Last Leavenworth Day

Last Wednesday I decided to be irresponsible and head out to Leavenworth with Kyle for the day. It was a tad chilly, and mostly wet, but we still found plenty of things to climb on and had a wonderful day. We started in the warm sun at the Pretty Boulders, which was really all that I needed for an awesome day - clean, crisp granite, blue skies, and nobody else around.

Blue Skies Smilin' At Me

The day only got better... after the Prettys, Kyle and I headed up to the Bond Boulders to try our hand at Pierce Brosnan. While chalking the problem up, my toothbrush knocked a tiny piece of rock out of the crack next to the crux hold, and what was a terrible 1.5 finger divot became a terrible 2.5 finger divot. Needless to say, this tiny change was all that I needed, and I sent the problem in a few tries. Kyle sent in two tries, having only played on the climb on one prior day - good job Kyle! Though I wish I had been able to do the climb in its slightly harder original state, I think this "new" hold makes the problem flow better. It definitely makes it less tweaky... Either way, I had wanted to do this climb since first seeing the boulder three years ago, and it made a great last-minute send of the fall season.

Pretty GirlKyle Gettin' PsychedPierce Brosnan

After the Bond Boulders, Kyle and I headed back up canyon to the Cotton Pony Pointer, which Kyle did on his first try of the day. Nice job again Kyle! This is a short, powerful three-move climb leading to a surprisingly tenuous topout above a scary drop-off, and is another example of an obvious boulder that went unclimbed until Johnny decided to walk up to it and figure it out.

We finished our day back at the Pretty Boulders, where I sent Pretty Boy in a handful of tries. Pretty Boy is a height-dependent semi-dyno that had stymied me a few years ago, and I had never been back. This time, with Kyle's encouragement, I managed to stick the tiny crimp and complete the problem. For a short, simple one-mover, Pretty Boy sure is good. After that, we did a cool-down circuit at the Carnival Boulders, where Kyle quickly sent Joel Campbell's short and scary problem Mr. Joel's Wild Ride. Good job yet again Kyle! We finished the day at the Swiftwater Cave, where Kyle put in some 99%-close send goes on the center line, as well as logging a few funny falls. I had always bashed the black cave at Swiftwater for being musty and having a drilled hold, but it is SICK. The cave hosts four or five solid links, all of which are 20+ movers on a 60-degree wall. At some point I'll post a full write-up of all the lines in this cave - who knows, it may be this winter if it ever stops seeping...

Kyle At Swiftwater