New Pictures: Arkansas

Here are some pictures that I've just been able to snag from Brian Martin from a day we spent at Fountain Red back in Arkansas. Psyched to have B. down here in Hueco with me...even though he dislocated his shoulder...again.

Here is how not to fall on Always Lead the Possum. There was a huge water drip coming from the rock right where my pad should have been, so the plan was to just move the pad when I got to that spot so things wouldn't get soaked...it didn't happen and I landed right on my right butt cheek.

Here is how it is supposed to go on Always Lead the Possum.

A few pictures from a cool pinch problem that I couldn't quite finish.

The end is drawing nigh...

Well the weeks down in Hueco have been flying by and the psych is as high as ever. Things are starting to change around here though; people are leaving, the spring winds are blowing in, and the temps are starting to get a little warmer. I'm craving a little bit cooler temps.

I've also been doing some serious projecting here during the last little bit, and I've been forced to narrow down my list of projects that I listed earlier. I've also decided that I might not be worrying so much about doing things in the backcountry, and just focus on North Mountain for the remainder of this trip.

Things that are getting priority are:

Daily Dick Dose V7

Mexican Chicken V6

Baby Martini V6

If I can leave Hueco ticking these three problems I'll definitely feel that I've had some good successes during the trip.

I'm also looking at leaving out from Hueco around the 27th of February and heading up to Winter Park and hanging with Lane for a week or so. After that I'm gonna move on over to Estes Park for the following week to get settled, and then training for work starts on March the 15th. It is going to be nice to have a little bit of an income again!

Here is a link to a few new photos that Brian has taken since he's been here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianclimbark/sets/72157623433221186/

Ghetto Simulator - V2

Dilated Pupils - V4

The Final Moves of Baby Martini V6. Soooo epically close.

Looking Good

Well, after 5 consecutive days of rest, 2 crummy days on, and one more day of rest, I think that I'm somewhere back to where I was before I hurt my finger. Definitely not 100% quite yet, but the thing is darn close.

Today was a great day too. Went out with my buddy Max and just cruised around. I was also able to get some new sends today which makes the last three days of torture (since I wasn't sending) all worthwhile.

Definitely re-psyched, and will be even more so tonight. My buddy Brian is going to be making it in a little later this evening with some more friends and there is going to be an amazing crew hanging around!

Ouch...

Well, I'm on a slight break from climbing right now since a small incident when I was last out on Saturday. They day had been going pretty well with a send of a highball that I'd contemplated doing since I got here, and then with a tick of one of my listed items, 100 Proof Roof.

Feeling pretty good, and psyched about the day we headed over to get on some of the harder things on my must do list, Baby Face and Daily Dick Dose. I flailed on Daily for a bit and then decided that I'd give Baby Face a shot. I made some quick progress and was feeling pretty good about the problem. Then, I pulled on and heard the dreaded crunch from my hand, and had some pretty sharp pains through the palm of my hand. It turns out to be nothing serious, just needs a few days of rest and some slow rehab for a few more days, and then hopefully I'll be back at pulling decent for the rest of the trip.

I still ended up getting on a climb after the injury at the end of the day though, another climb on the list, Ghetto Simulator. Ghetto is a 30-35 ft. V2 that pulls through huge jugs up to a crimpy top-out. I was psyched to flash this beast and not really be pumped. Definitely might be something to head back to for some laps to try and keep my endurance up!

Either way, the injury has provided me with the time to sit on the computer and do some looking for jobs, get better at ping pong, and look for more jobs. We'll have to see what is in the cards!

Here are some copped photos of the problems that I've been working and such.

Ghetto Simulator V2:

100 Proof Roof V3:

Daily Dick Dose V7:

Baby Face V7:

Some New Photos

My buddy Thomas from B.C. has been snapping away, while we've been climbing away, and here are some more shots that he has put up on his flickr. (Just click on the part that says 'his flickr' to get to the photos)

More Rain

Today was another rain day down here in El Paso. Who would have guessed that it would rain this much down here in the desert?!

The weather was pretty awesome here the last few days though, and yesterday was a great day of climbing. In the morning we started out warming up in a new area that I had not been to before, and I flashed a slew of problems in the V0 - V1 range for a good warm-up. After that we ran up the hill to a classic V4 called T-Bone Shuffle that I was lucky enough to get a flash on. My hardest flash while in Hueco. After that I saw quite a few more great problems but none that I was able to get sends on. Hopefully, after today's rest, I'll be ready to head back out and get some more projects out of the way in the next bit.

Here are some of the items on my must do list before I leave:

Martini Hotbox - V9

A Smooth Move - V8

Daily Dick Dose - V7

Baby Face - V7

New Religion - V7

Roughage - V7

Uncut Yogi - V6

Baby Martini - V6

See Spot Run - V6

Jigsaw Puzzle - V5

Wicicala Cave - V5

Bloody Flapper - V4

Moonshine Roof - V4

100 Proof Roof - V3

Ghetto Simulator - V2

Melon Patch - V0

Some of my sends so Far:

Bloodline - V6

Honeycomb Hideaway - V5 (Second Go)

Schadenfraud - V5

Lobster Claw - V5

Unknown - V5

T-Bone Shuffle - V4

Unknown - V4

Sign of the Cross - V3

Not as much as I would like to say that I've been getting done, but you have to start somewhere. I've definitely been able to tell that I'm starting to get a little bit better at climbing on roofs, which was definitely my anti-style before coming out here. Hopefully, I'll get some more things done here soon!

A Few Pictures...

Wicicala Cave - V5

Sign of the Cross - V3

Photos by Thomas Burden