apAdventures

Yeah!

Climb!

Now where?

Makin’ progress on Bloody Flapper Traverse, v9

Makin’ progress on Le Retour De Goupil, v12

posted by pjv

When we heard that our tour was going to be 2 hours long the motivation level dropped. We had scheduled to go to E. Spur and work on our projects, (April’s) Better Eat Your Wheaties, v8 and (Mine) Crown of Aragorn, v13. Luckily, our new friend Corey was able to take over the tour and guide us for the rest of the day! Waaahooo.

After a good session on the projects we were feeling adventurous and ready for something new and unique. I’m not exactly sure how the decision was made but in a few minutes we were making the long trek to the top of W. Mt. to seek out what some call the best v7 at Hueco, Best of the West!

Baby is napping. Quick, time to climb!

Starting Better Eat Your Wheaties, v8

Beginning to release

Baaam!

Stuck!!!! For the first time!

Working Crown of Aragorn, v13

Tom working Meat Maker, v5

April at max reach on Best of the West, v7

Best of the West, v7

Tom compressing Best of the West, v7

Corey sending

Sending. The best v7 at Hueco?

Cute boy

Cute climber baby bum

Posted by pjv

A few pics from our last trip in December right before the holiday. No sends of our projects yet – we’ve picked some hard ones this season! Time to up the game for 2011.

posted by arr

…for Hueco. Here are a few belated photos from a previous Hueco trip a couple weeks ago. We’re headed there again this weekend, tying to maybe squeeze in a send or two during this busy time of year before the close of 2010. Wish us luck!

Moving into the v2 portion of McBain, v8 April’s project

The playpen goes to Hueco!

Baby likes rocks too

Bleeding Brothers, v12 Paul’s project

Tis also the season for bambino bundling

Winking Jesus, v7 Not April’s project

Warming up on the Mopboys wall and keeping Silas out of trouble

Mama, you bundled me so tight I can’t look to the right!

posted by arr

Last weekend there was we made an opening in our schedules and took the familiar journey along I-10 to our favorite climbing spot. The mission was simple: sample some climbs, choose our next projects and return home, psyched to train and prepare for our sends. Along the drive home it seemed like we sat in silence for hours. April turned to me and said, “What are you thinking about?” I said, “The moves on Bleeding Brothers (v12), how about you?” She said, “Bloody Flapper Traverse (v9) of course.” Awesome! Now we’ve got motivation to train.

He’s getting the hang of it

McBain, v8 Another potential project for April

Silas showing me some shorter climbs that I haven’t tried

posted by pjv

Silas giving mama a High Five for a Hueco season well done

Well, we are officially finished with Hueco for the season. Some really nice cool temps stretched just barely into May this year, which was a treat. And our grand finale was a ~2 week vacation with our good friends Jen & Brian and their little climbers Seb (6 years) and Oren (4). A first-time Hueco trip for them, all the way from Pittsburgh. Showing newbees the classics is just so fun.

Overall, both Paul and I are extremely pleased with this year’s season, especially given our latest family addition. A lot of people have been asking me if I’m surprised at how quickly I got back into shape. No, I’m not surprised. But I reason it’s because I have an overly ambitious (and most of the time, completely unreasonable!) mentality when it comes to climbing. “v10 by fall? Heck yeah!” (I’ve been convinced of that for about 2 years now, haha). I don’t really seem to get too bummed out when I don’t reach my goals, and I get damn strong trying, so it all works out. 🙂

As for Paul, he’s just been demonstrating his regular strong-Paul-self. Who would have guessed that taking most of last summer and all of the fall off from climbing on real rock outside would have fueled him to accomplish his biggest season’s ticklist ever?! Go figure. Cause I haven’t yet. Perhaps he can thank P.T.A. (“Pain, Torture, & Agony” training).

So let’s tally our highlights, shall we?

