THE FRANGE

F.R.A.N.G.E.  "Friends Recommend Avoiding Nederland. Go Elsewhere".

The Front Range, sometimes called the FRANGE, isn't known for its great skiing. On the contrary, most skiers living near Denver or Boulder, CO probably view the Front Range as a windy and icy obstacle separating them and their large S.U.V.'s from the over-hyped artificial crud of summit county that some refer to as snow. But it's a mighty little range, packing enclaves of fairly good powder into decent 2000-foot shots in little places like Berthoud Pass, Indian Peaks Wilderness, and of course Rocky Mountain National Park.

F.R.A.N.G.E = "Frequent Raised Avy danger Now Going Extreme"

Those who choose to venture into the FRANGE during mid-winter must contend with a shallow, unstable snowpack, high winds, gigantic sastrugi, thinly buried rocks, and long, flat, boring-as-hell approaches. The rugged terrain and hair-trigger snowpack have swallowed many victims over the years and will do so for years to come - as long as a million and a half people live less than two hours drive from trigger points and starting zones.

F.R.A.N.G.E = "Finding Reasonable and Accessible terrain Never Gets Easy".

I learned to ski in Colorado, but now I only visit Boulder enough so that my parents and friends don't forget what I look like.  Thus I haven't had as many opportunities to sample the FRANGE goods as much as the dedicated locals. I've only developed an outsiders' taste of what its like to slay the infrequent powder dragons.

F.R.A.N.G.E = "File edges, Repair bases, Avy beacon, New snow, Gallons of coffee, Exhausting slog".

But the numbers are growing. After a big powder dump, skin tracks wind mysteriously into the forest at each parking spot along the FRANGE, from Moffat to Caribou to Black Lake, etc. When spring conditions arrive, the snowpack settles, and the hoards take to the newly accessible trailheads along the Indian Peaks like flies on elk shit.

Come late April you can find sinuous tracks of disturbed corn snow smothering the east face of Mt Toll, Mt Audubon, The Dead Elk and Dragon Tail Couloirs, and darn near everything else. Yes, spring is a different animal all together.

In summary, I wish to offer maximum respect to all the winter powder seekers who wake early,  drive many miles on slippery mountain roads, and skin endless flat terrain only to risk being thwarted at tree line by 50mph winds, shooting cracks, and base-wrecking rocks. There is good powder out there, and only the dedicated will find it.

Either that, or move to Utah.

A few photos from the FRANGE this past winter:

Ben R somewhere near Eldora. Ben R and Tim N above Berthoud Pass. On this day the snow was so cold we could hardly slide downhill. Skiers worldwide understand the usefulness of hitchhiking in order to maximize vertical.

 John Webb decked out in typical FRANGE touring wardrobe.

The Flora of the FRANGE

"The snow sucks, but at least its windy"Typical Front Range terrain in typical good-weather conditions.

The FRANGE is a great place to go if you love looking at lenticular clouds. Tim N dropping into an obscure and very short FRANGE couloir.

an ascent of the Naked Edge

One of my favorite routes of all time is the Naked Edge (5.11) in Eldorado Canyon. The route begins above a variety of starting pitches, and ascends the precipitous southern profile of Redgarden Wall in 4 to 7 pitches, depending on how far you like to stretch a 60m rope.

I used to drool over this route when I was a high school student in Boulder. I was a gym rat, and had abysmal gear-placing skills. My mom had the old classic book "Climb" (1977) by Bob Godfrey and Dudley Chelton, which featured Duncan Ferguson and Jim Erikson on their ground-breaking free ascent of 1971. I used to page through that book over and over again, trying to imagine myself in some of those precarious and poorly protected positions - sans sticky rubber, RP's and microcams.

I've done the route six or seven times. Sometimes I have a hard time and really struggle with it. Other times it feels smooth and mellow, and goes down easy like a fine scotch.

This October I climbed it with a guy named Sperry, from Switzerland. Sperry is a school teacher who only goes by his nickname - its meaning in Swiss German is lost on me. He's also fairly strong and bold, and like any foreign visitor to Boulder, he wants to tick the classics. In typical Dylan fashion I offered Sperry the first (5.11a) and second (5.10d/11a) crux pitches - after all he's the guest. But that meant I had to lead the actual "naked edge" 2nd pitch (10c), where legend had it that a fall would result in the rope being cut on the sharp arete. Proper protection precludes this possibility, but the pitch does feature some classic eldo slipperyness and associated intimidation.

Sperry floated all of the pitches, and it was up to me to lead the last crux, the 5.11a finger crack/bulge/steep handcrack pitch that ends with an easy bit of slab up to the summit. I flubbed the opening sequence like I always do, but managed to downclimb into a rest instead of yelling "take". My forarms should have been trained through a month of climbing limestone in france, but the exposure really gets to you on the Naked Edge's last pitch, and a psychological pump always sets in. Somehow I pulled through, relishing yet another ascent of this gritty fountain formation masterpiece.

After descending to the parking lot, we nibbled on a bag of peanuts and some dry bagels before climbing "X-M to Outer space", a classic but poorly protected four-pitch 5.10d link up of two routes on the Bastille.

Sperry on the opening moves of pitch one - Naked EdgeOur third Naked Edge pitch - the infamous "squeeze chimney" pitchHanging out at the ultimate hanging belay below the last pitchSperry starting up the first pitch of X-M on the BastilleSperry hamming it up on the business pitch of Outer SpaceGear suggestions:

1 60m rope.

1 set of nuts and one set of cams from .1 BD C3's up to a blue camalot are enough for the locals. I double up on a few finger sized pieces and doubles of #1, #2, and #3 really help with the mental block on the steep hand crack corner on the last pitch.

Don't leave a pack at the base. Just take what you think you'll need from the car, and clip it to your harness. Its not that long of a route anyway, and why would you want to walk back up the hill to get your pack?

How to climb the route in 5 pitches.

p1: Start at Redgard route (5.9),  Touch and Go (5.8), or T2 (5.10). If you feel confident, simuclimb the initial pitches of either of these routes and continue up through rambling terrain to the cave pitch (5.8) and climb through that to the bolted anchors of the Naked Edge first pitch before putting your partner on belay. If you are not confident, don't bother simuclimbing, as it will just end up being more dangerous and slower. Just pitch it out. It will only add 15 minutes to your day.

P2: Climb the exquisite first pitch finger crack to another bolted anchor (25m, 5.11a).

P3: If you are there after the Peregrine Falcon closures are lifted, continue above on exposed 5.10 terrain around a corner, up a grove, and link it with the next (5.8) pitch to a ramp belay below the squeeze chimney pitch (60m). If the falcon closures are still in effect, rappel from the finger crack anchors as you would be breaking the rules if you continued.

P4: Climb the awkward crack up 10m, step left and do a weird high step up into the squeeze (5.10+). Relax, breath, and cruise up easy but awkward terrain to a very exposed hanging anchor up and right. (25m)

P5: Wonderfully exposed and elegant jamming combined with scruffy moves get you up a brief overhanging bit, around an exposed step to the right, and up a really nice right facing corner that goes from red to blue camalots. Some people belay where you can get #3's in but you might as well keep going out left onto the face, where a 20m 5.5 ramble gets you to the top.

Descent: Follow scruffy traces of previous traffic out across the east face slabs of T1, and then start working your way down a few hundred feet. Many ways to go. As you look down, you are looking for an easy way to gain access to the vegetated gully to your left. Once you get there, you'll notice you are on a path which leads all the way down pass the Wind Tower to the bridge and your car.

Enjoy!