I am finally back from a whirlwind climbing trip. After waking up at 3:30am on Thursday, Sean and I busted a move out to Denver. Once we arrived, it was great to visit with Harry/Marsha. That evening they hosted the youth group interns, and fed us some great fajitas. Before hitting the sack, I drove Sean to The Tattered Cover. This is one of the best bookstores in the country.

Friday morning we stopped by to see Jimmy G, before heading out for a quick peek at Red Rocks. We walked in through the back way, and promptly got kicked off the stage. Apparently some band called "311" doesn't take kindly to strangers walking around their amps, etc... Oh well, by this time, we were ready to hit the mtns. We hooked up with Landon and Brice at Leadville, and decided to eat a few hotdogs instead of breaking out the propane stove. Bad move. By the time we got back to our spot at Twin Lakes, more guys started showing up. I think there were probably 15-17. Of those, I believe 11 made the climb up Mt Massive Saturday morning.

During this climb, I learned a few things. First, I don't want to do that particular climb again. It was a 14-mile roundtripper, with roughly 4,500' elevation gain. Second, I will never again eat 2 big hotdogs, Pringles, and 2 peanut bars the night before a big climb. 14 miles of burping hotdogs isn't what I call fun. Third, when it comes to climbing, my Dad is king of the family. I felt all of 40 on this one. He was well into his 60's during his last climbs of Shavano and Elbert.

Despite these facts, I am supremely proud to having completed it. Last one up, Last one down! This was my distinction. The quickest group to summit took 3 hours. Sean and I huffed, puffed, wheezed, and summitted in a paltry 4:58. Our roundtrip turned out to to be 8 1/2 hours. We were beat, but not defeated. Once we got back to camp, we packed up and headed out. With no rooms available in Summit County, we decided to drive to the big metropolitan city of Arriba, CO. Our posh digs included a big, dead bug right next to my bed, and a scorpion that quickly lost his life to a hiking boot. The room wasn't that great, but hey, the lukewarm shower was awesome!

Here's a quick snapshot of our campsite, before the batteries died on me. I am expecting a summit photo from one of the guys, though.