The decision to move out to Leavenworth was hatched in the cold dark winter of employee housing of Alta Ski Area. Planning for a summer adventure without a car was both exciting and daunting. Delusions of grandeur and crafty schemes slowly fell into line behind our main objectives: we wanted to climb, and we didn’t want to buy a car. Leavenworth was a destination on both our minds as a world class location for cragging and alpine climbing. Once I realized how close it was to town and the possibility of commuting to all the crags and trailheads by bicycle, I was sold, not to mention the tourist nature of town allowing us numerous means of gainful employment. Luck was on our side when a fellow Alta skier extended an offer of renting out a room in town. Although neither of us had bikes by the time we left the mountain, it seemed a small matter to overcome. Liz found a sweet ride on craigslist, and my brother was generous enough to send an old whip out to Washington. Anxious and excited, we left Utah for Leavenworth. Cold rain announced our arrival to the northwest but our spirits were high, we quickly found our new home, and settled into town.
The next couple of months are chronicled below in pictures highlighting some memorable trips. Needless to say Leavenworth didn’t let us down. Our first week here we loaded up the backpacks and road the 4 miles out to Castle Rock, birth of technical climbing in the Northwest and some of Fred Becky’s first ascents. Those first weeks of riding were slow and tough. Our legs were used to skiing, not pedaling, and our asses were used to chairlifts, not bicycle seats under the weight of heavy backpacks. But we were stoked to be doing it. The pace is slower, the appreciation greater, the stoke, boundless. Those first couple of weeks found us climbing mostly in Tumwater canyon, a little closer to town, and thus easier to get to. We were both eager to explore the Icicle canyon and nearby Enchantments, but we realized our bicycles could use a little tune up and our way of schlepping the climbing gear would need some tweaking. Liz was blessed to find a used B.O.B.(beast of burden) trailer on craigslist and that made our backs and butts grateful. We found some rigid forks and skinny tires online and transformed our bicycles into road machines. Now we’ve both got trailers, comfortable, smooth rides, and smiles on our faces. Our rides have progressed from 4 miles, to 10, to 15, and the trips have gone from an afternoon to multiple nights up in the mountains. We’ve gotten stronger and smarter, learning what we’re capable of and also what we’re not. Amazingly all those dreams hatched back in Alta are coming true, and part of the motivation for starting up this journal is that what we thought would be a tough, fun summer, is turning into a paradigm shift of what we think is possible. After realizing, not only is this possible, but we might be the only ones out here committed to it, we thought it’d be fun to share our experiences and get others motivated to push their limits as well. Hope you enjoy the pictures, there only gonna get better.
Tim