wet, and we got soaked rapping in. Since this was an easy grade 3, we soloed out quickly and headed for the car in the approaching blizzard..


Me on Chockstone Chimney This is me leading the beginning of ChockStone Chimney. (grade 5) Normally the chimney is full of ice, but this day we had to crawl under the chockstone, and there was a new first pitch! (short and steep too). This is the real first pitch.


Scott rapping Chockestone Chimney This is my climbing partner Scott, rapping off the first pitch of Chockstone Chimney.


Box Canyon This is a picture looking down Box Canyon, Ouray from the Schoolroom area on the south end of the canyon. This is where the recent Artic Wolf Ice Climbing festival was, and you can see the Camp Bird Rd bridge in the background.


Dinner at Orvis Hot Springs We camped every night on this trip. This was one of our typical dinner nights, cooking in the dark on the tailgate of my truck. This meal was while we were still camping at Orvis Hot Springs.


Breakfast in the Sherman ghost town This is breakfast after waking up in the old ghost town of Sherman, outside of Lake City. This is directly across the pass from Eureka, further up the Alpine Loop Rd. Course in Jan, we had to do the 4 hours drive around.


Horsetail Falls This is 2 climbers on Horsetail Falls, (grade 4) up in Red Mountain pass between Ouray and Silverton.


Scott on Pitken Falls Scott does his first lead in 2 years on Pitken Falls (grade 4) near Vail. We had to posthole through waist deep snow, and soloed the first few easy (grade 2-3) pitches so we could get done before dark, (we rapped off in the dark).


Scott on Pitken Falls Another picture of Scott on Pitkin Falls.