New England Trip and Bouldering
- Posted: November 11, 2010
- By: andylibrande
- In: New England, Rock, Travel
1
What: A Visit to Boston, MA and the surrounding climbing
When: Sept 25th – Oct 2nd, 2010 (Sat thru Sat)
Took a week off from work to meet up with Chris who has been living in Boston for just over a year. The goal was to visit a number of different bouldering areas while spending some time checking out Boston. It was the first time I have been to the East Coast and was looking forward to something completely new.
Immediately we had to check out the local spot. The day after I landed we headed to the Hammond Pond area in Newton which was less then 15 mins from Chris’s house. We went to a spot that Chris had not previously checked out, as the parking for the area is questionable, called the Temple Overhangs. Awesome hunk of rock hidden in the forest made out of a weird rock called puddingstone (resembling a slick castlewood rock).
Myself stretching the muscles after the flight:
Chris sending the Classic Reefer Madness:
Chris on the Traverse Problem:
Sweet shot Chris took of me getting spanked on the Reefer Madness start:
Shortly after this decent session a rainstorm moved in and spent Sunday Evening through Tuesday Evening slowly drizzling. The weather changed the plans which resulted in us spending a lot of quality time in exploring the sites and sounds of Boston. Ate a ridiculous amount of great Italian food, ran into a number of good characters, climbed indoors at Metro Rock (really fun gym), and saw a bunch of cool sites which was an unexpected plus.
Tuesday night was looking gloomy and we could only hope that the weather the next day might be good. Much to our surprise (and contradicting of the weather reports) we woke to sunny skies, the clouds quickly burned off, and the sun was nice and warm drying the rain quickly.
The drive to the legendary Pawtuckaway State Park Bouldering area was a nice drive. The closer we got the nicer the weather was getting and we were getting very excited for our visit. We finally pulled into the area a little after 11am (we had to save a turtle from the road on the way in) we hiked into the Round Pond area due to the guidebook recommending it for lots of sun.
The boulders were perfect. Nicely clustered on the top of a small hill overlooking a good-sized pond (would probably qualify for lake status in Colorado), we checked out any climb that was dry.
Myself not liking the starting crimps on this dyno problem:
There was this unique block that is tetering on-top of another much smaller boulder. Chris crushed the problem Atlas v5/6 repeatedly for photo ops and for fun. Really awesome to watch:
Spending enough time at Round Pond we decided to head over to the main event, the area called Boulder Natural. A insane cluster of granite blocks in every shape and size nestled deep in the forest along a small stream.
I spent a lot of time trying to spend the classic Hobbit Hole but the feet eluded me:
However this dyno right next door was way too much fun:
We ended the day with Chris trying to send one of the harder classic problems in the area, Terrorist. Chris was climbing extremely well this trip considering that he took a hiatus when he moved to Boston over a year ago…very impressive to watch:
Pawtuckaway was a really cool area and I wish we had more time/energy/supplies to continue to check out this awesome location and glad that we had such a full great day out there.
More rain moved in and we were beat after our intense 6.5 hrs of climbing at Pawtuckaway. However before the trip was up we spotted one last day to go climbing and raced a storm on a Friday morning down to Lincoln Woods in Rhode Island. After an hour drive we pulled into the park right at 10am and threw-down on as many problems as we could handle at the “Warm-up Wall” which has a number of quality problems.
Myself getting some of the more interesting moves on Cave Overhang:
Chris flashing Iron Cross (with the Sasquatch the spotter not being very attentive):
Chris trying this Dyno, right before a massive monsoon downpour hit us and we scrambled to pick up the various pieces of climbing equipment and expensive photo gear. 2.5 hrs after we got there we were rained out; turned out to be just enough time for a great last session.
Andy perfecting his Pizza pick-up skills:
Street Art by Bansky:
Windy in the City:
Damn good trip.
If you are following from a feed here is the original link: http://andylibrande.com/news/2010/11/new-england-trip-and-bouldering/
Backpacking in Lost Creek Wilderness
- Posted: October 18, 2010
- By: andylibrande
- In: Backpacking, Colorado, Front Range
- 0
When: September 10th-12th, 2010
Start: Goose Creek Trailhead, Lost Creek Wilderness
Destination: Shaft House Area
Caitlin and I decided to finally get in a backpacking trip just as the Fall colors were starting. We decided to check-out a place that my roommate was just a few days before us as the scenery looked just amazing.
