One of the great things about climbing after Christmas is chance to try out all those new toys you got over the holidays as gifts or on sale. And I am guilty as charged! I recently went ice climbing in Ouray and then made the summit of Colorado 14er, Quandary Peak in temps well below zero and winds gusting over 30 mph. Perfect time to try out new gear. In Ouray, I used my new Black Diamond Cobra ice tools for the first time. I had bought them on sale at the BD site and was anxious to see if continue reading
Over President’s day weekend in mid February 2010, I joined some friends for some ice climbing in world famous Ouray Ice Park. It was a great time with perfect weather and nice ice. Ouray is famous for man-made ice and the annual Ice Festival held every January. Ouray is a small mountain town in Southwest Colorado. A longtime favorite summer destination, it is nestled in the high Rocky Mountains. Ouray, once a mining town, might have disappeared or slowly dwindled away if an accident had not occurred. A leak in the fresh water pipe running along the top of a continue reading
If you have ever driven along Colorado’s Interstate 70 from Denver to Vail, you might have noticed all the dead pine trees along the highway. Some think it is due to pollution spewed by cars but is actually nature at work. Mountain pine beetles have killed an estimated 3.6 million acres of trees in Colorado alone. Their favorite food is the lodgepole pine tree but they also enjoy the ponderosa, Scotch and limber pine. The beetles kill the trees by creating fungus under the bark, which slows growth and eventually kills it. The root issue is that the beetles are continue reading
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