Nick working the Cat’s Eye Traverse at Horsetooth Reservoir on June 30.
Future Coloradan Brian Williams belaying Nick on The Mad Scientist at Red Rock Canyon Open Space in Colorado Springs on July 8.
Brian leading Storm Surge at Red Rock Canyon.
Again on Storm Surge.
One more.
Lee dragged me along for his long-awaited (20-some years) attempt at the North Face of Mt. Toll in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. Sometimes I like to get up at 3:45 a.m. to suffer with my friends. I had a bunch of photos earlier on in the approach hike, but they’re all of Lee’s back because he was leaving me in the dust. This lake, Blue Lake, is at 11,300 feet, and I was already toast by the time we got here. Here’s Lee checking the map for the details on the rest of the approach. 
In about an hour and a half, we’ll be climbing the right side of the mountain in the background and I won’t be smiling anymore. (Photo by Lee Smith)
Lee crossing a snowfield on the way to the saddle between Mt. Toll and Paiute Peak.
I froze in the shade on the north side of the mountain and had to climb the first pitch (after Lee led it) with numb fingers. It was 95 degrees in Denver on Saturday, but about 30 degrees in the shade on Mt. Toll.
Here’s me after the roped climbing was finished and we had a 200-foot scramble to the top. About three minutes after Lee took this photo, I managed to pull a pillow-sized rock off and onto my leg while scrambling, just about giving myself a heart attack in the process. Lee looked back and asked me if I was hurt, and with the rock still sitting on my shinbone, I said I was fine and just happy I didn’t slide off the goddamn mountain. Had it pulled a little harder, I might have rolled backwards a few feet and then fell about 500 feet. I carefully removed it from my foot and moved on. (Photo by Lee Smith)
On the summit. Note incoming storm. (Photo by Lee Smith)
Lee on the summit. We had the place to ourselves, and were in a hurry to get down, so we didn’t get a team summit photo, just the individuals.
Nick and I went to the Highwire Crag in Clear Creek Canyon west of Golden on Sunday morning. We weren’t the only ones with that idea, and instead of climbing the easy routes, which were occupied the whole day, we ended up on some run-out 5.9 and a two-pitch 5.10a route called Deuces Wild or something like that. I scared the crap out of myself leading both, and probably Nick, too. I bet everyone there thought we made it look really hard. But we made it. (Photo by Nicky)
This is the approximate line of Deuces Wild, I think, on a photo I took from the other side of the creek.
Little did we know there were a bunch of other routes on the east side of the creek (the Highwire Crag is on the west side). Here’s a shot of a guy on a route on the River Wall.
Nick working the Cat’s Eye Traverse at Horsetooth Reservoir on June 30.
Future Coloradan Brian Williams belaying Nick on The Mad Scientist at Red Rock Canyon Open Space in Colorado Springs on July 8.
Brian leading Storm Surge at Red Rock Canyon.
Again on Storm Surge.
One more.
Lee dragged me along for his long-awaited (20-some years) attempt at the North Face of Mt. Toll in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. Sometimes I like to get up at 3:45 a.m. to suffer with my friends. I had a bunch of photos earlier on in the approach hike, but they’re all of Lee’s back because he was leaving me in the dust. This lake, Blue Lake, is at 11,300 feet, and I was already toast by the time we got here. Here’s Lee checking the map for the details on the rest of the approach. 
In about an hour and a half, we’ll be climbing the right side of the mountain in the background and I won’t be smiling anymore. (Photo by Lee Smith)
Lee crossing a snowfield on the way to the saddle between Mt. Toll and Paiute Peak.
I froze in the shade on the north side of the mountain and had to climb the first pitch (after Lee led it) with numb fingers. It was 95 degrees in Denver on Saturday, but about 30 degrees in the shade on Mt. Toll.
Here’s me after the roped climbing was finished and we had a 200-foot scramble to the top. About three minutes after Lee took this photo, I managed to pull a pillow-sized rock off and onto my leg while scrambling, just about giving myself a heart attack in the process. Lee looked back and asked me if I was hurt, and with the rock still sitting on my shinbone, I said I was fine and just happy I didn’t slide off the goddamn mountain. Had it pulled a little harder, I might have rolled backwards a few feet and then fell about 500 feet. I carefully removed it from my foot and moved on. (Photo by Lee Smith)
On the summit. Note incoming storm. (Photo by Lee Smith)
Lee on the summit. We had the place to ourselves, and were in a hurry to get down, so we didn’t get a team summit photo, just the individuals.
Nick and I went to the Highwire Crag in Clear Creek Canyon west of Golden on Sunday morning. We weren’t the only ones with that idea, and instead of climbing the easy routes, which were occupied the whole day, we ended up on some run-out 5.9 and a two-pitch 5.10a route called Deuces Wild or something like that. I scared the crap out of myself leading both, and probably Nick, too. I bet everyone there thought we made it look really hard. But we made it. (Photo by Nicky)
This is the approximate line of Deuces Wild, I think, on a photo I took from the other side of the creek.
Little did we know there were a bunch of other routes on the east side of the creek (the Highwire Crag is on the west side). Here’s a shot of a guy on a route on the River Wall.