We took off late on Friday and drove to the trail head as quick as possible (lets just say the Honda Civic tore-up the last 14 miles of dirt-road to the trail head) and arrived to the parking lot with the sun just about to set and darkness setting in really quickly.
We took off down the trail moving as quickly as possible to try to take advantage of the last glowing hints of evening sun, but we quickly found ourselves hiking in the dark. The trail is relatively easy with the first chunk of it on a smooth hillside just above the creek. At one point it does climb far above the valley and with the looming trees (and moonless night) we encountered some seriously dark hiking. Out comes the headlamps and what seems like an eternity of rolling trail we eventually got to the turn-off to the “Shaft House”.
Relieved that we finally hit the turn-off we hiked-up this new trail with no idea of where we would camp. In the pitch dark we occasionally smelled some campfire smoke, hear some bumps in the night, and eventually set-up behind a massive boulder. The sheer darkness and absolute stillness of the night made it challenging to get our bearings.
Morning was an unbelievable site. Huge granite rock-formations everywhere with thick forest and the beautiful fall colors just starting to show.
We hiked out to a overlook over a massive valley with an incredible array of large domes, massive boulders, and a creek wandering through the middle. With the help of some guys that were camped nearby we learned that it was possible to get all the way to the creek bottom. We scrambled all the way to the far stream in the picture below:
Attempting the get to the creek bottom was a major event in itself. With a significant amount of rock hopping and scrambling (sometimes over great exposure), we had to drop through chimney’s, climb over knife-edges, do some sketchy jumping over crevasses, all while trying to pick out which route would be possible. Awesome stuff!
Once we were at the stream we were rewarded with a Wild Raspberry Bush!!!:
Hanging out down at the stream-bed (ie Andy falling into the stream):
On the hike out we found a little more direct route but had to take this insanely sketchy, rusted-out ladder that was precariously perched between a couple boulders (not bolted into the rock), above a pretty gnarly ravine. Here Caitlin shows her discontentment with me taking photos instead of holding the ladder steady:
Once back to the top we had to relocate our campsite to this one with a phenomenal view of the valley around us. Then off for more exploring.
Caitlin at the old Shaft House (they actually tried to pump concrete into the ground to seal-up all of the rocks to form a reservoir where we hiked earlier in the day; luckily they failed):
We snagged a sweet spot from the guys we ran into previously. Our campsite had to be one of the most scenic locations I have ever slept:
We built a fire on top of the massive rock formation and hung out looking at the stars in a perfect moonless night:
Hiking out of our camping spot was fun. We were completely protected on all sides by rock cliffs, boulders, and tight squeezes. Here is what we had to do to get out of there:
We hiked out with minimal water (the filter was not working well) and towards the end the heat of the day caught-up to us and made the last climb out of the valley very hard. Once back to the car (which was in direct hot sunshine) we raced out of there and headed down the dirt-road to where the road went over the river; we desperately needed to cool off and clean off the grime!
The drive home was a little different as we stopped at Zoka’s for lunch (amazing as usual) and then headed towards Breckenridge over Kenosha and Hoosier Passes as Caitlin needed to go buy some skis on pro-form (she picked up some new Armada JJ’s!!!). The colors were starting to look real nice on both passes and the drive was well worth it.
If you are following from a feed please check out this post on http://andylibrande.com/news/
Bachelor Party in Camp Dick
- Posted: September 24, 2010
- By: andylibrande
- In: Camping, Colorado, Front Range, Rock
- 0
When: July 30th – July 31st, 2010
Where: Near the Camp Dick campground close to Lyons
Who: Ben, Andrew, Scott, Yours Truly, and Stranahan’s
Why: Well Ben decided to randomly get married on extreme short-notice so we had to throw a bachelor party on extreme short-notice.
Let’s get the elephant in the room a little explanation. Yes, we did have a bachelor party in a place called Camp Dick. Yes, it was just a bunch of dudes camping out together, drinking together, and reminiscing about the good ol’ days. And yes, it was a lot of, uhhh… fun….
