Liberty Bell, SW Face (Washington Pass)
By Laura Martin
Definitely the Beckey Route on Liberty Bell. Liberty Bell, Concord Tower, The Minuteman, Lexington Tower, North Early Winter Spire, and South Early Winter Spire, all comprise the Liberty Bell massif. This is a really fun climb with a short approach (about 1 hour from the cars to the base of the climb). I have done this route twice, once in the fall (a bit on the chilly side) and once in the summer (with perfect weather). Both times the last bit of the approach was less than desirable, as you ascend a climber's trail up loose scree. But the route has solid rock and is diverse. It has a chimney, face, slab and crack climbing. From the summit you can see for miles, with beautiful views of the Washington Pass area. On one climb, one of the other party members was able to name all of the seemingly countless mountains in the area. The descent is the easiest I have ever encountered on a Mountaineers climb. It involves a short and easy scramble down to a broad ledge, then a double-rope rappel right to the Liberty Bell- Concord Tower notch just above the base of the climb. All of a sudden you go from being on the summit, to being at your packs, and you wonder, what's next?

Horsetail Falls, Ouray, Colorado
By Merry O'Cleary
Pure fun in the amazingly gorgeous Uncompahgre Gorge. The four pitch ice ribbon cascading down the mountainside is visible from the road. From a distance it seems water ice climbs always look vertical don't they? A short hike down into the gorge, a hop across delicate snowbridges crossing the fast river and here we are at the slot where Horsetail Falls ends and our adventure begins. Mike Maude, Steve Broscheid, Bobby-the-ever-excitable-Geiger and I are stoked. We've a bit of a wait for a party ahead and try to stay warm in the dry cold Colorado morning. This place is special for me, a homecoming of sorts, having grown up in these same Rocky mountains near Wolf Creek Pass. It's my third year making the trip with the Water Ice Course. Every year is more fun in Ouray. It's our time on the falls. Bobby & I follow Mike and Steve swinging leads on great plastic ice. Bobby took the hardest first pitch; it lays back a bit after that but the exposure is exhilarating. I am not one of those driven to master leading WI6 and mixed routes. I am a conservative, moderate level climber and still have a ball. I gained skill & confidence through the Water Ice Course and these have been my favorite trips. The Horsetail was nice & fat in 2001 and let us make our way up her delicate, mystical self without flicking us off. I have so much respect for ice. I love the places and people it takes me to. The snapshot of this day, with these friends, hangs in my heart.

Forbidden, W. Ridge (Boston Basin)
By Tonya Price
Non-climbers would ask, "Why would you want to climb a peak called Forbidden? Surely it's called that for a reason!" However, Forbidden is one of my favorite intermediate climbs. The weekend that my boyfriend, Jeremy Wilson, and I climbed the West Ridge was amazing. It was a climb to celebrate Jeremy's birthday and I couldn't have been more psyched. Jeremy had made two previous attempts and was weathered off both times. This time we had picked the perfect weekend. The weather was gorgeous, the approach was short and the views were amazing. The next morning we got up very early and enjoyed the climb up the couloir to the base of the West Ridge. We actually simul-climbed the whole west ridge to the summit. Since we didn't have to worry about setting up belays, we climbed fast and efficient and made great time to the summit. It's the descent that seems to take forever. The angle is low enough that rappelling the route is more time consuming than down climbing. Forbidden is one of the reasons why I stress how important downclimbing skills are to intermediate and crag students. It's just a really fun, long climb. It is one of those peaks that I know I will climb again and again. Just remember that when camping in the basin, don't turn your back on those mischievous marmots!