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Full Weekend

January 29th, 2024
Two Moves for Sister Sarah, v3
The Feather, v11
Devil’s Butthole, v6

Gymnastics meet in Phoenix followed by Hueco bouldering in El Paso. 😳

posted by ARR

More West Mountain

January 16th, 2024
Paul, and now Michael too, continue to work out The Feather, v11
Silas continues to find very precarious places to chill
Ivan sends Kang, v3
And I try out 1969, v9…less than 24 hours after having a conversation with my friend Raquel on how I was taking a break at trying climbs at my upper limit.
Alas, I am such a sucker for hard movement. But I will try very hard not to drag my family here for weeks on end trying to put this one together!

posted by ARR

A West Mountain Day

December 29th, 2023

…and I don’t mean skirting around the bottom of West, enjoying the easy-to-get-to ground level classics. A West Mountain Day is a big day. A day where there is hard manual labor, skill and sometimes bravery required to get oneself to the climb of the day, so much in fact that it can become difficult to discern the effort spent climbing from the effort spent on the approach/descent, as one is just as demanding as the other. On days like this it’s best not to do the math. Never mind that you may have just spent more time hauling heavy pads up and over and through and under boulders than you did actually climbing boulders. Never mind that the full-body work over of soreness and exhaustion might not be from the climbing, but the getting to and from the climbs. Never mind that that wide leap over the gaping pit of death with a heavy pad and flip flops may have scared the shit out of you worse than today’s highball. It’s best to never mind all that. Because the mission is the climbing, and all the rest just minor details that never make the evening’s recap of the most amazing climbing day ever.

The top of West Mountain, here we come
Looking down on North Mountain
Poop, v0. Not as bad as the name makes it out to be
More Poop
Duodenum, v1
Higher up on Duodenum, v1
Boop, v3. These are seriously the worst names ever
Planet Zeist, v6. Classic
The Feather, v11. Ultra classic

posted by ARR

Another Buffet Day

December 23rd, 2023

“Buffet Day” is a term we use to describe a day out at the boulders where one goes from boulder to boulder, sampling various climbs, sending only what one can do quickly. We’ve decided to be in sampling mode these first few trips to Hueco, trying out the new stuff, or stuff we’ve never been on. What I love about Buffet Days: there’s no “saving” oneself for the big proj. Just throw yourself at something and send now! And if the climb sucks, move on!

Today’s Buffet Day highlights:

Ok, so this is clearly not a Buffet Day boulder problem. It’s sunrise at our campsite. And dang beautiful at that!
Ivan running right up Gingivitis, v2, a piece of rock we’ve walked by a million times but never climbed
And right next to it, Third Reich, v5. Quite good, and not too hard
Next, Paul burls his way up Orpheus, v6. And then we both sample the v8 that climbs into it from the left, Eurydice
Needing one last helping from the buffet before calling it a day, Ivan asked if we could go back to Orifice Affair, v1. So psyched we did because: Send! (Today felt WAY easier than the other day. Perhaps a hold didn’t break after all, haha)
Ok, just one more climb. Paul attempting Smooth Move, v7. A massive dyno. No send but sure fun to try.

Great day!

Posted by ARR

Winter Solstice Sledding

December 21st, 2023

Well, today was supposed to be a climbing day at Hueco. But thanks to a southwestern winter storm that decided to plant itself over El Paso for way longer than forecasted, we needed to find another adventure for the day. Sled riding anyone?

White Sands, New Mexico. Happy Winter Solstice!

posted by ARR

It’s beginning to look a lot like…Hueco season!

December 17th, 2023
Paul making quick work of Low Dryer, v10
While I struggle with the stand-up start of it, Blowdryer, v5
Silas finds sun to settle into his book
Ivan working out short person beta on Instant Classic, v3
Silas on Orifice Affair, v1. Why does this one feel WAY harder than I remember?
(When in doubt, blame a broken hold)
The boys setting up the friends up for a day of route climbing
Getting a little obsessed with “the move” on The Bee, v6. Crimps and explosiveness…🤤
Ok, EXTREMELY obsessed! I about blew my entire day on trying to stick this one move. Never did. But this is exactly what good days on rock are made of!
And Paul will always send it for the team anyway. 😁

posted by ARR

Best of the Best

April 2nd, 2023

Well isn’t this one a beauty?! Best of the Best, V9 on Hueco’s West Mountain.

posted by ARR

The Hand

February 26th, 2023

Cheers to Paul’s send of a Hueco climb whose beta and rating doesn’t seem to exist anywhere on the internet. Heck yeah – sending it old school!

The Hand, V?

posted by ARR

Salvaging the Weekend

February 19th, 2023

Paul and I are what some might call “risk takers” when it comes to rain in the weather forecast when we want to climb. Our rule is pretty simple. Unless the forecast says 100% chance of rain, we go. We drive to the boulders. This rule has worked really well for us over the years. I can’t actually think of one instance where chance of rain has totally grounded us. Worst case, we’ll get a couple climbs in before the skies open up and dump or sprinkle. And for us, a couple climbs is always worth it.

Well, this weekend we got busted. We woke Saturday morning and drove Ivan to gymnastics, came home to pack so that we could leave by 11:30am sharp to make it to the Hueco park office by 5pm before they close for campsite checkin. I checked the forecast, not for rain but for temperature so that I could appropriately pick out a cute sending outfit to wear. 40% chance of rain on Sunday, and not until 10am. Alright. Worst case the family gives me priority and I get my two hours to warm up and send Serious Legends and then we head home. We proceed with the packing and the picking up of Ivan from gymnastics and the five and a half hour drive to Hueco.

We check in, do our campground walk to loosen up from the drive and make dinner. I read another chapter of Little House on the Prairie to the boys and we’re all tucked into the coziest accommodations on the planet (our sleeping bags) by 8pm. Right before bed I decide to check the forecast: 60% chance starting at 10am. Alright. Mama gets priority it is then.

6am the alarm goes off and I hear Paul spurt out “F@#*!” He must have been weary about the Mama-priority plan and checked the weather: 100% chance of rain in 30 minutes. And well, yep. Now the forecast was finally accurate and as we sipped our coffee it started to rain. No climbing today.

Back now in Tucson around 1pm, we all decide to rally and salvage the weekend. The kids do some house projects to barter for some video game time while Paul and I attempt to have a “similar to but not quite Hueco” climbing session on the woody. Our buddy John shows up and he and Paul head out on a stellar sunset trail run. And I have the best…woody…session…EVER.

Weekend salvaged. 👍

posted by ARR

Bookworm at the Boulders

February 5th, 2023

posted by ARR