Saturday, February 26, 2011


Since we last made a post our itinerary has changed a bit for the short term.  On our way to Vegas we stopped to meet some friends in Phoenix, AZ.  We were planning on leaving the next morning for Vegas but instead ended up staying the day climbing South Mountain Pima Canyon.  The climbing here was fun and lent itself to really strange movements.  I will post pictures from my other camera next time.  We met some climbers who worked at the local rock gym and were willing to show us around the town that night.

For anyone who finds themselves in the Phoenix area, Four Peaks Brewery is an awesome local brewery with awesome food and beer!  I would suggest their bleu cheese burger with the kilt-lifter amber ale.  To top it off they were kind enough to provide Mike and I with a complimentary 12 pack and some stickers!  The Phoenix Rock Gym is HUGE and is definitely worth checking out!  They pride themselves on setting problems that actually climb at the stated lever (V4 really does climb like a V4).  We had the chance to climb after hours which was great until Juno disappeared in the gym to relieve herself all over the floor...

We spent our mornings at Cartel Coffee Lab in Tempe, AZ.  This is the best coffee shop I have ever been to.  They roast their beans right in the shop in a vintage roaster.  The beans are expensive, but totally worth the money.  


Our friend Jeff was kind enough to let Mike and I use his shower and convinced us (it didn't take much) to make a weekend trip to Joshua Tree, California.  Right now we are sitting at a Starbucks due to bad weather, but other than that Joshua Tree is amazing.  We drove in at night and somehow were able to drive over 60 miles on empty.  Getting in at night always makes the mornings a fun surprise.  Joshua trees cover the valley floor and giant piles of boulders rise up all over the place (nearly 800,000 acres)!  The Joshua tree was named by Mormon travelers who felt that the tree resembled their biblical figure Joshua.  It only grows in 2 places in the world!  We are camping in the Hidden Valley Campground and are within feet from some of the best bouldering in the entire park.  Yesterday we climbed until the sun went down and saw some really unique problems.  The rock here is granite and completely featureless.  The most popular problems are made up of finger cracks and slopers.  The rock is really spread out and after climbing crowded crimp lines and juggy roofs in Hueco for a month, this was a great change.  




Jeff warming up

"Pinhead Crack"

We will be leaving tomorrow afternoon for Vegas (this time for real).  We are hoping to meet up with Kayla and some other friends the first week in March.  Mike and I have been doing our research and can't wait to see Red Rocks.  

-Thomas

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Last Chance Canyon, NM

Hueco Tanks, TX

I just set up a flickr account so that I can upload more pictures in better quality...If you want to see the pictures for this post just click this link!!!  I will still post a few of our favorite photos for anyone else.  Hope you enjoy!


http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomandmitchsvantasy/sets/72157625991772227/

During our last week in Hueco we had some friends tell us about a place called Last Chance Canyon in New Mexico.   Being the nomads we are, we decided to add another stop to our journey and went to Last Chance Canyon with two guys we met in Hueco, TJ and Austin.  This mini-trip ended up being a ton of fun...new friends and a new climbing experience for both Mike and I.

TJ in the Solstice Cave

We started off by having radiator trouble on the way there and got to the turn off for the canyon much later than we expected.  We were warned about both the rough roads and the high concentration of mountain lions in the area...both of which we encountered!  The camp grounds are on the rim of the canyon and once we made the 30 minute hike into the canyon we found ourselves looking up at giant limestone caves and walls!  The Solstice cave ended up being my personal favorite.  Unfortunately Mike is dealing with a minor finger injury and didn't get to climb as much as he hoped.  On our second day we lost track of time and ended up climbing till dark, making for a memorable hike out.  TJ, Juno and myself were walking ahead of Mike and Austin with a headlamp when Juno noticed movement in a bush only a few yards away from us. Both TJ and I heard what was unmistakably a cougar hissing and running off.  The ironic part was that we had just been discussing how funny it was that the first night we could barely sleep out of fear of cougars, and the second night we were walking out in the dark.  Luckily we got back to camp ok, but I will definitely remember that experience forever.



