In July of this year, a handful of the Chromatic team traveled to Boulder, CO to meet up with the Outside Online team. Skalawag Productions joined for the fun and to film our time together. We had a great time hiking the Flatirons with Todd, Daniel and Yogi (Todd’s pup), we went rock climbing in the Clear Creek Canyon area just outside of Golden, and even did some boating at the Boulder Reservoir. The trip was both personally and professionally rewarding. The amazing video produced by Skalawag proves it:
The second location that we climbed, Gus and I top-roped a nice crack. When Gus lowered me off, I looked at him and said “when I get back from this trip, I’m making some changes and starting to climb again.” I had taken a ten-year sabbatical from climbing, after a broken finger from playing football, but the rush from completing a couple climbs outdoors in Colorado had me ready to dust off my gear and get on some walls.
We had already planned to go to Reading Farms Estate in Vermont for the 2017 Chromatic team retreat and Gus said, “there is pretty good climbing in that area, we should go early.” This planted the larger seed and provided a timeline toward a specific goal. Gus and I decided that we would fly out for the retreat a couple days early and go climbing at Rumney Rocks. While I was able to top out in Colorado, I had not been prepared for those climbs whatsoever. So I had nine weeks to prepare for a couple days of climbing.
With a fixed timeline and a goal of being able to keep up with Gus, who lives in Golden and gets to climb in Colorado regularly, I had my marching orders. The basic plan between July and October was to lose as much weight as possible and climb in the gym as often as my schedule would allow. I used the Ketogenic diet, climbing and other exercise to hit these goals.
If you need a climbing gym in Chicago, both Brooklyn Boulders and First Ascent are top notch in my book.
Over the course of those nine weeks, I was able to cut over twenty-five pounds and did quite a bit of indoor climbing. It’s been a great journey and one that isn’t over yet. Gus and I spent a day and a half at Rumney Rocks. We hiked five or six miles and climbed seven and a half routes. We found good food in town, and overall had a blast. If you rock climb or simply love the outdoors, we’d both give Rumney two thumbs up, especially when the leaves are turning.
I’m feeling great and I’m beyond grateful for the motivation that came from our time with the Outside Magazine crew!
