Hey guys and gals,
Cesar here back with another installment of climbing media. Today I wanted to share a video I made of what I think is one of the best boulders in Colorado called Arrowhead Arete V10 located in the Darkside area of Morrison Colorado. The Darkside has many classic climbs ranging from V0-V10 with still some potential to grow. However, Arrowhead arete is what I consider the best climb in the area. Its a beautiful feature that resembles an Arrowhead with amazing quality sandstone rock.
I had always heard great things about this boulder, but never really thought I was strong enough to do it. This climb has multiple full extension moves that seemed hard for me because I am a smaller climber.This year I decided to stop assuming I couldnt do it and just check it out for real. On my first session it felt as hard as I had thought it would. I could barely do a single move. Even though I got shut down something made me want to return and take another crack at it. On my second session I slowly began to make progress and was doing one or two moves at a time. By the end of the session I knew it was possible to make it to the top. Days three and four were crazy because I went from not being able to do a single move to now falling on the final section at the top. This was frustrating, but motivating all at the same time.
I took two rest days and went back for a fifth day. On this day I decided to warm up really well by climbing easier boulders multiple times, dynamic stretching and finally doing the top half of the boulder (the section I kept falling on) twice. After doing the top twice I felt very confident and took a long break before my first full attempt of the day. I drank water, ate an apple and tried to bring my heart rate down as low as possible. Once I felt ready I geared up and sat under the boulder once more. This time was different than any other time. I climbed the bottom half perfectly and made it to the top section of the climb. I found a good spot to shake out, took a deep breath and climbed through to the top! I was so excited to finish of such a classic climb. It really has every kind of hold, the rock is great quality and comfortable, its a bit tall and scary and it has a beautiful back drop. These are the climbs that keep me motivated to get stronger and never limit myself as a climber.
I hope you enjoyed the mini story behind the my process of climbing one of Colorado's best boulders. I hope to continue sharing my videos with a bit of the backstory attached to them. Now get out there and climb!
-Cesar Valencia
