Rocky Mountain National Park

We first climbed Long's Peak. The young guys took the very easy but technical Cable's Route. The old guys took the Keyhole Route, which is a long, steep, loose hike with a little rock scrambling. It's crowded in August!

Staring directly at the Cables Route on Long's Peak, which follows right up the center. Photo taken from our campsite.

Climbing the Cable's Route on Long's Peak

The old guys met us at the top. John leads the crowd up the homestretch of Long's Peak Keyhole Route

We also attempted Mt. Ypsilon. The old guys took the Southern Ridge, and the young guys took the Northern ridge, called Blitzen Ridge. Both teams were turned back by an impending afternoon thunderstorm. Blitzen Ridge is lightning prone because of its prominence, and becasue you can't see the clouds coming your way until you're almost to the top, which is exactly what happened to us. We finished all the technical climbing, and had some scrambling left to finish it out. The old guys made it to about the same altitude. We had to do half a dozen rappels, but the rock was terrible quality, so it was a painstaking process to set anchors. It took few hours to rappel maybe 700'

Our rope was a tangled rats nest

A few pitches high climbing Blitzen Ridge on Mt. Ypsilon

Kyle shows his appreciation for long distance rappelling

Interesting formations at the Garden of the Gods