Christmas in Colorado

This year Drew and I stayed in Colorado for Christmas. We moved to a new house in Boulder, which is a terrible endeavor to attempt on Christmas. Moving tends to provoke an attitude that is the exact opposite of the Christmas spirit. Thankfully we had amazing weather yesterday, along with a foot of snow on the ground. We took a break from unpacking to take a snowshoe trip with our friends Kevin and Holly. We stumbled upon a beautiful snow-covered lake with a view of Long's peak on one side and the Indian Peaks on the other. As you can see, lots of snow shenanigans ensued.

When we got home we made mexican hot chocolate, Abuelita, in my new crockpot Drew gave me for Christmas. We also beat the h-e-double-hockey-sticks out of a piñata that Kevin and Holly gave us for Christmas. Having a slick, icy deck added a whole new level of difficulty to the game. Somehow no one got hurt. I'm not sure if our new neighbors appreciated our loud rendition of Feliz Navidad, sung while aimlessly swinging a trekking pole in the air, but I sure did.

Drew's fun fact: In Mexico, wearing red underwear on New Year's Eve is said to bring new love in the upcoming year.

Twinkle Toes

Drew's fun fact: The major ingredient in ice cream is air.

Close Encounter

Lately Drew and I have not been having our weekly climbing date nights because it's been cold and we've had so much snow. Plus, it's been getting dark before 5 o'clock. We really miss climbing so today Drew decided we should try a nighttime climb of the second flatiron. It's really easy climbing (rated 5.0) and Drew actually solo'ed it a couple months ago. We planned to rope-up though since it would be dark and cold and probably pretty windy. We got to the trailhead at about 5:15 and it was already dark. We piled on all our warm layers and started the 0.7 mile hike to the base of the climb. It was a beautiful, chilly night and the trail had great views of Boulder Valley lights.

After about a half hour of hiking in the dark Drew spotted a pair of eyes watching us ahead on the trail. Initially it was about 100ft away, but within seconds it moved to about 50ft away. This was obviously pretty alarming, and just as we started to debate whether we should keep going or turn around, Drew caught a glimpse of the body- a large cat with a long tail. AKA Mountain Lion, Cougar, Killer Cat. Drew remained freakishly calm, I did not. We slowly started to walk away, but the cat started to follow us. Luckily, after a few steps it stopped and we were able to successfully, and somehow calmly, walk away.

When we got back to the ranger station we looked at some of the posters to see if we could identify what it was- sure enough, it was a mountain lion. Then we got on our cell phones and started looking up what you're supposed to do if you're attacked by a mountain lion (I know, 'closing the barn door after the cows get out' ). Apparently you're supposed to act big and scary, yell at them, and fight back if they attack you. However, usually you don't get a change to do all that because when they attack they tend to surprise you and kill you immediately. Awesome.

Anyway this all probably sounds more dramatic then it really was, but the bottom line is, next time I'm packing heat.

Drew's fun fact: You have a better chance of being struck by lightening than dying because of a mountain lion attack.

I'm dreaming of a white.... Halloween?

Yesterday we had our first snow of the season. We got 12" of snow in less than a day, which is more than we got in one snowfall all last year. I think Colorado's weather is in cahoots with all the retailers to skip Halloween and Thanksgiving and go straight to Christmas. It's a little strange to see everyone's pumpkin's and skeletons covered in snow, though it does add a little eeriness. Here's a picture of our backyard, where we're supposed to be having a party in 2 days...

So we may have to come up with a plan B for Saturday. Luckily I found matching Pumpkin costumes for Drew and I, which is sure to be entertaining (that is if I can actually get him to wear it...)

Drew's fun fact: Drivers kill more deer than hunters.

Angel's Way

Drew took me to do my first multi-pitch climb yesterday in the Flatirons, a route called Angel's Way. He had done this climb with our friend Hunter a couple weeks ago and thought it would be a good first one for me. We got up at 6am to get an early start, and saw some deer on the drive in.

It took about an hour hike to get to the start of the climb. The majority of the approach trail either consisted of bushwhacking up a slippery riverbed or hiking through fields of poison ivy. At one point I had to climb up and over a boulder (this was before we were roped in) so Drew stood under to spot me. Just as I was about over my foot slipped and I started to fall (expletive, expletive), but my wonderful, strong, dependable husband caught me. Had he not, I would likely be writing this from a hospital bed.

