The End Part One

It's been a while since my last blog. Well actually only 5 days, but in that time much has happened.

For us, this time, Hueco has come to an end. The ending has occurred in a swirling mist of success, failure but most of all good times.

Convention says to start at the beginning when telling a story, or in this case to pick up where the last blog left it. Never been a fan of convention.

The last day in Hueco was spent trying to close projects, hanging out in an RV playing Uno & finished with a slap up meal in El Paso for Chris' birthday. The attendance of the meal was a myriad of different climbers. There was Me, Jon & Will representing the southerners, Chris & his gang representing (for the moment) the northerners, a gaggle of strong europeans (who's names I definitely can't remember/spell properly), a man only ever introduced to me as 'Fred Nicole's mate', a baby & Dave Graham.

The level of climbing talent around the table was only surpassed by quality & quantity of the grub that was served in this 'burger come steak, brewery restaurant'.

It was a very nice way to end our Hueco trip & since then all that has happened is sleeping, flying, sitting, sleeping, plane food, movies, flying, driving, home.

For me that pretty much sum's up the last day, Jon's Blog will give you some insight into his last day I'm sure as I believe he had a slightly different experience for the climbing element. I only climbed one climb, (due to being totally beaten up from the day before's antics) Baby Martini V6 very nice, quite long, pretty dam hard for the grade. 

The day before, The penultimate day, The day that came before the day that came after that happened yesterday.

To be more explicit (as if it was needed) the day was Friday the 3th of February in the year of our lord 2012.

I received the enviable task of choosing were on North mountain I wanted us to go & what I wanted to climb this morning (Jon's 'bullet hard' skin had not lived up to its name while trying 'Bleeding Brother's' which unfortunately did, so was taking a skin growth day & Will was chill to go play on his project later on in the day). On the face of it this could be a very hard decision, North Mountain is covered in stunning problems at every grade. If you don't like bouldering here, you don't like bouldering!

For me however, not so hard. Having come so close to El Techo after having done a project earlier that day, I had vowed to myself I would get back on it at the start of a day with fresh skin, plenty of burl & the beta all tricked out. So I did, after a few goes warming into the holds, with time also spent trying to do weird angled pull ups to expedite the warming, I felt ready. I brushed every hold, I squeaked my boots, I chalked my mits, I set off & I fell off.

This sequence of events was repeated for a couple of goes, until one time I found myself at the lip, my hand had stuck, I threw the heal, it stuck, I just had to fire into the hold with my other hand to have finished the hard part. I didn't but somehow I was still on, with no time to question the paradoxical situation of knowing what I had to do to stay on, not doing it & staying on anyway, I pressed on with getting to the top with a sequence I didn't really know and hadn't worked.

To have any idea what I'm talking about I suggest you watch the video

Although not one to hungrily consume grades at the expense of all else (like some sort of american gobbling down there 'triple deluxe cheese bacon burger', whilst looking disdainfully at the side salad)

This Bloc mark's something of a mile stone for me, being as it is my first Fb 8A. I'm very chuffed to have done one, It may not be the pinnacle of the trip (Equally it may) but it does help to show a progression in my climbing & give a good feedback to the training volume that I put in, it also gives me a warm feeling inside when I think back to it.

Having got my banker for the day I was open to any & suggestions for climbing related antics, Will fancied a play on Theatre of The Absurd so up we went. I too really fancied trying this so jumped straight in with Will to figure out a sequence. The moves, angle & style were not dissimilar from El Techo so I though I could give it a fair bash. I was wrong. Turns out I'd left every ounce of tension & burley bicep-ness at El Techo. Had I not had sent it that would probably have been annoying but as I had I enjoyed myself trying to put together 2 move combo's hoping to store some beta for the next adventure out west.

After our relaxing play/ sunbathing time on Theatre, Will remembered his desire to get Free Willy done (A problem that I too wanted to send a large amount!!), so true to our new found american sensibilities we walked down to the Whip, drove round to the relevant car park & hiked back onto North.

The events, shenanigans, high-jinxes & possible sending around this Bloc will have to wait for another entry….

Be assured though It'll be with the wait.