We left Denver Friday night all jammed into Andrew’s SUV with several crash pads, gear, food, adult beverages, and four of us with the mission to give Ben a damn good evening/weekend. Luckily for us the drive to Camp Dick is just enough time to enjoy some beverages in the backseat and ramble on about how cool we all once were.
We get to Camp Dick and Andrew has to navigate the 4×4 road in his Ford SUV which was a little tight but we managed. We quickly found a awesome camping spot near the river and had a awesome boulder that we could sit on in the middle of the St Vrian river were we could cook and chill. Luckily I have been there a couple of times (documented here), so everything was pretty easy to figure out.
Morning was a little rough but here Scott and Ben discuss the merits of sleeping in a tent directly under a fallen tree:
We hit up the Bolt Boulder to try out our climbing skills the next day. Awesome high-ball boulder with easy access and a few really fun problems. Andrew getting high into the crux of the main easier problem there (crux is at the top):
Ben showing off his good looks:
There is a easier slab climb to the top which is much more sketchy when your hands are wet from the condensation on your beer and you have to use your teeth to hold the can:
We tried to convince Ben to eat this colorful friend:
Anyways congrats to Ben and Beth!!!
Great Sand Dunes Party!?!
- Posted: September 23, 2010
- By: andylibrande
- In: Camping, Colorado, National Parks, Southern Mountains, Travel
- 0
Where: Great Sand Dunes National Park
When: June 11-13, 2010
Who: Myself, Caitlin, meeting up with Trent, Bethany, Duncan, Cara, Dan, plus the dogs.
So this recap is a little late considering it is now September and this happened back in June. But I couldn’t leave out this trip from the records because it was ridiculous. Let’s start at the beginning and all the photos will be in chronological order just for sake of ease.
We all convened in the Pinyon Flats Campground Friday night on a relatively quick drive from Denver. It is Bethany’s B-day weekend but we were able to reserve only one campground that can’t have more then two tents and two cars; we were not about to let “the man” hold us down so we set-up camp under a beautiful clear night sky with 4 tents and 4 cars (as we were traveling from all over the state). Spirits were high that night we were excited for a awesome weekend on the dunes filled with glorious adventures and abundant amounts of fun. Let’s just say everything changed quickly…
About 2-3am was when we encountered our first challenge: insane winds!!!! We are in the sand dunes so that means where there is wind there is also flying sand; this is not just a little sand, but epic amounts of fine grain sand getting into every little crevice that it could find. Sleep quickly became a luxury as the wind and sand combo was blowing up tiny particles of sand underneath the rain fly and dropping down on us in the tent; it was literally raining sand.
Morning dawns…kinda. It’s cloudy, it’s windy, it’s kinda raining, we are sleep-deprived and it is really early so we do what any logical human being would do in that situation: drink. Out comes the Jack Daniels which we enjoyed alongside numerous fresh cherries and other breakfast goodies; let’s just say each one of us was focused on this activity with Olympic-like intensity.
Several hours later we decide it is time to go do something (not before we had a run-in with vigilante park ranger about the tent situation even though our tents combined took up less space then the tent cities some of the other campers had). We head over the the incredibly busy visitors center (cold, wind and tourons do not mix), which was fun because well, we were intoxicated. Then it was off to suffer on the dunes:
Hiking in wasn’t too bad, a little chilly and a lot windy:
Trent Catching some Air:
The others turned around because they have the dogs and the sand was really messing with their eyes, however Duncan, Caitlin and I keep venturing further. Bad idea as the wind was to out backs but hiking out the wind was in our faces . Right before we decide to turn around:
Luckily the group found an awesome out of wind bank along the river. Some of us caught up on the sleep we were missing:
The low-hanging cloud on the right is part of a small fire that was happening just miles from the campground:
After catching up on sleep (and starting our afternoon hang-over from all the morning drinking) we thought we would get out of the wind and sand and headed to Zapata Falls. Nice little short walk to some freezing cold water (in the deep canyon part ice was still lining the walls). Duncan trying not to fall:
The evening gave us some nice light and you can see how crazy the wind was:
Next morning we awoke to beautiful skies, no wind, and perfect temps. It was such a radical change it was hard to realize that it was the same place. Trent, Bethany, Caitlin and I all found a quite area away from other people and played in the creek, tried some sand-boarding, and just enjoyed the sun:
On the way out Caitlin and I took the scenic route up the San Luis valley eventually hitting up 285 for the ride home. While we were dealing with wind and a little rain in the sand dunes, the I-70 corridor was hit with a very late season snow-storm (most of the snow had already melted off of the peaks and we were sure glad we weren’t camping in that):
Now I can finally say I have been to the sand-dunes (even if I am still scraping sand out of my eyes 3 mos later)!
