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Posts Tagged ‘Boulder’

Guide Training- AMGA SPI

Monday, July 6th, 2009

June 24-26 John Spezia, Sung Baek, and Peter Huber all took the Single Pitch Instructor course (SPI) with Keith Garvey and AMA. The course is geared towards entry level guides, putting the focus on top-rope site management and guiding single pitch rock climbs. We spent the three days in Boulder Canyon at various crags, all having great challenges for our course.

Day 1 we spent at Castle Rock discussing important guiding topics like; professionalism, equipment selection, knots and hitches, and belaying. After our quick lunch break we reviewed natural and artificial anchors as they relate to top-rope climbing. Then spent the rest of the afternoon construction complex anchors and talking about philosophies revolving around these set ups.

Day 2 we headed to Happy Hour Crag and worked specifically on sling shot top-rope set ups. After a number of ropes were hung we climbed various routes ranging from 5.6 to 5.8 on the beautiful well featured Boulder Canyon granite. The team then worked on the important rescue skills of getting a stuck climber down. This entails ascending the rope to the stuck or injured climber, putting a friction hitch on their rope and safety rappelling with them back to the ground. These guys did a great job!

Day 3 we headed to the Boulderado Crag right off the road in Boulder Canyon. We got an early 7:30am start to beat any Friday traffic as this is a very popular top-roping crag. Today our focus was on top-managed sites, working on station management, lowering, rappelling, and assistance skills. First, I demoed a lead climb modeling safe and efficient lead practices. Next we headed to the top to make anchors and begin top managed skills. Since a Spot Climbing Gym group came and they had many kids at the base, we decided due to the loose rock above to use only a small portion of the crag, leaving the best and safest climbs to those kids. Just before we finished with the rappelling lesson a violent thunderstorm hit, so we frantically packed up and headed to the Rio Grande. Here we talked about a few last guiding topics, did the end of course debriefs and enjoyed basket after basket of chips while washing it all down with beers and margs. Thanks to the guys for all your effort in the course and good luck on the two day exam!

Tags: AMGA, Boulder, Colorado
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Team Lusky and the 1st Flatiron

Friday, June 12th, 2009

On June 7th Randy and Will Lusky met me at Chautauqua park to climbed the stunning and impressive 1st Flatiron. This was a pretty big undertaking; Will (who is only 8 years old) was climbing for the second time on real rock, the climbing difficulty is pretty challenging for a beginner, we had 1000′ of climbing to the summit, and we’re in the Rocky Mountains (home of the afternoon thunderstorms).

Our day started of with few clouds and cool temperatures…great for rock climbing! The notorious first pitch has kept some people from climbing the classic East Face Direct route as the pitch is rated 5.6 (the crux) and you can expect 35′ run-outs (no gear), luckily this only matters for the leader. So before diving in, we started by practicing slab climbing techniques at the base of the route. This was Will’s first time experiencing true slabulation…getting ready for 1000′ of it, so it was imperative he understood the fundamentals of climbing a 50 degree rock face. It requires a complete mental shift from climbing in the gym. Instead of keeping your body close to the wall you’re trying to push it away, in order to get weight on your feet. After we practiced for 10 minutes, we sent the first pitch. Both Randy and Will climbed on separate ropes and were belayed at the same time. This technique worked great as Randy was able to coach and help Will in any hard spots encountered. After 2 pitches of climbing, Will became a true slab monkey and the following 4 pitches seemed effortless. We arrived at a nice ledge were Randy and Will took a quick lunch, as I continued climbing up the next 4th class pitch. At which point, our clocks started ticking a little louder. Small rain drops started pelting our helmets and it was time to get up and off this formation as quickly as possible. We had only two short pitches left to the summit, and boom, the flood gates were opened. Will and Randy followed that pitch in a full blown hail storm. Suddenly our summit had just arrived, with rumbling thunder in the distance and wet rock, we opted to do the only sensible thing, retreat! We finished with a round of high fives and quickly rappelled the 100′ down the backside. Once we were off, we had a great laugh and reflected on the fun adventure while we walked back to the base.

It was a super fun day and cool experience for all. Here’s to team Lusky and future adventures!

Starting the 45 minute approach to the base of the route

Will firing the first pitch

Will got so intrigued with the climbing equipment, he became in charge of removing the gear.

The airy ridge traverse just before the hail storm

Will before the climb….finding his inner being……..note this is before the crux pitch and being blasted by hail.

Will after the climb…………..no problem dude!

Tags: Boulder, Colorado, First Flatiron, Rock Climbing
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Will Lusky’s first outdoor climb

Thursday, June 11th, 2009

On June 4th Will Lusky, his father Randy, and I went climbing in Eldorado Canyon. It was the eight year olds first outdoor climbing experience! In the end we climbed 8 pitches (3 up the Wind Tower, 1 up Calypso, 2 up Whales Tale, and then 2 top-roping West Crack and the neighboring route). Below are a few photos from our day……..

Below is the Wind Tower, we climbed The Bomb route which follows the right hand skyline. Will’s very first climb outside, multi-pitch never the less!