Skiing Anvil Mtn.

Amanda and I went with a few friends up to Anvil Mtn. north of Silverton, this morning.  For 4 out of 5 of us it was our first turns of the winter.  A little thin in spots but it was great to be out!

Starting out.

Gretchen and Amanda loving the steep skin track.

Pete, Amanda, Gretchen, and Thad

Amanda

Amanda has had enough of Thad's singing!

Anvil summit at 12,537'.

Headed back down to the skis.

The Best of the Best in Moab Oct. 2012

October is a great time to climb in the Moab area.  The weather is generally good and the temps are perfect.  Unfortunately most of Colorado also knows this and heads for the desert every fall weekend.

I met Sean at a coffee shop on Monday morning and we decided to hike up to Castleton and climb the classic Kor-Ingalls route.  The last time I climbed Kor-Ingalls was 10 years ago with the woman I married.  Sean and I got to know each other as we hiked up the talus cone to the tower.  Four pitches of great climbing put us on the top of the tower, which was Sean's first desert tower.  The route was pretty much what I remembered although I remember the OW pitch feeling a little more runout.
The next day we climbed at Indian Creek which is the most famous crack climbing area in the world.  Known for it's clean parallel cracks, it's a great place to practice crack climbing technique, whether you climb 5.13 or 5.9.
On our last day we climbed the incredible Ancient Art, made famous by the Citi Bank commercial.  With a team of 3 in front of us and a team of 4 behind it was a little clustered.  At one point all 9 of us were on one belay ledge!
Sean it was great climbing with you!  Hope to see you soon!

Looking up at Kor-Ingalls.

Kor-Ingalls

Hot feet.

Sean

Summit!

Back on the ground.

Chocolate Corner

Ansaid Tower

Generic Crack

Looking Glass Rappel

Ancient Art with Cottontail and Echo behind.

The summit corkscrew.