Me:
* Repeat of Nobody Here Gets Out Alive, v2 in December, Silas’ 2nd month old
* Repeat of Skimmer, v3 in January, Silas’ 3rd month
* Repeat of Lithologic, v4 and Be Flat, v4 at Silas’ 4th month
* Repeat of Lobster Claw, v5 at Silas’ 5th month
* Repeat of Namedropper, v3
* King Cobra, v6 at Silas’ 6th month
* Gums, v2
* Repeat of Schadenfraud, v5
* New Religion, v7 in May, Silas’ 7th month!!!

Paul:
* Repeat of Left Martini, v10
* Dean’s Journey, v10
* The Governator, v10
* Full Service, v10
* Power of Silence, v10
* Free Willy, v10
* Repeat of Loaded with Power, v10
* Flying Marcel, v10
* El Techo de los Tres B, v11
* Schwerer Gustav, v11
* Diaphanous Sea, v12
* Barefoot on Sacred Ground, v12

This list will be fun to look back on someday. 🙂 And finally, I’ll share some end of the season pics. Beware, “Silas Cuteness” contained in the following:

Jen’s send of the v3 country classic Sign of the Cross

Brian showing off in front of the fam on Daily Dick Dose, v7

Jen’s turn to show off. Daily Dick Dose, v7

Silas chillin’ in the campground

Paul and Silas on the top of North Mountain

Father & son

Paul entertaining the kids

The kids: Seb & Oren

Silas in the trees

Brian working Glass Roof, v9

Seb & Oren goofin’ around

Seb showing daddy how it’s done

Jen trying New Religion, v7

More Seb & Oren cause they’re so darn cute

Jeff & Raquel cruisin’ on Jeff’s super cruiser

The Hueco locals: Jeff, Mike, Raquel, me, Silas, and Paul

posted by arr

If you’ve ever climbed with us you’ve heard us say, “One more try…” Well, we made one more trip to Hueco this last weekend and “one more try” is all it took for April to tick off her next goal. April’s goal is one V-grade per month as Silas grows. Congratulations to April for ticking New Religion, v7. Now v8??? The clock is ticking…

A recap of our season at Hueco and some more highlights still to come…

April getting her feet setup on New Religion, v7

Hands setup for the crux dyno

Going big

Still going…

Stuck!

To all those who say the season was already over…they should have been at Hueco yesterday. On May 2nd we were dressed for winter weather and some crisp sending conditions. I ended our rampage with a send of Flying Marcel, v10!!!

Me, moving along the traverse on Flying Marcel, v10

Linking into Babyface

On the way to sending. btw my fingers were frozen at this point. It was soooo cold

My buddies all bundled up

Posted by pjv

This is a long standing project for April which she can finally add to her tick list. Congratulations!

Click on the picture to play the King Cobra video

Posted by pjv

My friend Raquel got the proudest send of the weekend when she mastered the crimp challenge of See Sharp, v6. This climb travels up a beautiful wave feature on some very bad crimps. It doesn’t look that hard but I dare anyone to try it. Just try it. Go ahead. It’s sharp and with the slightest imbalance you’ll find yourself standing on the ground crying in pain. It takes technique, balance and strong fingers to tolerate the sharp crimps. If you can master those elements then you’ve got yourself a proud send.

Click on the picture to play the See Sharp video

Posted by pjv

April is secretly working some projects so no major ticks to report from her end just yet. She is busy cleaning diapers this week since I won our little weekend bet. Here are some of the points I scored to win:

I can’t convey how big this send is for me. I’ve worked this thing on and off for a long time but never got serious. Over the last few weekends I got serious and I got it! Another four star classic, ticked.

Power of Silence, v10

This one went down quick. I knew when I figured out the moves late last Sunday it would be a matter of coming back fresh. And, that’s all it took. A nice roof with a bunch of powerful moves. My favorite style.

El Techo De Los Tres B, v11

My buddy doing baby crunches getting ready to send

In-between climbing play time. Life is perfect.

Grab the crimp. Free Willy, v10

Go!!! Free Willy, v10

GOOOOO!!!! Free Willy, v10

Soooo close. Free Willy, v10

This is why it’s addicting. This is where I ended late on Sunday. I’ve never been able to reach the finish hold. Now…it’s sending time. Can’t wait to go back.

My buddy checking out the texture

posted by pjv