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The Sawatch Cowpoke

The Spirit of the West Lives in Us. Your source for everything stoke in mountain athletics within Central Colorado and beyond.

Estes Park Bouldering

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Ma'Khia Bryant (V2/3) - BLM Boulder

Climber: Trent Hillier

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Afternoon Hang: BoCan's Tonnere Tower

Tourists meandering to Boulder Falls beyond us seemed to move with a distinct lack of purpose. Sarah yelling for slack cut me away from the dull overwhelming lull of noise emanating from Boulder Creek below. For a second I was almost relaxed enough to nap, even despite the slight hanging position I was sitting in at the second belay on our way up Tonnere Tower in Boulder Canyon. We had considered climbing this jutting formation within BoCan many times before, as each time we’d whizz by on our way to Nip and Tuck, Sports Park, anywhere else, the dominating position it took above the hustle and bustle of the Boulder Falls lot cut through the normality of stopping your car simply to gander at water falling down. Each time we’d considered it though, as if guided by fate, weather moved in, or there was someone on the route we’d wished to do already. This time was different. The summit was clear. The sky was a nice hue of deep blue in the mid-May sun. It was a Monday. There was no spec...

3-Star Chossaneering: Wild Ridge via/El Diablo de Oro (5.8 III)

I could feel the heat of the late-day sun, its rays giving a light burn to the tops of both of my arms. Below me fell away the rest of Wild Ridge for about 1000 feet with New York Peak beyond. Nary a cloud in the sky, the air was warm interspersed with the light breeze from the west. I couldn’t hear any of the cars below on highway 82. Some lady in Aspen was probably buying a martini for $35 about now. I couldn’t have been happier. For as much of the Indy Pass obsessive that I was, it had never occurred to me to give Amos Whiting’s long route “El Diablo de Oro” (5.8 III) on Wild Ridge a look. Having been established in about 2014 or 2015 or so, the route certainly wasn’t grand-spanking new, but it was definitely modern compared to the Harvey Carter classics that surrounded it. I was a fan of Mr. Whiting’s work, many of his newer additions to “The Pass” were near-perfect, with great bolt placements when needed and fantastic movement for whatever grade they went at. Sarah and I h...

5 Flatiron Scramble Classics

Looming above Boulder, Colorado lies one of the best alpine training grounds the intermountain west has to offer. Seeing as the secret’s already out, and some of the best climbers in the country call Boulder home, I figured I’d throw in my 2 cents. Here goes my top 5 favorite Flatiron scrambles I've done so far. They are as follows: Second Flatiron via/Dodge Block (5.0 II) Second Flatiron via/Freeway (4th II) The Regency via/El Camino Royale (5.2 II) The Amoeboid via/Buckets (5.0) Der Zerkle via/Sunnyside Two (4th)-West Face (5.0) Honorable Mentions: Nebel Horn Via (5.0 II), Anomaly via/E Face (5.0), and Royal Arch via/E Face (5.0 II) 1. Dodge Block (5.0 II) Second Flatiron This one took the cake as my favorite scramble so far for three key reasons. First is the length. Nothing beats going the full stretch of one of the significant Flatiron formations. For being able to get this route done in less than a couple hours it really makes you feel like you’re climbing something much...