Rainy Day Fun

The past week and a half was very rainy, yet very fun. Maybe not as much fun as The Cat In The Hat had on that infamous rainy day back in 1957, but worthwhile none the less. Religiously watching weather updates and looping satellite images allowed Dr. Thunder and myself to pick and choose our bouldering destinations. Laramie is in fact a bouldering mecca and choices abound in every direction from town. Throughout the past week we managed several good days while many others stayed inside while it poured.
Days we bouldered were crisp and cold with just a touch of humidity for the sticky sloper move or two. On two of the more tormented days of rain we searched for new rock. Probably a mistake! Like a kid in a candy store, we found another candy store in the back alley. This one behind the first store, and where parental supervision is not a factor. Once again, new, massive, perfect boulders!
On days we bouldered Neverland and Needle Peak were the priority destinations. Projects at both are always calling. Several newer sectors of Neverland had not been seen by Bryan, I mean Dr. Thunder, so that too was a priority. I had started developing one by myself last fall and couldn't resist the possibility with more pads and a spot. We did some new warm ups and moved on to the projects in other sectors.

Dr. Thunder on Frontier Psychiatrist V8. 

I put up Frontier Psychiatrist V8 during part of our warm up session in the newer sector. Bryan accused me of picking a problem that was "my style". Makes me think he meant to say "classic".

Another view of the Frontier Wall to give a better sense of scale.

Our primary focus in the Neverland area was to continue working on the Triple X Roof (You can look at the last post and posts from last fall to see images of it). Progress was made, including now doing all the moves except a single crux move toward the end of the roof. We could each do several moves in a row both before and after the undone crux move and were much closer on the single crux move, consistently snagging the hold, but not hanging it. I'm feeling really motivated to finish the line now that I know for sure I can do it!
Going to the Saratoga Valley to finish some old projects we experienced a bit more rain than we would have liked and spent a portion of a day at Bennett Peak exploring some new rock in an old school area.

The North Platte River cuts Bennett Peak like a knife and exposes a good amount of quality rock.

Some new rock in the Bennett Peak area.

We did get to do some bouldering at Needle Peak between rain spats and Bryan Vansickle, Dr. Thunder finished the New Cactus Project! It is now Apocalypto V10, named because it was done on the day of scheduled apocalypse from last week. He even finished it within minutes of 6pm deadline. Again, you can go to the last post for an image, as I was spotting the tall topout rather than taking pictures of the last moments of a project. Sadly, because of severely shitty wind we did not get to finish the Silicone Parts Project. Instead we decided on trying the Polish Project. Not surprisingly it is still a project.
Other fun was had, not just relating to rocks. The Saratoga hot springs are always interesting because of who you meet soaking in the pool. They did not disappoint this past week. We met a fella who, though rather simple in the mind and very friendly, told a long and hard to follow story about moose. Another fella, sitting near by, hung on his every word adding his own details about moose. The second fella told a story of how one died and floated down the river.  The next hot springs session included the largest family I've ever seen, ever. It was scary and sad to see the "American Family" that the rest of the world describes. Amazingly over weight and super loud. It looked like the Walrus cage at the zoo. Dr. Thunder was so inspired he didn't touch his bag of Cheetos at all on the drive home. No celebration at all for putting up Apocalypto. With the completely random experiences at the hot springs every time, we always stop and soak. It is a rare local flavor that is becoming less in our busy world.

Rainy Day sledding session with Dr. Thunder and Amiee dog