Teva Mountain Games 2010
- Posted: July 11, 2010
- By: andylibrande
- In: Colorado, Random, Rock, Summit County/I-70 Area
- 0
Teva Mountain Games
Spent a weekend hanging out at the Teva Mountain Games up in Vail June 5-6th with Caitlin and ran into a bunch of friends that were up there as well so it was a lot of fun (Andrew, Whitney, Ben, Beth, Terra). This is the second time I have been to the games (first time documented here), so it was good to be back to check out some of the fun events with highlights being the in-town Kayak events and the Bouldering competition; compared to the last time I went there the events were good but the timing of certain events overlapped while at other times there was a huge space of time where nothing was really going on. Regardless it is still an awesome event which everyone should check out.
The coolest part about the games was the water-levels on the Gore Creek running through town were just insane with the CFS nearing doubling during the day on Saturday (what I heard from 1700 CFS in the morning to nearly 3000 that night!). The water was so high on Sunday that they had to cancel the events mainly due to the huge amount of debris floating down-river. Anyways we were lucky to witness some pros hitting the creek that night at some of its highest flows on Sat night.
We literally watched full trees come down the river as it hit 20 year highs:
Here is a picture of how crazy flooded it was that afternoon (seriously up 3ft from the morning):
Watched the 3rd Annual World Bouldering Cup held in the US. Always fun to watch top climbers hitting a wall that is nice and tall. Also really cool to see how many people come and watch this event, easily the most watched event at the games.
Really cool features that they mounted to the climbing wall:
Bouldering at the Kluttergarden
On Sunday of that weekend hit up the beautiful Kluttergarden up near Red Cliff, CO. I had only been there once before (awesome trip documented here), so I was really excited to get back-up there again to play on these beautiful boulders.
We meet up with Terra and her roommate and the four of us enjoyed several different problems on just one boulder. The place was also insanely busy but everyone we ran into was pretty laid-back and we still had this boulder to ourselves for most of the day.
Here Caitlin sends a fun little variation that she found:
This climb I am working is on the same boulder and is a cool traverse with a hard lip to try to top-out on.
Then we headed back to vail for a late lunch and to clean-up all of the give-aways at all of the booths 🙂
If you are following from some sort of feed all of my posts can be found here: http://andylibrande.com/news/
Spring Climbing Fun
- Posted: July 06, 2010
- By: andylibrande
- In: Colorado, Front Range, Rock
- 0
Spring has been busy with a bunch of activities but just wanted to catch-up with some climbing updates and some other cool photos I may have taken.
Been spending a number of days up inThree Sisters park outside of Evergreen. I have been up to this park a number of times and there is just so many boulders to play on and the scenery never disappoints.
Here is a decent photo from a trip with Ben, Paige and Whitney (I spent more time nursing a hang-over then anything else). Here Whitney works on one of the larger blocks lying in this awesome pine forest:
A couple days were up at another section at Three Sisters where there is this awesome cave feature and a really clean, fun dyno block. Here Caitlin is in the cave:
Side perspective, great overhang and something unexpected in that area:
Here is the awesome dyno (well a photo of me on the launch holds, I was 6-10″ short):
We also had an awesome Friday Night climb session at the same place as the above photos with a big crew! Jake the redhead, Annie, Paige, Caitlin, myself and with a guest appearance from Terra made for a fun evening under beautiful spring weather. Here Jake crushes the Cave problem with speed:
Went to one of the best locations for a climbing competition held on the banks of the Boulder Reservoir. Battle at the Bubble was the comp and they had two of these amazing walls set-up outside with a big-screen projector and a huge amped-up crowd. Daniel Woods pulled together an insane finale move that sent the crowd into a frenzy that I cannot describe. Here is Angie Panye (2nd place) on one of the walls:
To wrap-up here is a cool photo I took of a storm passing through Denver from the top of the DU light-rail station:
Spring in Yellowstone
- Posted: June 16, 2010
- By: andylibrande
- In: Camping, Location Categories, National Parks, Travel, Wyoming
- 0
Where: Yellowstone National Park
When: Friday May 28th – Monday May 31st, 2010; aka Memorial Day Weekend
Who: Caitlin, Andy, thousands of Buffalo, some elk, grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, moose, antelope, and the most dangerous animal of them all: tourists.
