Take? Yeah, I'm a rope climber. I meant Hueco Tanks, of course. That was one of many funny quotes that echoed throughout HT last weekend. We had a glorious four days to explore, scramble, climb up and rejoice over our long awaited trip to Hueco Tanks, TX.
Climbers - John & Jaime Kreft, Scott, Eric, Yoli, Christian, Angie, Carine and Calvin
Weather - It's the desert. No clouds! 40's - 70's.
I'll be adding more pictures and entries as I get some more pictures from Yoli and other folks. Most of what I have is on FB, but stay tuned here.
Nov 4, 2010 - Pre-Day One
"How do you get so many free drink coupons?" - Scott
"You've gotta sleep with a looooootttta of people. It, and I, get easier each time." - Carine.
Traveling on Southwest was surprisingly comfortable, but of course tiresome. Here are some of us at the airport:
 | |
| St. Louis East Terminal |
"You want some more food Calvin? No? Calvin never turns down food." - Yoli
El Paso, if you don't know, is located directly across the border from Juarez. You've probably seen the reports of bullets whizzing by, innocent bystanders killed from drug wars and killing sprees. Yeah. I didn't really notice. We spent the night at the posh Homewood Suites, got up early and bounced into the Tanks.
Nov 5, 2010 - Day One
We started the day on North Mountain, and headed to the registration station. I'd heard a lot about the difficult registration process, the hostility of the rangers and the limited climbing, so I was ready for almost anything. Turns out, it was a pretty easy process. You just have to be ready to comply with the rules, watch a video and be respectful of the local resources. Reasonable.
 |
| The Registration Station - Where You Pay Homage |
 |
| Texas State Parks Pass - it's cheaper! |
After getting registered, we hiked up to the Small Potatoes area and got to work. The pleasant surprise to me was the range, quality and sheer number of good V0's, V0+ and V1's. Many of the V0's were highball - around 25+ feet, and the height really added a prolonged sense of enjoyment.
The day's ticklist (courtesy of Yoli & Christian thanks for maintaining this - all ratings are out of 4 stars):
Woman of Leisure (V1) - Almost everyone did this one as their first climb of the day, start sitting on far right side, traverse left and up to finish. YC Onsight. Eric climbed it, not sure how many tries.
Mashed Potato (V1) - Christian Flash, nobody else climbed this, hard for the grade.
Bawl and Chain (V0+) - Highball problem located at Small Potatoes area near top of chains, left of the diagonal crack Men In Chains. CR Repeat, CH Flash, AC Flash, Jamie Flash, Carine Flash |
| Angie on Bawl & Chain V0+ |
Men in Chains (V0) - Highball diagonal crack problem located at Small Potatoes. CR Repeat, nobody else climbed this to my knowledge
And the Bucket of Parts (V2) - overhanging prow that you climbed near the entrance to the cave where Cast Iron is. CH Flash. John K Flash or second go. Scotty too, not sure if sent.
Cast Iron (V1) - Located deep in the cave near Men in Chains and 'And the Bucket of Parts'. CR 2nd, CH Flash, John K Flash
 |
| Christian on Cast Iron V1 highball (and slippery!) |
Chive Sucker (V0) - YC onsight, CH did alternative sit start. Carine Flashed
100 Proof Roof (V3) - CR Flash, CH.
Nobody Here Gets Out Alive (V2) - YC, CH, Scotty Repeat. (Jaime, John, Angie all worked on it)
Pull the Pin (V1) - Climb located just to the right of Nobody Here Gets Out Alive. YC 2nd, CH Flash, Jaime Flash
Lobster Claw (V5) - CH works it I think, but no send on Day 1.
Gumby Traverse (V1) - Near Lobster Claw, YC Onsight
Gumby Direct (V0) - Near Lobster Claw, YC Onsight
Beach Time (V0) - Near Lobster Claw, YC Onsight
The focus of the day was NoOne Here Gets Out Alive, V2. NoOne has a very polished and awkward start - although it's a highly rated problem, the beginning detracts from the overall climb. After you get off the ground, the rest of the problem is very good. Juggy roof climbing at it's best. Here's a quick movie of some of the ladies working the problem:
While several of us worked NoOne, Christian, Scott and I worked Mexican Chicken, V6 and a shorter variation called 100 Proof Roof, V3. CR Flashed 100 Proof, and I got that after a few tries. Scott saved his efforts for Mexican Chicken - and made some good progress.
"Take, Take, Take!!!!!!" - Calvin, at the crux of Lobster Claw.
We were still eager to try new climbs, so we packed up and moved to a new area with some classic problems like Lobster Claw, V5, King Cobra, V6 and some interesting V0/1's. I worked Lobster Claw, a crazy featured climb with multiple kneebars. I made such good progress I thought I would get it second/third go, but that was not to be. I ended up finding the finish terribly difficult and wondered if it would fall. I couldn't use high-kneebar beta and Scott mentioned a thuggy move he pulled on a previous trip. Neither felt promising. Achtung!
The day was getting late, so part of the group split off into town to get dinner (burritos!!) while Christian, Yoli and I stayed to climb some more. Here's the list of what we found and did:
Sign of the Cross (V3) - CH - this is the upper finish to Chblanke, V11, which Lynn Hill did on video. The upper part was tough, but super awesome.
Skimmer (V3) - CR Flash, CH Flash, YC 2nd
 | |
| Skimmer, V3 - starts low left, big shoulder move right |
The best climb of the day among many, many excellent climbs, was a rarely rated four star climb called Hershey's Symphony (V1). HS is to the left of more famous problems like Diaphanous Sea, V12 and Terremer, V15. I'm sure you've heard of those. I certainly gawked at those problems, pantomimed the Terremer crux and marveled at the sheer difficulty of the moves. The crux hold on Terremer is a razorblade. Almost incomprehensible how someone could hold that, let alone send.
 | |
| Yoli on the incomparable Hershey's Symphony, V1 |
HS doesn't have the notoriety, nor the difficulty of its brethren, but I think it is just as engaging, beautiful and interesting as any climb in Hueco. HS starts at the base of the same boulder (on a different face of course) and features a mostly vertical, shallow crack which climbs angling left to the top of the boulder. It's highball - probably at least 30 feet tall, so you can't fall. Making it a bit spicier is another boulder right behind it that would make a fall even worse, but for all the supposed danger, the climbing is varied and stays fun right to the top. I truly enjoyed that climb. The breathlessness I felt at the top was only partly from the fear and focus I summoned while moving. I wish there were more climbs like that. Props to Yoli for immediately flashing it after. What a way to end our first day at Hueco!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment