hitting the (rock) wall....

We took advantage of the warmer weather and hit the wall this past weekend with friends. It was a gray day but relatively warm in the high 40's and some gusty but manageable winds. We haven't been out there in a long time... we scouted another place in the area last year but hadn't roped up there since late April, 2008. I have no idea why we waited so long to go back (oh wait the photos reminded me... it's too hot in the summers). It's less then 40 minutes from our house and just a short, steep hike to a bolted wall that has a number of routes rated 5.8 and up. We've only been to the gym once this season back in October so my paws were very tender and I only did two routes as I eased myself back into the game.
 
We had an equal number of four legged monsters as two legged people with Sam & Kaya, Conrad and Kiera and us with our two monsters. Sam hasn't climbed much before but took to the rock like spider pig- even in  his LL Bean hiking boots. Conrad's worn out more then one pair of climbing shoes in his career and lead the climbs for the day. 
The dogs were very well behaved and Mayhem had the only bit of trouble as he managed to get 4 small cactus plants stuck in his paws during the day...which meant that I got stuck a few times while removing them. He's very stoic and doesn't flinch in pain which is unlike Chaos who would have whined if he had been that unlucky.Back at the car we enjoyed a late lunch before heading back to Telluride and the winter weather.