The climbing in Last Chance is the best sport climbing I have ever experienced.  Having someone like TJ who is a much more experienced route climber made me really push myself and I was able to lead my first 5.12 in the Solstice Cave!  Even with an injured finger Mike lead several routes.  Limestone climbing was a new experience for both of us.  

Thomas on Mad Cow Wall

We are now on our way to Red Rocks, NV...Hoping to meet up with some old friends, new friends and girl friends in Las Vegas in the next couple of weeks and we are looking forward to some sand stone route climbing!!!  


Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Finally...Another update!!!

Dober Dan Ya'll,

(That is Slovenian).  We have a few Slovenians staying in the campsite with us.  It is crazy how many languages are spoken here every day.  Sorry for the long delay since the last post...We have been really busy climbing after the bad weather.  Most nights consist of getting in from climbing, making the best desert dinners ever, enjoying the best desert fire ever, and then having the best night of desert sleep ever (thanks to memory foam beds).

"Sign of the Cross" V3

Thats right...we made it from scratch


As for the climbing we have luckily taken several tours to the other mountains, and have made a bunch of additions to our list of projects we were hoping to finish before we leave Hueco (this coming Saturday the 19th).  Last week we took a tour with the camp host Nick, his wife, and their 4 month old baby.  It was insane how well behaved this baby was out in the desert from dawn to dusk.  We worked on "The Egg" in East Spur as well as "Jigsaw Puzzle" V5 which were both very fun.  On North Mountain we went and saw some old problems from our trip last year including "King Cobra" V6 which was a ton of fun and really tolling on the body, as it is mostly compression sloper (big holds with no positive edges for all you non-climbers) moves.  I was able to send it after a ton of tries but unfortunately my tendonitis is much worst now.

Mike on "V Obsession" V5 

Mike on "King Cobra" V6

Me on "King Cobra" V6





I also got on a few classic problems that I am really hoping to send before we leave..."Free Willy" is a super crimpy (tiny holds for all you non-climbers) V10 on North that ends with a big dyno (jump) to the lip.  "Loaded w/ Power" is one of the prettiest lines in Hueco in my opinion, and runs up along this cool water streak.  It uses a few knee bars which is something Mike and I aren't too familiar with.  Mikes knees actually wont fit since they are so long, so he will have to work out some different beta.  It is only in the shade in the afternoons, and it is hard to save your strength throughout the day with all we want to do.  I am hoping to rest during the day tomorrow and go out and work it in the afternoon!  Another awesome problem on North is "Rampage" V7. Having a pool of pads is essential for such a high fall, and after falling off the final hold a few times I was glad to have a big group.  I am psyched to have finished all 3 recommended V7 problems on North (Babyface, Daily Dick Dose & Rampage ).  Mike sent a really odd problem called "V Obsession" V5.  He had fun sending something that at first he thought seemed impossible (or close to it).

Me on "Loaded With Power" V10
Yesterday (Valentins Day for any of you who forgot and are now single) we went on a tour and saw a ton of great problems on East Mountain.  "Hobbit in a Blender" is a super classic V5 and right next to it is "Crimping Christ" which is another crimpy V10.  One problem I was really looking forward to working on is "Something Different" but in the end it was much more difficult than I expected, and really is something different.  Mike was looking forward to sending "Ultramega" V8 but due to time we couldn't make it.  One of the other people of the tour with us brought her 4 year old daughter who is already climbing and reading.  Pretty impressive...  

Today Mike and I got on different tours and it was our first day not climbing with each other...It was AWESOME!!!!!  (kidding).  Mike went to East and I went to East Spur with a big group of people from the campground.  I'll let him tell you all about his later.  I climbed more today than I have any other day and I am looking forward to a rest day tomorrow.  I got on a ton of fun problems including "Purple Flowers" V9, "Better Eat Your Wheaties" V9, "Sex After Death" V8,  and "Long Haul" V8...I am hoping to go back and work on both "Flower Power" which is a short but powerful overhung roof, and "Sex after Death" which is ANOTHER crimpy slightly overhung roof with a fall into a cactus pit!!  I am not sure if I will get a chance to get on these again this trip but I am keeping my fingers crossed.  

Tomorrow I will try to post some more pictures!  

