Day 3: Bouldering in Chaos Canyon
For our third day, we planned to do something that Rocky Mountain National Park is famous for: climb ROCKS. Specifically, we planned to boulder in Lower Chaos Canyon, a talus field surrounding Lake Haiyaha. Those that know me know that I absolutely love rock climbing, no matter the type. It’s been my primary hobby for several years now, and I’ve recently been extra motivated to climb by a string of progress and improvements. So, I was excited to explore the bouldering problems at RMNP.
Since Lake Haiyaha is accessed via the Bear Lake trails, we knew we’d have to contend with large crowds if we showed up too late. It was the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, so the busy area was bound to be even busier than usual.
To try and beat the crowds, we left our campsite at 6 AM. We reached the Bear Lake parking area around 6:20 AM and found it was already completely full. So, we annoyedly turned around and parked at the Park-and-Ride shuttle stop. Thankfully, we caught a shuttle back to Bear Lake without much hassle or wait. We were on the trail by 7:45. The trail was initially the same as the one we’d taken to Emerald Lake the day before, but we followed a split at Dream Lake to continue to Lake Haiyaha.
Where Are the Boulders?
We reached Lake Haiyaha and Chaos Canyon at 8:45. The morning sun was already starting to heat up the boulders (heat = bad friction), prompting us to find some warm-up problems as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, that proved much easier said than done. It turns out the name “Chaos” refers to – among other things – how difficult it is to find specific boulders. Mountain Project’s directions to boulders were vague, making us wish we had bought a guidebook. All we wanted was to find a single distinct boulder so we could use it to help locate others, but we found little success.
Shane and I hopped around Chaos Canyon’s boulder field for around an hour before we finally encountered a pair of climbers. They explained that we had approached from the wrong direction (thanks to me confidently neglecting Shane’s suggestion to take the correct trail), which had created confusion in Mountain Project’s directions. They pointed us to a warm-up boulder nearby, where we threw down our crash pads and warmed up.
Potato Chip: My Third V7
Before my trip to Colorado, the hardest boulder problem I’d sent outside was a V7. I first sent a popular V7 in Chattanooga in February of 2022, followed by a “one-move wonder” V7 in Leavenworth in June. I hoped – perhaps optimistically – to bag a third V7 while at RMNP. It seemed a little lofty to think I’d be able to do so at high elevation, but I kept my hopes up.
Fortunately, there happened to be a V7 problem that fit my style (overhung crimps) on our warm-up boulder. To make it even more appealing, it was entirely shaded from the sun. The problem was called “Potato Chip” and, thanks to another climber we met named Jacob, we had enough crash pads to protect the landing. Jacob was a V10 climber, so he was able to send the problem in only two attempts. But he patiently and graciously left his pads with Shane and I so we could continue attempting it.
After over an hour of working moves and discussing beta with Shane and Jacob, I sent the problem. It was a small triumph and a great way to start the day of bouldering. Though I burned lots of skin and energy on the problem, the pain was worth it. Potato Chip is an excellent problem.
The Stone Mediocres
After sending Potato Chip, Shane, Jacob, and I joined the two climbers – Alex and Nick – that had earlier given us directions. We joined them at the Gobot Boulder, which houses a classic V5, a gnarly V9, and a long V11. Alex, Nick, and Jacob were all V10 climbers or better. Their strength and their casual attitude about it served as a reminder that Shane and I – strong climbers by Midwest standards – are below-average climbers in Colorado. In this state of crushers, we were simply “Stone Mediocres.”
Regardless of our gap in skill, Shane and I enjoyed climbing with the other three. Alex, Nick, and Jacob all flashed Autobot, a classic V5. Shane and I each sent the problem after a couple of attempts. After this, we lounged around for over an hour while we watched the other three work on the Gobot Boulder’s namesake V11. The view around us was beautiful: definitely one of the most scenic places I’d climbed.
After the others gave up on Gobot, our group moved to a nearby V5/V6, which everyone except a tired Paul managed to send. Following this route, Alex and Nick parted ways with us (with my, Shane’s, and Jacob’s contact info). The remaining three of us began working on Tommy’s Arete, an uber-classic V7 in the canyon. Jacob sent the route with only a little bit of trouble. Shane and I were unable to repeat his success, but both of us vowed to come back and claim our revenge.
Return from Chaos
We concluded our day of bouldering around 4 PM. Not a single storm – let alone a single cloud – had interrupted the beautiful bouldering weather. My hands and Shane’s hands were wrecked. All three of us took a quick dip in Lake Haiyaha, which a recent rockslide had turned to a murky green color. From there, we began our return to the Bear Lake area via the hiking trail. Jacob joined us on the way down, which made for some great conversation.
As we hiked, we passed numerous groups that inquired about the large crash pads sitting on our shoulders. Some groups simply stared, others asked what they were, and those familiar with bouldering asked about details of our day’s climbing session. Sometimes the questions were amusing, other times annoying. In any case, we were reminded what it’s like to be a climber among non-climbers.
After parting ways with Jacob, Shane and I concluded our day in typical chill fashion. We first went to Sheep Lake to look for wildlife and found a herd of elk near the road. Then, we returned to our campsite. There, we enjoyed a pasta meal, sunset views of Longs, and a deer buck that wandered near our campsite. And, of course, we had some beers.