Have you every heard of this place called Yellowstone? Because I never have and rightfully so as there is not much to do there. We happened to stumble upon it when we decided that we should drive North through that mostly empty piece of land above Colorado that some historic maps have listed as “Wyoming”.
While driving through this land we eventually landed in this weird place called Yellowstone, which apparently is somewhat famous as it is designated as a National Park (what-ever that means). So we decided to hang-out for a few days (mainly because we were sick of driving through that barren land north of Colorado).
So there is not much to see there which should be expected as it is in the middle of nowhere. Not sure if anyone should ever go to this place…
Not really that many bison roaming all over the park, hanging out on the road or on the trails where you would least expect them.
Or are is there any other wildlife like the herds of elk or Pronghorn Antelope.
Or are there any Grizzly bears taking down elk calves in plain site and proceeding to eat them.
And there are most certainly no Wolves hunting elk herds for their newly born calves.
Lastly the landscape is extremely boring as things such as geysers, springs, bubbling mud-pits, sulphur pits, or stunning mountains and valleys exist anywhere in this park.
Anyways if you want to see some horrible photos of probably the most boring place on earth, please read-on and don’t come crying to me when you are bored to death as I warned you fairly.
The Trip: Yellowstone over Memorial Day Weekend:
Our first Wildlife encounter was on the first evening where we went on our first short hike in Yellowstone (2/3rds mile). We went out around a small geyser basin (Mud Volcano basin) through some insanely wet rain/slush:
Out on this short hike in the wet rain/slush we rounded a corner on the trail right before our eyes was the first (and certainly not last) buffalo; Caitlin exclaimed “Is that a real one!?!”…why yes I believe that is a real one:
One advantage of really wet/slushy rain of the first evening was that the pesky Tourist animal was no-where to be seen. The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone Lower Falls which we enjoyed in complete solidarity for at least 20 mins:
Caitlin demonstrating the proper way to deploy Bear Pepper Spray when a bear, bison, chipmunk, moose, bighorn sheep, or RV decide that they will charge you and attempt to maul/gore/eat/cuddle/love/stomp you:
Saturday morning looked pretty much the Beach Vacation we were expecting (2 inches of Fresh!) the next morning near the Hayden Valley:
Damn tourists can’t walk down the road right:
Porcelain Basin near Norris Junction was insanely awesome:
Some really colorful Extremophiles found in the Porcelain Basin:
The Northern Lamar Valley after a fast moving rain storm (which is about 1,500 ft lower than were we camped and was significantly warmer), also known as the Serengeti of Yellowstone:
Momma and Baby Black Bear were hanging out giving the crowds a show (Near Tower):
Sunday Morning we were treated to some excellent GORE!!! Yogi the Grizzly Bear had chased down an delicious Elk Calf for breakfast and I was jealous as I hadn’t yet had my morning baby animal breakfast. Anyways we finally got a decent photo once he got-up and re-hydrated (but people with high-powered scopes helped us see closeups of the grizzly enjoying the various parts of an elk calf):
Then out of no-where some Wolves attacked a small herd of elk on the same hillside!!! Unfortunately they were hidden by a small hill and they would only pop-out occasionally and were running so quick it that I could not get a photo that was worth anything at all 🙁
Once our killing appetite was taken care of we went and checked out some more Geyser basins near Old-Faithful (Old-faithful was probably the least exciting part of the trip):
The very large Grand Prismatic Geyser from a good vantage point (there is a boardwalk to this geyser but since it is so large and hot all you can see is steam):
So we randomly went to this one small side road and got out of the car to wander around. There was a small group near this one geyser and out of no-where the thing started to erupt and was really sweet to watch it shoot about 25 ft into the air. The White Dome Geyser:
Sunday evening the skies cleared and we were treated to some excellent visual pleasure over the Hayden valley and Pelican Creek (just before sunset the temperature peaked at a whopping 54 degrees):
Monday morning we packed-up and headed out. There was some excellent viewage at Yellowstone Lake (which like most things we saw in the park was still frozen):
Then back in the car again and across that vast land of Wyoming…
Yee Haw!
