Climbing in Colorado — It's Really Happening

The second pinnacle of our roadtrip (if there can be such a thing) was spending time in our possible future-home-state of Colorado in the summertime (a first for Kristen). Adding to the awesomeness was a chance to meet up with two of our friends and fellow climbers, Berto and Bern, who live in the area. Bern took the four of us to an awesome cliff in Golden, just a ten-minute hike from the roadside parking area.

We aren’t super comfortable lead climbing outdoors, so we let our friends start off, and then belay us as we top-roped. We got to send four different routes, ranging from 5.8 to 5.10 in difficulty, which, for us, definitely boosted our confidence a tad for our next outdoor climbing trip.

Afterwards, we soaked our feet in the cold creek just down the hill, and then drove into the historic downtown of Golden for some eats. Not far from where we were, the Coors factory, the largest single-site brewery, churns out millions of gallons of watery beer each year. Bern insisted on taking us to D’Deli, a cool little gourmet sandwich shop on the main street, with such sandwich names as The Oinker, Maui Waui, and The Jackwaggon. Bern and Berto both got a Buffalo Chicken sandwich, while the two of us split a Prime Time and Piggly Wiggly.

For dessert, even though we were already full, we made a stop two doors down at Golden Sweets for delicious homemade ice cream. We both fell in love with the same sample and each got one scoop of the coconut chocolate chunk. Delish!

Thanks to Berto and Bern for showing us a great time (and climbing spot)! Hope to be back soon.