For the second time this year Paradox Sports descended on Shelf Road, defied gravity, and ROCKED Shelf Road. I would like to start with a big thank you to everyone who showed up and made this a successful event.
The emails and phone calls flying around on Wednesday as a winter storm rolled into the front range were fast and furious. The forecast was for 8 inches of snow in the Denver/Boulder area with a little less in Shelf Road. True to the forecast we got about 8 inches here and the million dollar question was whether we should go or not. After a few phone calls we learned that Canoñ City got about 3 inches and the forecast was for the mid 60’s during the following days.

Shelf Road gets a lot of traffic during the colder months due to the fact that there is a lot of south facing rock allowing climbers to climb in the sun for the majority of the day. The camping is first come first serve so Malcolm Daly and I fired to Shelf Road on Thursday to secure a group site large enough to accommodate our group. WOW it was cold! When the sun when down I crawled in my sleeping bag and tried to stay warm. I really think it was less than 10 degrees that night.

On Friday the Paradox tribe started to trickle in in the early afternoon. We were able to get a couple of pitches in late in the afternoon. The range of experience was from first time climbers to very experienced. The snow was really beginning to melt and it was warming up however after the sun went down there was a pretty close huddle around the fire. Despite the fact that this would turn out to be the largest of the Paradox RockX Shelf Road events I am not sure if there were more dogs or people at the event. Samson was holding court throughout the weekend keeping the young whippersnappers in line. He literally took a stick from a couple of dogs who were fighting over it and ended the argument. It was a funny moment.

Saturday and Sunday were the crux of the event. Before I start talking about the climbing I have to say thank you to the BLM for their work with us to allow special access to the climbing. They were very generous. I would also like to say thank you to a Paradox Sports corporate sponsor, Osprey. Grace Gamble came to Shelf Road and did a great job representing this wonderful company and we can not thank them enough for their generosity. If you are in the market for a backpack take a look at an Osprey pack. 

The Shelf Road area offers great climbing, mountain biking, and fishing. On Saturday most of the tribe chose to climb. We took over the Green Pillar area of Cactus cliff which offered great  climbing with a fun base area to “hang.” I was truly inspired throughout the day to see athletes of all disabilities grind it out on rock. There is something about watching a person with no legs or a severe spinal injury grind it out on the rock. Sitting back and observing the masses walk past our climbing area was the real treat. Jaws were dropping as people walked by. I really believe that this is fulfillment of one aspect of the Paradox Sports mission... INSPIRATION! The day ended with a filling meal of gumbo and stir fry.

The tribe split up a bit on Sunday. Several people left early to fulfill work obligations, others climbed, and some took advantage of the great mountain biking in the Shelf Road area. We climbed in the Piggy Bank area which again provided a significant number of moderate to 5.11 climbs. As the afternoon rolled around we began to trickle out of the area. It was truly a euphoric feeling for me that this tribe had come together once again and had another amazing weekend.

I came home happy and inspired. The human spirit is amazing and I am so happy to be a part of a group of people who look at their “disadvantages” and say this will not stop me! I will defy gravity and live a life that is full and robust. I personally can not wait for the next opportunity to hang with this tribe. Speaking of that keep your eyes and ears open for our upcoming ice climbing events in North Conway, NH and Ouray, CO. More details soon!

If you would like to support Paradox Sports become a Paradox Sports Ambassador today. 

Chad