Vedauwoo, WY - - big piles o' sherman granite 1.4 billion years old, part of the uplift of the Laramie Mountains millions of years ago and exposed through erosion over the millenia.
Vedauwoo is pronounced "VEE-da-voo", and it just keeps on surprisin' ya - - the moment that you turn east from Tie Siding and get your first glimpse of this eruption out of the plains, you think "Holy crack climb, Batman - - where the hell did THOSE come from????"
If you avoid going on a blazing hot summer day, Vedauwoo is a hoot and the fun ranges from picnic grounds to miles of level hiking trails to nontechnical scrambles to mind-boggling rappels to multi-pitch climbs. It's part of the greater Medicine Bow National Forest system, too - - lots of wildlife and campgrounds, complete with an extra helping of Wyoming wind.
If you ever find yourself in southeastern Wyoming, be sure to say yodelaheeeeeeehooooooooooooooo to Vedauwoo - - and rock on.
Here is one of the places I used to climg when in D.C.
I need to take a trip soon to somewhere where I can't always see over the ground ahead of me. Climbing is so much fun. Although, I feel lucky that I can still pull myself out of the chair with the amount of exercise I've been getting lately. First a couple of weeks of exercise, then a climbing trip.
How do you pronounce "yodelaheeeeeeehooooooooooooooo"?
So, Vessel - - is that you with the climbing harness wedgie in the picture????
You're right, the Vedauwoo rock faces are pretty smooth - - looking good for 1.4 billion years old, yeah?
I miss having outdoor adventure stuff as part of my job - - at the juvenile justice agency, we ran an adventure-based counseling program with kids on probation, and at the psych facility we ran ropes courses for residents and outside groups (sometimes also psycho). Every once in a while, when the head-work of this job gets....well.....on my head, I think about chucking it all and finding an adventure-based counseling org that would have me.......
Keep me posted on your climbing vaca!
Climbing just ain't my thing. They do be very purty rocks though.
Sherry
Carla,
I practiced some and now, by golly, I think I've got it! Thanks.
Oh, no - - no rattlesnakes at ALL. None. There are "No Rattlesnakes Allowed" signs all over the park and the rattlesnakes are very law-abiding.
I've never come across one there, but I have while on the rocks in Colorado and Oklahoma.......my rock climbing class at OSU actually did some rattler hunting down in the Wichita Mountains, which I never, ever plan to do again. No need to hunt for 'em - - they seem to find ya just fine on their own.