Last Friday, the day before the big Memorial Day weekend and the Indy 500, I climbed Independence Monument in the heart of Colorado National Monument southwest of Grand Junction. The last time I was at Indy, back in mid-April, the fierce wind, plummeting temperatures, and shards of snow flurrying across the canyon conspired to make me bail from Sundeck Ledge a scant 70 feet below the summit. My English mate Dennis, who has his own blog here on cave-digging in the old country, did manage to summit that day along with Joe Cook. But I was cold and frozen; my windbreaker offered inadequate protection from the wind so I took the easy way out and slid down the ropes to shelter and warmth. My last look at Dennis revealed eyes as big as saucers as he clambered up the unprotected chopped steps to the final summit overhangs. Back on the ground he told me, "Bloody 'ell, I had visions of being swept over that vertical east face by the wind." He didn't even sign the summit book, instead contenting himself with merely peering onto the summit from the safety of the last anchors on a ledge eight feet below and placing an "I was there" hand on top.

Friday though, the weather was perfect. After an early hiking start, we reached the shaded base of the route on the west side of the tower at 9 in the morning. Our party was five. The first rope was composed of Gwendolyn, CJ, and me, while the second rope coming up below us was Brian guiding the good doctor Mark. CJ, who had never climbed Otto's Route, wanted to lead all the pitches so Gwendolyn and I were able to just enjoy the ride. Most of the route is casual climbing; finding hand and finger jams; pulling onto big steps hewn by John Otto in 1911; and scampering up moderate slabs similar to my home crag at the Garden of the Gods. This time I had the beta for the off-width crux sussed, grabbing the high drilled holes and twisting my hips into the crack. The three of us took our time but still climbed all four pitches to the summit in just under two hours. On top, we lounged around in the warm 70 degree sun. We signed the tattered register, an old college-line notebook folded in half with half the pages falling out. I also noted Dennis and Joe's ascent in the book for posterity.

After an hour of tan time on the summit, we slid back down the ropes to terra firma, to the red base of chipped Chinle sandstone and a scattering of junipers. We encountered one party, a couple blokes from Oregon, on Lunch Box Ledge. They were racked and ready to climb, but kindly let the five of us pass them. Back on the ground safely, we sat in the shade, sipping water and munching Pria energy bars. And then marching back a couple miles back down Lower Monument Canyon Trail to the parking lot and a cold drink in Grand Junction. That's how it was last Friday--racing up Otto's Route in our own version of the Indy 500.