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Blog Entry 2 of 2 Climbing in Monument

I'll try highlight climbing events happening in the Tri-Lakes area.

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Contributed by: Clay McGann on 12/28/2006

Climbing. What image comes to you when someone tells you they climb? Do you see Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay standing on top of Everest? Maybe you picture two small dots crawling up the immense vertical granite face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Maybe your image is a solitary figure hanging upside down from a small rock in an obscure landscape. I've been fortunate enough to experience these scenes. I started climbing 25 years ago when a good friend introduced me to rock climbing near Crested Butte. I was hooked right away. For me climbing is a unique combination of mental and physical challenges unlike any other sport.

Modern climbing can be broken into many different disciplines; mountaineering, alpine climbing, technical rock climbing, aid climbing, water ice climbing, mixed climbing, bouldering, and even indoor climbing. Some people participate in all of these and some people choose to specialize in just one type. No matter what type of climbing you participate in, the goal is the same, get to the top of what lies in front of you.

The Tri-Lakes area has a wealth of climbing opportunities. Yesterday is a perfect example. I meet my good friend Alex in Colorado Springs at 8:00am. We drove up to Helen Hunt Falls in north Cheyenne Canyon and were ice climbing before 9:00. The ice in North Cheyenne Canyon isn't very high or especially difficult but it is fun and it is certainly very accessible. After climbing for a few hours we stopped for a hot drink at the quaint Coffee Cantina on Cheyenne Blvd. and made it home in time for lunch. After dinner I took my two daughters, Jenna and Jillian, climbing indoors at The Rock Climbing Center in Monument on Old Denver Highway. My daughters are 6 and 8 and are really starting to enjoy climbing the walls and rappelling at The Rock Climbing Center. It is a great place for both beginners learning to climb and for experienced climbers to train for their next hard redpoint (a climbing term for completing a rock climb with good style). Climbing in the Tri-Lakes area is one of the many things I love about living here. Hopefully I'll see some of you on the rocks or on the ice soon.

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Submitted By: Alex Burton

posted on 12/29/2006 @ 9:39:16 AM

Rated Blog Entry

I grew up in a military family and though we lived many different places I was fortunate enough to spend part of my elementary school years and almost all of my high school years in Colorado Springs. After living other places, I realized just how incredible the Colorado Springs and Tri-Lakes area is. Like Clay, I have a passion for the outdoors. Though I love the adventure and activity of the outdoors, I think the relationships forged through adventure activities is what draws me in most. My favorite times over the last year have involved Wednesday night climbing sessions at The Rock Climbing Center (www.climbingtherock.com). Those Wednesday nights with old & new friends, have helped pull me through some long Mondays at work, as I look forward to the middle of the week. Thanks for being one of my "old" friends Clay. What I mean by "old"? You'll have to decide for yourself :)

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