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Once upon a time it snowed…
- Posted: May 27, 2010
- By: andylibrande
- In: Colorado, Snow, Summit County/I-70 Area
- 0
“Through sight, the colors may be seen, but too much color blinds us.
Apprehending the tones of sound, too much sound might make us deaf, and too much flavor deadens taste.
When hunting for sport, and chasing for pleasure, the mind easily becomes perplexed.
He who collects treasures for himself more easily becomes anxious. The wise person fulfills his needs, rather than sensory temptations.”
– Ancient Taoism Saying
A Season in Review:
Evan Looking Over Steeps at Zuma – March 6th 2010:
Snow is something that I have a hard time describing in words. Of everything that I have ever done in my life when a deep powder day or an backcountry adventure happens, I am never feel the rush of emotions that I do then. The emotions of excited/stoked/nervous/giddy/terrified/anxious/happy is rarely as strong in anything else as I am when I am in there in the moment.
Due to the nature of snow being so dependent on the weather, when the mountains open-up and give us their glory it is truly a wonderful sight.
Skiing powder gives you a feeling of being connected to the elements in an absolute manner; a union where skier and snow are truly meant to be. Deep powder is the epitome of weather dependency and due to its scarcity one desires it more than anything else.
Evan Dropping into Steeps at Zuma – March 6th 2010:
Skiing aggressive lines makes you humble to the powers of mother nature. Putting yourself in situations where you are nervous is good for ones soul; it allows you to calculate a risk that too few in humanity due today. It allows you to understand your limitations and the limitations of mother nature. The beauty in these situations is that there is rarely a margin of error; you either pass or fail.
Trent at the Bottom of Big Chute, Zuma – March 6th 2010:
The sheer ecstasy that can come over one in the mountains in these situations is one to make you desire more than you need. Is one that leads to your vision being clouded and poor judgment being made…..
Unfortunately this winter season started as the worst season of snow that I can remember since I really started caring about powder days 6 years ago. This is precisely why I included the above Ancient Taoist Saying as a way to ground the experience as a way to help provide insight into how to” fulfill your needs” and not “your sensory temptations”.
Tweak About to Get Slapped with a Little Dose of Reality – Baby Notch, Zuma – March 6th, 2010
Tweak hidden somewhere in that powder cloud. After being swept over those small rocks he was luckily unharmed and able to enjoy the rest of the run:
Finding powder in January and February was a activity that lead us into several challenging situations. In early January we skied the popular mellow side-country at A-Basin called the Beavers (no photos) and encountered some of the most intense moments of poor snow-pack I have ever seen. A learning experience in that even the “safe” areas can be deadly. Large sluff slides were also a concern throughout the year as though they seem minor, they can easily turn on you.
Caitlin Checking her Equipment before the BC Action Begins – March 6th, 2010
Even building the backyard park at Trent’s house was a major challenge as the snow fall never accumulated enough to enjoy it as we had previously enjoyed it.
Trent Hitting his Backyard Park Moments before Ellie (the dog) took him out and my Flash (RIP)
Playing with the Light since the Flash is broken – Evan:
Being anxious was something that ran through all of our veins at one point during the winter. Struggling to be satisfied due to such a successful prior winter (evidence here, here, here, here), we had to accept the change and make the best of it.
“Temperatures will rise and fall. Winds will shift. Leaves will drop and buds will form. And with every transition new beginnings will be revealed.”
March things become much better:
Jay Slaying at the Bottom of Steeps, Zuma – March 6th, 2010
Andy (me) Checking out Cone 3 – March 6th, 2010
Several days not documented here completed a winter that had fulfilled my needs. It is almost time to transition to the next season in the Rocky Mountains and a time to day-dream about the past adventures.
