Gettin' back to it...

Well I finally feel like I'm back on form.  After a frustrating week I've been rewarded.  The Crown Of Aragorn went down.  I worked the climb a bit last season without much luck.  This year I went up to it, re-worked the moves and actually sent it first try from the start.  What a relief.  For me Crown is one of the best.  Some say its just a "traverse" but the real players know what's up.  

On the non-climbing side of things Hueco is getting busier day by day.  Lots of friends are arriving and it looks like new years is going to be great.  It's not often for me to have so many good friends all in the same place at once.  The festivities look to be prime this year.

I'll wrap it up and show off my latest success, 

Hueco...

Where else would you go during the wintery months other than “The” Hueco Tanks.   Nikki and I have been here for about a week.  Not much to report from me.  I’ve been getting used to the steep climbing and hope to hit a stride soon.  At least my queen is holding it down for us.  Nikki is getting back in the game.  After having a frustrating time in Bishop, Nikki is bringing her game to Hueco.  So far Nikki has gotten 2 v4’s and a bunch of V2’s under her belt. Including the classic, “Nobody Gets out of here Alive.”  All without much effort I might add.  As for me I’m hoping to finish off a few projects from last year.  That’s all I’ll say so I don’t punt myself by talking too much about what I want to do.

As most climbers go with the tougher option to camp out near the park.  Nikki and I have chosen the softer more expensive alternative, the hotel.  It makes the round trip drive to and from the park, a whopping 65+ miles.  But I’m so happy to be in a warm room with a nice TV.  Nikki is going home for the holidays while I’ll be here  in West Texas .  I’ll be sad with out her by my side but I’ll get through it.

So as I sign out before the holidays I wish everyone who has found there way to this blog a merry whatever you celebrate.

My Rootz...

Everyone remembers their first's.  Maybe that first 5.10 or V4 whatever it was it will always be special to you.  When I started climbing bouldering was not as popular as today so I didn't start bouldering until I was climbing for a few years.  After I finally gave into bouldering 100% I needed to get strong and Indian Rock in the Berkley Hills was the place.  Indian Rock is less that a good place by todays standards but it was all that I had for outside climbing.  On top of the sharp rock, most of the problems are eliminates.  Either way Indian Rock tough me how to get strong on pure will.  

Below is a video of me climbing my first V5 called The Snatch.  It took me about a month to get the one move-er done.  The next one is the Super Snatch a V7, that one took me two summers to do.  And finally, Stone Face V7, which was my first V7 (at the time I thought it was V8 though), which I did on my last day in Cali for that year.  These problems are very special to me even if some of them are eliminates. 

 

Now Nikki and I are driving to Hueco.  We stopped in Redlands, Ca yesterday to say hello to the guys at Five Ten and check out the operation.  Isaac was really nice and gave us the grand tour, thanks Isaac for a great visit.

Tahoe....

Nikki and I have been in the Bay for a week now visiting my Dad and climbing a bit.  In my  last post I mentioned that I had a weird feeling in my pinky.  Sadly the feeling is still there so I've had to tape the whole finger (to the point where I can't bend it) every time I climb.  This might be my first finger injury.  I hate to admit this but I think its true.  The plus side is that it is just a pinky and I can still train and climb.  Now I just have to pay close attention to my finger.

The other day my friend Will, Nikki, and myself drove to Donner Summit to check out the Saddle Boulders.  I had been there before but not since 2001 so I was keen to see what new problems had been established.  The day was perfect, cold in the shade and kind of warm in the sun.  The rock was sticky as shit in a blanket and we all ended up having a nice day.  Will finished out the day by firing The Hobo (well done!) and the highlight for me was flashing this great V11 called Wik's Problem (or The Hobo Direct).  

Here is the video,