And suddenly we're starting the third week of the semester...
The first weeks always fly by, and this semester they came after a jam packed winter break. After my last exam I flew back to Houston for two nights, then it was off to London and Wales for two weeks before a brief return to central Texas after New Years. Back in Houston I felt like I was finally catching my breath from the end of the semester rush, but then I was off to El Paso for a week in my favorite bouldering area, Hueco Tanks.
Busy is good though, and I flew into El Paso ready for a climbing trip. I got picked up from the airport by three Cal Climbing friends who had driven from Berkeley via Red Rocks. We got groceries then headed straight to the Hueco Rock Ranch, an American Alpine Club campsite opposite the Hueco Tanks State Park. Evan and Ana hadn't been to Hueco before, so I was excitedly telling them about what problems we should get on while Nick and I recounted how good the climbing is.
They weren't disappointed. After making our way to the park the next morning we watched the mandatory educational video before warming up at the Small Potatoes area. It's always fun returning somewhere with new people because they'll inevitably be attracted to different lines than you. So despite warming at that area more times than I can count I got on new problems that after climbing I couldn't believe I hadn't done before. Everyone else was equally psyched, and we moved onto the New Meadow area.
Then it was time for one of my all time favorites, and certainly my favorite at the grade, Lobster Claw V5. You climb up and slightly left through slopers and pinches before making a big move out right to an open hand crimp. You have to hit it precisely and hold your body into the wall, before walking your feet across and reaching up past your right hand to an intermediate edge and finally the lip of the boulder. From there the top out is casual. The movement is so fun, and climbing the light colored slopey rock at the start before crossing the crimpy band of iron-red rock makes for a Hueco classic.
The next few days didn't include any new sends, but I was perfectly content repeating my favorites from previous trips. I did try a project left over from from the month I spent in Hueco on my gap year, Left Martini, but as expected didn't feel like I had a chance of doing it in a few days. Next winter though! However, while Evan worked his project for the trip, Adjust Your Attitude V8, Ana and I began working a nearby V10 called Governator. I did all the moves in a session, but only barely, and it took another session of refinements for me to work out that the easiest way for me to get to the top was simply to skip the moves and dyno. Even then, Ana and I were both having trouble holding a tricky left toe hook early on the problem.
Then on the last day of the trip everything came together. I had been talking about how it was first-try-Friday the entire approach and, despite being adamant it was going to take multiple attempts, Ana crushed Governator first try of the day. She made it look casual, as usual, and so the pressure was on for me. The nerves I had starting dissipated once I pulled on and everything seemed so much easier than the day before. I climbed to the final move without cutting my feet and stuck the crux dyno to finish it.
That would have been an awesome end to the trip, but the clock had barely hit noon and we had another afternoon in Hueco. We made our way to the Martini Cave to meet up with Evan, who was working Baby Martini V6. I decided to try Martini Hot Box V9 and to my surprise stuck the crux move first try. A few attempts and a little bit of rest later and I had sent. From there we headed over to Sign of the Cross area (unfortunately Evan didn't send Baby Martini, but he made awesome progress), and Ana began working Choir Boys V9.
I had semi-seriously said flashing Choir Boys was my goal for trip on the way from the airport, and was promptly ridiculed for setting myself a goal I would only have one chance to succeed at. As it turned out, after milking Ana and the other climbers there for all the beta possible I fell bumping to the lip of the boulder on my flash attempt. So close! Ana and I both finished it a few tries later, at which point all four of us were absolutely shattered. We headed out and started the drive to Berkeley.
But before we left Choir Boys we ended up bumping into a few people I had climbed a lot with two years ago, my friends Jesse and Matt among them. They were both there on extended trips, something I'm planning on doing again next winter. Hueco is interesting because people who haven't been there have irrational fears about not getting into the park and having a terrible trip, while the people who have been there make every effort to go every winter. That's not to say the access restrictions aren't annoying, and having to watch the video every trip because you inevitably forget your video card is just silly (Y NO DATABASE HUECO?). But to be honest, and Jason Kehl expressed a similar opinion to Rock and Ice recently, I don't really mind the restrictions that much. Despite spending weeks and weeks there I'm not even close to climbing all the stuff I want to do on North Mountain (the only area you can go to without a guide), and as long as you're not there during the peak season (the weeks around Christmas) you'll have no problem getting onto North everyday you want to. In fact, maybe I should stop telling people how not bad it is, because the fact most people are afraid of the restrictions is the only reason I can think of that stops it from being packed. Well, maybe proximity to El Paso has something to do with it too, but even then I can't help being surprised more people aren't there. Despite my surprise I, like Kehl, am just glad Hueco doesn't get as packed as Bishop.
Anyway, enough about access because Hueco was awesome as always, and would still be awesome if it was quieter or a little busier. Since next winter I'll have an extra long break I'm going to make sure to spend at least a month there. It's too good to pass up!
