Here is a short video of our good friend Anke (from Germany – Grit’s sister) sending Local Flakes, V2 at Hueco Tanks. Local Flakes is a classic problem on the Mushroom Boulder, which has been Anke’s long standing project for the last few weekends. She cruised it this weekend! Nice job. Check out her sendin’ style:
So we’ve been busy. Really busy actually. With all our house projects this year and not having any time to tackle the long list, we got to thinking, “hmm, we need help!” So, we hired someone to completely remodel our guest house bathroom. Like any project around the house it was way more involved than we originally planned but having someone else tackle the project made it possible in only a few weeks and the end result is something April and I love! Check out the following pictures of the before, during and after.
So, this weekend we decided to make our “woody” (a climbing wall) a little steeper. 20 Degrees just didn’t cut it. 45 Degrees sounded so much better…
Before: 20 Degrees
After: 45 Degrees
Is it possible to “wear out” one’s favorite climbing area? I think this to myself as we speed towards Hueco Tanks Friday evening after work. I was excited, but not “Hueco” excited. Paul and I have spent a blissful summer bouldering in Flagstaff, where there’s no such thing as rules, regulations, and reservations. When the temps at Hueco drop from the 100’s to the 90’s, Paul and I usually ditch Flag and get sucked back into those beckoning Hueco huecos. So here we are, 1st reservations of the season arranged, rippin’ down Interstate 10 to the mecca. Have the restrictions finally started to get to me? Am I really not that psyched?! The world must obviously be coming to an end, I think. Obviously.
The next morning, however, we roll into the park – the mood picking up steadily with every foot closer to the park headquarters. We park, head inside, fill out the daily paperwork, catch up real quick w/ the Hueco staff, and head to the boulders. As with every ‘first return’ to Hueco, Paul and I are seasoned enough to know that hopping on last spring’s projects on the first day is just asking for a painful spanking. So we start this first day off with a little circuiting – hitting up all the easier classics, moving quickly and purposefully from one area to the next. Before we know it, the day is gone and we’ve covered most of North Mountain and have actually topped out on most everything we touched. Good start.
Sunday we decide to head out on a tour – only this time, as participants, not guides. We’re a little skeptical as to whether anyone else will be on this tour with us, let alone a guide that’ll be willing to take us out! You can imagine then how excited we were when 4 El Paso climber locals and 2 roadtrippin’ surfers from Calgary showed up, rearin’ to get to the rocks – a classic, full blown psyched-as-all-heck tour….in the heat of SEPTEMBER! This is GREAT! Needless to say, the day was absolutely stellar, full of good sends and good company.
So here we are on The Drive Home #146. Same drive, same excited chatter over the climbs of the weekend and the wish list for the many weekends to come. Have we “worn out” Hueco? Heck no! I must have just had a lack of sleep and been cranky last Friday night, haha. Silly me.
posted by arr
After 3 weekends at home (yeah, we actually held ourselves back from climbing) we managed to “seal” up our porch roof to our house. Perfect timing huh? Right when the monsoon season is coming to an end here in Tucson. If you don’t realize, perhaps because you don’t live in Tucson, I’m being sarcastic. We’ll have to wait until next year until we test how waterproof it is. Anyway, now we can relax a little and deal with the final cosmetic touches to call it finished and turn our focus to the upcoming Hueco season. YEAH! Time to get psyched! Hueco, here we come…
It’s been so long since I’ve been to a concert. I used to go to a lot when I was in high school and then went to a few while in college. Recently a friend of mine, at work, asked if I would go and see him play in his new band. I was like, “Sure, that sounds awesome. I haven’t been to a show in a long time. What’s you band?”
Check them out: My Former Wings
Well, sadly, our summer fun with Holly (my sister) has come to a close. She’s done with her summer internship and heading back to upstate New York tonight. And…well…we’re just a little bit depressed around here. Ok, a LOT. It’s been a great summer and we’ve had loads of fun….climbing, climbing, and climbing some more. We’ve spent most of the summer bouldering up in the cool pines of Flagstaff; mostly at Priest Draw. Holly ticked some real classics over the last couple of months and it’s been super exciting to see her progress and enthusiasm. The three of us (four, counting lil Morgie of course!) made a pretty sweet crew this summer and we’re really bummed to see her go. Hands down, there’s nothin’ cooler in the whole wide world than crankin’ with your own sis.
Here are a couple of pics from our last stellar weekend. Holly’s boyfriend Joe flew down from Colorado and we all headed up to Flagstaff for one last horrah.
posted by arr
I’ve mentioned before that I’m a climbing news junkie but I haven’t posted anything recently about climbing current events. So, I found an opportunity to summarize in one entry. So, here! Check out the newest video from Big UP Productions and Sender Films. I believe it captures some of the hardest climbs ever with some of the best footage I’ve ever seen. These climbs have been completed over the last year or so and if you’ve been paying attention to the news the limits of our sport have been broken! V15 and 5.15a are now the upper end. Based on the rumors I’ve heard I think we will see these limits exceeded, very soon.
posted by pjv
Another awesome weekend! Here is a little video of a session I had at the Mars Roof. What an amazing boulder! It’s my favorite at The Draw. Stay tuned…we have a few more videos to post.
posted by pjv
Last weekend when the temps in Tucson exceed 100 degrees we packed up our pads, rounded up a crew and headed north to Priest Draw in Flagstaff Arizona. Our friends were psyched, the 25 oz. margaritas were half off and the sending conditions were prime. Check out what happened…
