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Red Rocks Campground
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We were surprised to find the campground mostly empty- usually this place is packed full of climbers.
05/26/2011
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Desert Tortoise
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Date: 05/26/2011
Views: 3
After choosing our site Terri discovered a desert tortoise digging a shade hole nearby!
05/26/2011
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Flowers in bloom
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Date: 05/26/2011
Views: 2
A lot of the desert flowers were blooming this time of year.
05/26/2011
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Ground Squirrel
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Date: 05/26/2011
Views: 2
This curious guy visited while we were relaxing at camp.
05/26/2011
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Terri on lead at Calico Basin
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To get warmed up for our big day on The Black Orpheus, we spent a few hours doing short routes in Calico Basin.
05/26/2011
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Neal on "Pending Disaster", 5.9+
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Date: 05/26/2011
Views: 2
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05/26/2011
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A Fox
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Date: 05/26/2011
Views: 1
On our way back from Calico Basin we spied this fox foraging for some dinner.
05/26/2011
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Beginning of a long day
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We left the car around 7am to climb "The Black Orpheus", 5.9+, 10 pitches. It would prove to be a long day: 1.5 hours to hike in, 9 hours of climbing, an epic 4+ hour descent down a huge gully system (during which it got dark leaving us to navigate by headlamp), and 1.5 hours to hike out. The route climbs the peak above and left of my head in this photo.
05/27/2011
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The Black Orpheus
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Date: 05/27/2011
Views: 2
The angle of this photo understates the steepness and length of the route. There are several low-angle pitches in the middle which are easy to get lost on, but the rest of the route is steep, committing, and very high quality. Blue dots approximately mark the pitches.
05/27/2011
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Looking up pitch 1 from the base
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Date: 05/27/2011
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05/27/2011
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Launching off on a great adventure
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Date: 05/27/2011
Views: 1
Leaving the ground is always an exciting moment.
05/27/2011
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Lost by the third pitch
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Date: 05/27/2011
Views: 3
We wandered upwards from pitch 3 to pitch 6 before confirming that we were indeed following the right line. This section of the cliff offered many ways to go and the route information was not especially helpful. Behind me is the magnificent Mount Wilson and its "Resolution Arete" in profile.
05/27/2011
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Starting pitch 8
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Date: 05/27/2011
Views: 3
Around pitch 7 we got into a huge dihedral system, and simultaneously the wind went from a gentle breeze to a hurricane strength gale. When the big gusts came you simply had to hold on and ride it out. I'm guessing 40-50 mph sustained gusts- I'd never experienced anything like it while climbing!
05/27/2011
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Neal braces against the wind
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Date: 05/27/2011
Views: 2
On the summit the winds were madness. You couldn't hear yourself think. Standing up was not an option. We did a sort of walk/crawl across the summit slabs until we reached the protection of the descent gully. A super-fun route, but the wind added an extra bit of unneeded excitement!
05/27/2011
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Neal's Photo Gallery