The first weeks always fly by, and this semester they came after a jam packed winter break. After my last exam I flew back to Houston for two nights, then it was off to London and Wales for two weeks before a brief return to central Texas after New Years. Back in Houston I felt like I was finally catching my breath from the end of the semester rush, but then I was off to El Paso for a week in my favorite bouldering area, Hueco Tanks.
Busy is good though, and I flew into El Paso ready for a climbing trip. I got picked up from the airport by three Cal Climbing friends who had driven from Berkeley via Red Rocks. We got groceries then headed straight to the Hueco Rock Ranch, an American Alpine Club campsite opposite the Hueco Tanks State Park. Evan and Ana hadn't been to Hueco before, so I was excitedly telling them about what problems we should get on while Nick and I recounted how good the climbing is.
They weren't disappointed. After making our way to the park the next morning we watched the mandatory educational video before warming up at the Small Potatoes area. It's always fun returning somewhere with new people because they'll inevitably be attracted to different lines than you. So despite warming at that area more times than I can count I got on new problems that after climbing I couldn't believe I hadn't done before. Everyone else was equally psyched, and we moved onto the New Meadow area.
Ana, Nick, and Evan on Lobster Claw
Then it was time for one of my all time favorites, and certainly my favorite at the grade, Lobster Claw V5. You climb up and slightly left through slopers and pinches before making a big move out right to an open hand crimp. You have to hit it precisely and hold your body into the wall, before walking your feet across and reaching up past your right hand to an intermediate edge and finally the lip of the boulder. From there the top out is casual. The movement is so fun, and climbing the light colored slopey rock at the start before crossing the crimpy band of iron-red rock makes for a Hueco classic.
The next few days didn't include any new sends, but I was perfectly content repeating my favorites from previous trips. I did try a project left over from from the month I spent in Hueco on my gap year, Left Martini, but as expected didn't feel like I had a chance of doing it in a few days. Next winter though! However, while Evan worked his project for the trip, Adjust Your Attitude V8, Ana and I began working a nearby V10 called Governator. I did all the moves in a session, but only barely, and it took another session of refinements for me to work out that the easiest way for me to get to the top was simply to skip the moves and dyno. Even then, Ana and I were both having trouble holding a tricky left toe hook early on the problem.
Then on the last day of the trip everything came together. I had been talking about how it was first-try-Friday the entire approach and, despite being adamant it was going to take multiple attempts, Ana crushed Governator first try of the day. She made it look casual, as usual, and so the pressure was on for me. The nerves I had starting dissipated once I pulled on and everything seemed so much easier than the day before. I climbed to the final move without cutting my feet and stuck the crux dyno to finish it.
That would have been an awesome end to the trip, but the clock had barely hit noon and we had another afternoon in Hueco. We made our way to the Martini Cave to meet up with Evan, who was working Baby Martini V6. I decided to try Martini Hot Box V9 and to my surprise stuck the crux move first try. A few attempts and a little bit of rest later and I had sent. From there we headed over to Sign of the Cross area (unfortunately Evan didn't send Baby Martini, but he made awesome progress), and Ana began working Choir Boys V9.
I had semi-seriously said flashing Choir Boys was my goal for trip on the way from the airport, and was promptly ridiculed for setting myself a goal I would only have one chance to succeed at. As it turned out, after milking Ana and the other climbers there for all the beta possible I fell bumping to the lip of the boulder on my flash attempt. So close! Ana and I both finished it a few tries later, at which point all four of us were absolutely shattered. We headed out and started the drive to Berkeley.
But before we left Choir Boys we ended up bumping into a few people I had climbed a lot with two years ago, my friends Jesse and Matt among them. They were both there on extended trips, something I'm planning on doing again next winter. Hueco is interesting because people who haven't been there have irrational fears about not getting into the park and having a terrible trip, while the people who have been there make every effort to go every winter. That's not to say the access restrictions aren't annoying, and having to watch the video every trip because you inevitably forget your video card is just silly (Y NO DATABASE HUECO?). But to be honest, and Jason Kehl expressed a similar opinion to Rock and Ice recently, I don't really mind the restrictions that much. Despite spending weeks and weeks there I'm not even close to climbing all the stuff I want to do on North Mountain (the only area you can go to without a guide), and as long as you're not there during the peak season (the weeks around Christmas) you'll have no problem getting onto North everyday you want to. In fact, maybe I should stop telling people how not bad it is, because the fact most people are afraid of the restrictions is the only reason I can think of that stops it from being packed. Well, maybe proximity to El Paso has something to do with it too, but even then I can't help being surprised more people aren't there. Despite my surprise I, like Kehl, am just glad Hueco doesn't get as packed as Bishop.
Anyway, enough about access because Hueco was awesome as always, and would still be awesome if it was quieter or a little busier. Since next winter I'll have an extra long break I'm going to make sure to spend at least a month there. It's too good to pass up!
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