The first pitch felt a little sketchy because the route went up and over a ridge, so Drew had to climb out of my sight. It was weird to belay him from below when I couldn't see him, and even weirder to not be able to see the destination I was climbing to. After another pitch or so I got used to it. The climbing was easy (rated only 5.2) but very fun. We had amazing views of the flatirons and the front range along the way.

We reached the top after 8 pitches and about 3 hours of climbing. The hike down however was actually the hardest part. We had to hike down a 4th class gully full of more poison ivy. Usually when I hike down something that steep I brace myself with my hands a lot, but I was afraid to because I didn't want to get poison ivy. So instead I ended up flapping my arms in the air trying to keep my balance. I imagine I probably looked something like a drunken stork trying to get down the mountain.

Luckily we made it back to the car without rolling our ankles or going into anaphylactic shock from poison ivy. Then, we made it home in time to see the Gators beat Tennessee, which is always a joy.

Drew's fun fact: The uroshiol oil from a poison ivy plant can stay active on most surfaces for up to 5 years.

50 year-old Floridians at 14,000+ ft

I had a fabulous 3-day weekend in the high country camping (RV style) and hiking with my parents. Drew stayed behind to work on Friday and climb a Flat Iron on Saturday, so I made the drive to Buena Vista Thursday night after work. It was an awesome sunset drive into the mountains, then I happily went to bed soon after arriving at the campground. We left the RV at 4:30am Friday morning to make the hour and a half drive to the trailhead for Quandary Peak. We started the hike at 6am, had a 30 minute detour (aka got lost), summitted at 10:30am, and got back to the car by 2pm. It was a tough hike, but my parents were troopers.

Luckily we were able to summit and start hiking back down before the noon storm rolled in. There was lightning and thunder all around us, but far enough away that we weren't in danger. We were very glad to be on our way down from the top at that point though. We did get rained on a little on the way down, but we were lucky enough to see a mountain goat!

The next day we took it easy. We drove around Buena Vista and hung out by the Arkansas River. We were driving along by the river, looked over, and saw 3 big horn sheep! They were standing next to the river, looked up at us for a minute, then decided to get the heck out of dodge. They trotted across the road and up the hill out of sight.

First a mountain goat on a 14er, then big horn sheep- we were livin' large at that point. After that we drove to an old mining town at the base of Mt. Princeton and Mt. Antero called St. Elmo. It was a very strange historic town with houses and buildings from the 1800's. Apparently there was a fire at some point...

That night we grilled hamburgers and talked about our good luck, then my Mom started planning another 14er for the next day. What?! The first one wasn't enough torture? They must be gluttons for punishment because my Dad didn't even put up a fight. We decided on Mt. Sherman. So Sunday morning we woke up at 5am, got to the trailhead and started hiking at 7am, reached the summit at 10:00, and made it back to the car by 12:30. Mt. Sherman was a lot easier than Quandry, and we had beautiful, perfect weather.

After the hike I drove home to Longmont and collapsed on the couch. Then Drew and I decided to have 'early birthday' and we gave each other our presents. Not a bad way to end a fantastic weekend.

Drew's fun fact: Mt. Sherman is the only 14er that has had a successful aircraft landing on its summit.

His & Hers Saturday

His:

Today Drew hiked Long's Peak with Hunter and Travis. Long's peak is the only 14er in Rocky Mountain National Park and one of the most well-known mountains in the Rockies. It is also one of the more difficult 14ers, but the boys smoked it. They started their hike at 2:00am, summitted in 6 1/2 hours, and made it back to the car within 12 hours. Thankfully, they also made it home safe and sound, and didn't even smell that bad.

Hers:

I am on call this weekend which means I have to be available to answer phone calls from our patients. I don't have to go in to work but I do have to stay within cell phone range. So instead of climbing a mountain, I painted. About a week ago when I was jogging with Bogey through our neighborhood I spotted a desk on the side of the road. I had been wanting to get a desk for an empty corner in our living room, so it was quite convenient that the universe happened to provide a free one for me. It had a very bad paint job so today I planned a makeover. Those who know me know that I usually tend to like blah, neutral things. Those who know Drew know that he tends to hate blah, neutral things. But since most of our furniture is blah and neutral, Drew and I actually agreed (doesn't happen much in our household when it comes to furnishing/decorating) that the desk should be painted red.

Before:

During:

After:

And then there's Bogey. Dogs aren't allowed in the backcountry of Rocky Mountain National Park so he didn't get to hike with the boys. Instead, he stayed home and did this all day:

Drew's fun fact: A raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and down continuously from the bottom of the glass to the top.