When I was younger, around 12 or so, my Dad got bit by the rock climbing bug, drug Elsie and I to REI and purchased an ungodly amount of rock climbing gear: ropes, shoes, harnesses, carabiners, chalk bags, rock climbing guide book, etc. It was epic. And incredibly fun. So fun in fact that Dad couldn’t wait until we actually got to the rock. He strapped Elsie into a harness and rappelled her down the balcony/stairs of our house. Elsie was literally dangling from the stair railing when Mom walked in through the garage door. Priceless. A Team Huxtable classic.
Needless to say climbing with our parents was a lot of fun, and something Elsie and I truly enjoyed doing as a family. We climbed together for awhile before high school socializing and college got in the way. Recently, Andy and Sean and I got back into it, and have been exploring all the great climbing places in Alaska. I can’t wait until my parents visit next June so we can take them and turn it into a Huxtable family affair again.
Sean, Andy, and I have recently been climbing at Grapefruit Rocks here in Alaska. It’s about an hour north of Fairbanks. It’s a 45 minute hike up to the rocks. We’ve been twice. The first time we got charged by a mother grouse (made me think of my Mother….no offense Mom). She was wildly protective of her babies, it was so sweet. And scary. Again, my Mother. Second we ran into a porcupine. He wasn’t too happy to see us either. The trail up has beautiful views (and grouse and porcupines).
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| Andy – he carried all the weight. He said it’s so I can run away from the porcupines. |
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| View of the Elliot Highway. This Highway becomes the Dalton Highway which takes you all the way to the Arctic Ocean. It directly follows the Alaska Pipeline. |
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| Looking south towards Fairbanks. |
Andy and Sean and I got to the rock and roped in. Incorrectly. Which we didn’t figure out for awhile. Oh well. As Caroline would say, “but did you die?”
It was so much fun! Previous climbers had put in anchors and other lead climb clip-ins. We didn’t lead climb, we top-roped, but we did use the anchors.
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| Andy fixing the rope |
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| Climbing selfie. |