The reason for our road trip to Colorado is the Great American Beer Festival, so once we reached Fort Collins beer took a priority on our itinerary. But that doesn’t mean we couldn’t also have some outdoors fun!
We set our alarms early (we’re not THAT dedicated beer drinkers…there is far too much to do in the morning!) and headed out to Horsetooth Reservoir for some bouldering among the rocks that helped kick start the sport years ago.
The Piano Boulders area seemed to offer a wide range of climbs so we decided to start there. After warming up I worked a fantastic 60 ft traverse with all kinds of techniques represented, while David worked this 360 degree V5 traverse of the Piano Boulder.
I really, really loved the climbing at Horsetooth. The rock was great and there was enough to keep me and my lame climbing skills entertained.
After climbing we headed over to New Belgium Brewing for a tour. These guys have a climbing gym in their brewery. Just let me know where to sign up.
We had fresh Fat Tire, bottled less than an hour before it was poured in our tasters.
Also, they had a tornado slide but they made us put our beers down first. Pfft.
Our day ended down in Boulder, where we stopped for a late dinner and beers at Avery and Backcountry Pizza (with an incredible tap list). Again, we were being bad beer drinkers and headed to bed early to get up and hike in the morning!
What better things in life than hiking and a brewery! I have to admit I’m a little jealous, as Fat Tire is on of my favorite brews. Climbing has never really been my thing, I stick more to hiking now,although I grew up bouncing around the boulders out in Joshua Tree. Nice pics and another great write up!
Brett
http://www.thefrugalhiker.com
Thanks! Lots more to come, though the second week is far more hiking heavy than brewery heavy! And fresh Fat Tire is pretty awesome. 🙂
Hooray for Ft Collins bouldering and beer! I actually have never developed a taste for beer, but I love the relaxed culture and artistry that surrounds the microbreweries in Fort Collins. It’s awesome to see so many people so passionate about food and drink and living well. Sorry we missed you!