Oh ya...Big shout out to our new sponsor Climb On!!!!  They hooked us up with a big package of swag and stickers.  We are super psyched to have such a great company providing us with some relief to our fingers!  Thanks Mama Amy!!!

Honey "walking" Juno

Juno & Honey

Cheers...

-Thomas

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Still frigid...

Yesterday we came into town and decided it was not worth driving back to the park to camp due to gas and the cold weather.  We spent the evening playing video games in Best Buy after the Starbucks we were hanging out at closed early due to the weather.  We finally got a tripod for the camera so we will have some awesome videos and pictures coming as soon as we are able to climb.  After feasting on Little Caesers Pizza, we went to Wal-Mart where we spent an hour or two just walking around and then went to bed in the parking lot.  Now we are sitting at the Starbucks in Barnes and Nobles as it is the only Starbucks that is not closed due to frozen pipes today!  Unfortunately it is also the only Starbucks with no power outlets.  As Mike mentioned we made friends with a kid Matt who we have been bummin' it with for the last few days as well.  It is funny how every WalMart, Starbucks or Barnes & Nobles we go to, we see a lot of other climbers.  They usually will buy one cup of coffee that lasts them all day and hide in any hidden areas of the shop!  We are learning a lot of "stealth" tricks.

We avoided the weekend crowd and rested on Saturday and Sunday which proved to be beneficial.  Our fingers and muscles were able to heal themselves and Monday was a great day of climbing.  I would go as far as to say it was my (Thomas) best day of climbing ever.  My goal was to spend a few days projecting an ultra classic Hueco Tanks problem called "Daily Di*# Dose" (DDD) which is a V7 roof problem.  It is right next to "Babyface" which Mike is currently projecting.  DDD has some tricky beta at the start and is a really unique problem, as are most problems in Hueco.  After working out the start I was able to send it and also got some footage on "Babyface" which I will post tonight.  From there we headed off to a newer problem called "Bloodline" which involves one of the more strenuous hikes into a chasm on the backside of "North Mountain."  This is probably one of the prettiest lines I have ever seen.  Since it is so new, the guidebook does not have instructions on how to get there and it is really difficult to find.  Mike and I both sent it, and if the proposed V7 grade is true, this is Mikes first V7!!  Wooooo Hooooo.  We will go back soon to get pictures of our own.

The last stop of the day was "Baby Martini" which is a looooonnnnngggg overhung roof problem in a cave.  Every time we try this it is at the end of the day, and we are both hoping to send it next time we go out!

Cheers!


Hold on "Ghetto Simulator"

Holds on "Ghetto Simulator"


$3

These are NOT the same book!

"Bloodline" from above (Not our photo)

Crux for tall beta on "Daily Di#* Dose" (Not our photo)


Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Frigid but still alive

Hey all, sorry family my phone's been off for the last 3 or 4 days but I am alive. It has been frigid here the last few days. Last night it dipped to about 8 degrees and we had t0 bundle up hardcore in our beds. Juno ended up sleeping with Tom and becoming his pillow for the night. It is only supposed to be colder the next few days and we are taking solace in ihop and starbucks. We somehow spent 47 dollars at ihop between three of us (we've made a friend named matt and hes pretty cool).

We have made a few changes to our trip plans as well and have some more definite dates about where we'll be. In about three weeks we're heading up north and west a little to Vegas/Red Rocks where we will hopefully meet Kayla and friends. Hopefully along the way we'll spend a night in Tempe, AZ and possibly climb for a few days in Priest Draw near Flagstaff, AZ if the weather is permitting. At around March 10th or a little earlier we will leave from Red Rocks to Bishop, CA where we will spend at least a month. Now here are where the plans change, we are completely skipping the pacific northwest and Squamish to go to Utah as the gas will be too expensive and take us too far out of the way. We want to spend April and May in Utah at various places but mainly Joe's Valley, Ibex, and hopefully lesser known area called Mill Creek. We then want to spend some summer months in the high country of Colorado. Going to Rifle, RMNP, Mt. Evans and various other places. Mid to Late summer will be spent driving East spending some time in Philly at the end of the summer and heading south to the West Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky.

We have a lot of pictures and video we've yet to post so maybe we can get some up later today or tomorrow because it will definitely be too cold to do any climbing.

Peace