It's been rough & rocky travel. . .

...But I am finally standing upright on the ground...
(Verse  from a Willie Nelson song)



This weekend was a bit stressful.  Worry, was the word.
My mother-in-law had to have bypass surgery.  The main
artery to the brain had about 90% blockage!  That means
if a piece of plaque dislodged, she could have had a major stroke!
All went well in the surgery.  The doctor showed us the plaque that
he removed.  It looked like, well nothing I expected.  Just white stuff...

After being glad that everything went ok,  I got some sort of illness!
Not sure what it was, but it seemed like some tainted food. (takeout)
 I had the worst stomach cramps of my life.  They lasted for 1+ days.
So bad that I spent most of my time curled up in a ball.  Today I feel
like I did the most extreme workout.  All of my abbs and back are sore.
If it lasted any longer, I think I would have gone to the hospital!  Defiantly
a #3+ on the 1 to 5 pain scale, but I am not good at judging pain...
I love offwidth climbing...  Much better now, but still feeling some effects.

So now on to the good stuff, pictures.  
The Flatirons have been icy fun recently.
I got to climb the 1st on two separate days.  One was sunny and warm.
The other day was wintery and cold.  It was like two different climbs.
Then on the 3rd day I got to climb a new one (for me)  on the 2nd Flatiron.
Call the Copps  (a Jonny Copp route)  Thanks Jonny, wish you were here!
Zowie (Black Nasty) just had his 10th orbit around the sun.
Got to see a cool slideshow given by the most prolific climber, Fred Beckey.
That guy has more first ascents than anybody, anywhere...  He is 89 now,and still at it!

Zowie turned 10 on Feburary 14th.

Fred Beckey signing our old piolet @ the AAC Library.

Starting the 1st flatiron.

pitch 2

Andrea starting up pitch 2.

Worried, but having fun!

Thanks for taking pictures,  Andrea!

It was so fun, I actually climbed it twice.  The second time, we did 2 parties of 2. 
My Liz, and our friends Wayne, and Carol had never been on it.   I just love to
climb with folks during their first time on things... Or for Carol, her 1st multi-pitch
icy winter adventure type thingy! 

Get yer hike on!

Wayne's World

Liz climbed out to the side.  It made for awesome shots!

Carol trying to stay warm..

Wayne pulling over a cruxy spot.

 Below is a few of Wayne's pictures...  Thanks Wayne!

Liz approaching the end of 2nd pitch.

Me plowing through the snow

Wayne, Carol, Me, Liz

Now I need to get back to my project, the unclimbed north face.
Super psyched!!  Just have to watch out for that avalanche danger right now.
Avy danger, go away...  You are not welcome around these parts.

Cheers!