Hueco: Climbs

And now for the main attraction. Rock climbs, and the climbers who climb them.

Ryan Silven, El Techo de los Tres B

Ryan Young not kneebaring on the classic, Full Service

Ben Spannuth flashing Focus

Silven, Scream

 

Sander Pick, Crown of Aragorn 

 

Clayton Reagan, Man Gums

Silven, El Chupacabra Left and Flower Power

Kevin Cuckovich, Full Monty

James O'Connor, Some Dumb Crimp Ladder

Silven flashing Shroom and Man Gums

 

Ryan Young Maisch-ing Jingus Bells

Ryan Young Montana Drop Off-ing Jingus Bells

That's it. That's all there is.

Hueco: Scenery

Many scenes were seen as well:

 East Spur from West

East Spur Maze

Not a good sight in the morning.

Cactus

Moon over West

The one and only Fiesta Drive-In

 Other Tanks

Hueco: Sunsets

The sun sets quite a bit in Hueco Tanks. Here are some captured images of such occasions:

 

 

 

 

 

Hueco: People and Projects

Ryan Young was a sports climber. Or so he says. I happen to know that he still partakes in bolt clipping, or at least dreams about it. What evidence do I have, you ask? Well, he carries a kneepad in his bouldering bag. And duck tape. And adhesive spray. Observe, Exhibit A: A Young Man and His Kneepad.

On the plus side, Ryan's a nice kid. And he took a lot of pictures, including pictures of people taking pictures of Ryan taking pictures.

He is not, however, a smoker. Neither am I, for that matter. But all the Peter Pans we went on tour with seemed to be, so we thought "what the hell, let's light up and enjoy the classy pleasure of a cigarette."

Poor Ryan couldn't even get the thing lit, so I gave it a go:

and failed terribly. Silven though, he was a champ. Showed us how Men do it.

Silven also got the spray down on James' super-project, a mostly-impossible line of edges leading into Terre De Sienne. Here James makes sure Silven knows where the holds are.

There were some other people in Hueco too. Apparently, it's a popular bouldering destination or something.

 

Despite the excess population, we had no problem getting reservations, unlike these poor gentlemen waiting at the gate.

Hueco: Cast and Crew

Recently there was a change of scenery for this Cosmonaut from this:

to this:

Along the way forces were joined with a plethora of supporting cast members, including (but not limited to):

Ryan "That'll Play" Young

Ryan "He's a Machine" Silven

Ben "If I Would Have Known That I Would Have Dropped" Spannuth

James "KiaForte!" O'Connor

and featuring some weird British guy as Some Weird British Guy

With stories of Hueco's New Age being not as restrictive as feared, they make a trip back for the first time in seven years. Sharma may be forty pounds bigger, but the good news is it's all muscle. And while that may only be the back cover of Best of the West, it more or less sums up the trip that followed. Or not at all, but whatever. That'll play.

Dispatches from Hoth

I thought winter climbing was all about finding the boulders that get sun and stay warm despite December's chill. Wrong. Winter climbing is about finding the rocks that never receive sunlight or solar warmth of any kind, and are accessible only by frozen river crossings.

Witness this recreation of a real photo of Lewis and Clark making their historic crossing of the Poudre River:

Photo: Sacagawea

The air was harsh and cold, the ice beneath our feet slippery. Nevertheless, we fastened our scarves tight about our necks and soldiered on.

 

 

Ryan received employee of the day honors for

a) his sick ice-ramp toe grab:

b) finding an amazing new crack project:

 

Seriously, Hayden, why do you drive all the way to Utah for this shit?

and c) discovering new, 5.9 beta for Ice 9:

 

There was also a new sport developed that day, but perhaps it's best to let the folks at Too Ugly for the Spot hash out those details.

The Feather

Not the Feather, alas. Instead, Red Feather. Which isn't a bad thing. Despite cool temps and a long walk on a snow-crusted road, we came to a climbable boulder called The Chopper.

B3PO, our guide and firestarter

 

Christ Craft

 

 

Despite being low to the ground, The Chopper is a remarkably good climb.  The first move, a powerful stab to a decent incut, is by far the crux, and after that come a few tenuous moves and a fun, Tigerstrike!!-approved mantle-press. We postulated that if it were on the boulder behind the Dali Wall, it would see more traffic than that boulder's namesake. Probably an exaggeration, but the point is that The Chopper, and Red Feather in general, is good. Very good.

To complete the day we saw a small herd (troop? gathering?) of deer, who seemed utterly uninterested in our activities. We joked that if it came down to it, none of us could cook, let alone capture, kill, and prepare, one of the deer. Grizzly Adams we ain't.