Tunnel Vision, Round 2

One week after Jack Roberts and I walked in to check out the climbs Womb With a View and Tunnel Vision in Rocky Mountain National Park, Greg Sievers and I returned to the Loch, hoping for more ice. There was more ice, but not nearly enough. Worse, the day was much warmer than forecast. We third-classed a short pitch and then climbed a long, challenging pitch before the ice and snow just got too slushy to proceed safely. (Well, it already had been unsafe. It just was too slushy to move at all.) I jacked my shoulder lurching onto my right arm when some snow collapsed under me in the chimney, and my heels got chewed up by skiing in mountain boots. But the climbing to our high point was great, and now I'm more psyched than ever to complete this long route. It's supposed to snow a lot over the next few days. Then all we need is some cold nights and a cloudy morning. If not, there's always next year.