Scott Trying to Find the Soft Stuff – March 13th, 2010:
Tweak About to go a lot bigger than he realizes (hehe) – March 6th, 2010:
Trent Hitting the First Zuma Line of the Year in Little Chute – March 6th, 2010:
Video of the Small Sluff-Slide that Tweak was in the Above Photos. I was taking photos and you can hear my camera clicks an align them with the video:
Matt Baby Notch from Trent Cook on Vimeo.
The Wilds of Mother Nature – Afternoon Windstorm Re-purposing the Powder:
Good times were had this season (and if these late April/May storms keep up may continue!). We were granted enough to be satisfied and as we transition into the next season, we will remember the good days and look forward to future adventures.
– Andy
If you are following from some sort of feed all of my posts can be found here: http://andylibrande.com/news/
Denver Zoo in the Winter
- Posted: April 29, 2010
- By: andylibrande
- In: Colorado, Front Range, Random
- 0
Date: March 20th, 2010
Accomplice: Caitlin (and the furry animals)
Location: The Denver Zoo
We decided to hit up the Denver Zoo the day after a 8-10″ snowstorm as in the morning the weather was absolutely beautiful. We arrived in the early afternoon and had a great time as it had been a long while since either of us had been there.
Let’s just say the weather was perfect, the animals were insanely active and the crowds were non-existent.
Numerous times throughout the day, Caitlin and I found ourselves in exhibits with only us and the animals (which may or may not be legal…). It much more enjoyable to see animals when they want to be outside instead of hiding in the corner from the hot sun and screaming kids.
The Male Brown Bear was Playing around and Real Happy:
And then we found out why he was so happy – Apparently licking the Urine of the Female Bear brings him much pleasure:
The Cheetahs were out running in their snow-covered pen:
Caitlin near the Monkey Area. Due to the Large amount of snow the monkeys were the only animals inside. But you can see how much snow there was in the early afternoon which was quickly melting off:
The Rhino was out enjoying the nice Light: 
The Birds were Dive-bombing each other in Bird World as they fought for fish. We sat here for at least 15-20 mins watching them with only two other people coming through in that time.
Kingfisher:
Penguins were enjoying the cooler weather:
Amazingly the Red Panda was out and about running throughout his cage. Don’t believe I ever really seen him like this:
The Caged Beast: The Snow Leopard eying some tasty morsels:
Myself and Caitlin with the Polar Bears head just peeking through:
Obligatory Peacock Shot:
By the end of the day most of the snow had melted off and the Lions were out enjoying the last of the warm winter afternoon sun:
If you are following from a feed all updates can be found here: http://andylibrande.com/news/
Frolicking Through the Winter Months
- Posted: April 28, 2010
- By: andylibrande
- In: Colorado, Front Range, Random, Snow
- 0
To make up for my lameness in not posting any stoke all winter long, this post is all about the random days out and about with my camera. I also came-up with one of the most ridiculous names I could think of for a post just to commemorate this historic period in our lives.
Detailed trip reports of the more insane activities will follow, right now this is just the side-activities.
Roxborough State Park with Caitlin and Whitney (Jan 9th, 2010):
Ben Thought there was Something Funny Tasting in the Water (Jan 16th, 2010):
Scenics from the Biggest and Brightest Full-Moon of the Year (January 30th, 2010)(Summit County, CO):
Hiking Around Eldorado State Park with Caitlin and the Sister (Jan 18th, 2010):
Storm Blowing over Red Mountain – Awesome Time-lapse photos to follow – March 7th, 2010, 4:57pm:
Storm 30 mins later 5:33pm:
The Trees on the Side of My House After some Wet Snow- For some reason when they get the smallest amount of snow on them they can completely bend over and touch the ground (March 24th, 2010):
Anyways we had to find other activities to focus in on throughout the winter since the snow was so spotty. The only thing that I never got around to was climbing days out on the rock; I hit up the backyard wall a number of times but never got around to climbing in the snow (as in previous years).
More updates on there way including a Denver Zoo and the real report on Winter!!!
If you are following on a feed, all full updates can be found on my website here: http://andylibrande.com/news/
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