Red Rocks

I left Hueco Tanks TX after just a short week.  However, I was super excited to be on my way to see my sister and her family.  It had been over two years since I had seen them last and I was arriving on my sister's birthday. I don't think I spent a birthday with her since we all lived at home...10+ years ago! I was able to spend quality time with my niece and nephew who are two amazing kids!  I even went in and taught art to my niece's third grade class!  I was kinda nervous as I haven't been in a classroom for a year and i'm used to high schoolers.  The nerves were for nothing as teaching is not something you loose...its pretty natural.  They were a great class and we had so much fun!  I stayed for an entire week before heading out to Red Rocks outside of Las Vegas.

 

I passed the Hoover Dam on my way from AZ to NV although I didn't stop I did take a picture of the sign, which makes me feel like I put in some sort of an effort to see things while on my trip and not only climb.  

I have been to Red Rocks once before on a short climbing trip.  I really wasn't very stoked on it and felt the climbing was pretty slabby and kinda scary.  My friend Sam who I met while climbing in Smith Rocks was going to be there so I decided to go anyway.  I pulled up at the campsite Monday February 3rd to a warm welcome from Sam and Flip Flop Sam's dog.  Since Bodi is chilling with my Mom for the second half of my trip I was excited to see Flip!  I miss having Bodi around. Sam and I had plans of sport climbing, multi-pitching, and trad climbing.

I have been bouldering since I left Smith Rocks at the end of September.  I knew my head on lead was not going to be great.  The first day we went out I led some 9s to warm up, then a 10a, and then got on a 10c wasn't paying to much attention to my feet and took a fall!!! Guess what....it wasn't a big deal! It was a valuable fall and help set the tone to my time at Red Rocks.

The next few days we climbed with Sam's friends Luke and Kat.  All of them are way stronger climbers than I am making it easy for me to ask for them to put up a top rope.  However, thats not going to make me a stronger climber and I finally got to the point where I realized I needed to "man up".  Sam and I went out and climbed at the pier I warmed up leading an easy 9 and then hopped on an 11a, which I had top roped before.  I took at the bolt before the crux and then finished it.  The next go I was committed to not taking, as I reached the crux I could hear climbers below saying where to go.  Instead of continuing to climb it with my beta I listened to the voices, allowed nerves to take over and took a fall...and again it was fine!  I was very proud to have tried rather than give in to my head.

After a few days of climbing Kat left and the boys and I went on a mellow multi-pitch climb with the intent of doing two 6 pitch climbs.  We were behind a very slow party of two on Birdlands and never had the chance to pass them.  Come to find out one of the men in the party ahead of us was 74.  That is just badass and I can appreciate the fact he is still getting out.  Realistically who cares if we had to wait around the sun was out and it was meant to be an active rest day anyway. It could be worse, we could be at work.  I didn't lead any of the pitches even though I should have, but I really wanted to get on some single pitch trad before I led multi-pitch.

Towards the end of the day the boys learned i'm a typical girl who's attitude is greatly affected if she is hungry.  Haha it wasn't that bad, but they definitely called me out on it.

The Next day we went bouldering.  I was kind of surprised when the boys said thats what they wanted to do.  I'm pretty much always down to boulder, but Sam and Luke are more sport climbers.  We tried a couple of V5s that I had tried the first time I had been to Red Rocks.  The Prow is a pretty sweet short V5 that has a hard start.  

We all worked on it for a bit and were about to move on when I had a bit of luck and almost sent it.  Luke then got inspired and just walked it, then Sam walked it, and I was left not sending.  I was a little frustrated about that, but decided it was better to move on.  We climbed some easier classics and just enjoyed the sun.  The next day or maybe two days later Luke had left to go climb at the Virgin River Gorge and Sam went into Vegas to hang out with some friends so I went back to Kraft Boulders by myself.  I warmed up on easy stuff and then hopped back on the prow.  My feet kept popping in the same place and I was getting annoyed.  I looked at my phone and said to myself "you have a half hour to send this damn problem." I rested for a few minutes and then hopped back on and sent it.  I got to the top and was filled with excitement, but it was kinda sad that I had no one around to share that with. From there I walked over to a V6 traverse and worked it with a group of Canadians.  Or I should say it worked me!  After spending a bit of time I went to another V5, which has a hard start to figure out, but once you get the beta right it is easy. I sent it after maybe 5 or 6 tries.

Being near Vegas is interesting.  As I was leaving the bouldering area this guy told me the road was closed due to a homicide on the side of the road.  I drove out and was able to make it to the campground, but the boys who were on their way back from Vegas to the campground couldn't get through.  I looked it up and learned an officer shot a man and killed him and its unknown if the man had a weapon.  If you don't know that a person is armed does it really make sense to shoot them period and then does it have to be in a place that will kill them?  Why not just shoot them in the leg, but let them live.  I don't know there were a few things about Vegas Police and the BLM rangers that made me a bit uncomfortable.

Anyways the next day we went climbing and Leah and Sarah joined us.  I red pointed my first 11 so that means I led it and did not take or fall! yay.  From this point on I led everyday I climbed.  It was a good break through for me.  The following days I led more 11s and even attempted a 12a, which I took at every bolt, but I still tried.  Thanks Sarah for the photos and Luke for being a patient belayer!

The last day I climbed in Red Rocks I was pretty tired.  It was my seventh day on and Sam and I had a deal we would spend the morning at his project "Monster Skank" 13b and then spend the afternoon climbing easy single pitch trad.  We headed up to moderate Mecca for some easy trad and the first thing we climbed was an 8+ crack.  I haven't led harder than 5.8 on gear so I was a little nervous.

Realistically it was no big deal, but it definitely took me a minute.  I had a small mental freak out where I really didn't want to move off this huge foot.  I wasn't super secure about my gear even though the placements were fine.  Finally I had Sam take and saw that my gear was holding.  After that I finished the climb and had such a great feeling running through me.

Right next to the 5.8 there was a 10d crack, which was super blank in the middle.  Sam led that one, a rad climb, but scary.  With so few gear placements there were several moves on thin holds that if he were to pop off he would have decked.  I did not lead this one, but followed it and was stoked as the movements were super fun.

From there Sam led one more 5.10 roof, which I did not climb as I wanted to lead more.  So I led another 5.8, which really only had 5ft of real climbing then it was a walk, but very run out! I got past the 5.8 part of the climb looked up and realized I really didn't have gear placements for 25-30 feet.  It was super easy climbing so I continued up.  

After that we walked over to a two star 5.9. When we first walked up to it I was nervous and in my head thinking i'm not leading that!  Sam asked if he was putting it up or I was.  I told him to give me a second...looked at the climb from another angle and decided it was mine.  I racked up and started up the loose bottom to a sweet finger crack.  I totally sewed up the first 15 feet and then became more comfortable.  I didn't take or fall on this climb and had nothing, but a huge smile when I finished.  

It is an amazing feeling to realize you are capable of pushing through mental blocks and obtain goals.  Especially when you feel you have had those goals forever! I'm not sure if it was the fact that everyone I climbed with in Red Rocks was such a stronger climber than me, or if I finally had enough of being scared, either way I am proud of myself and stoked to have climbed with patient people who instilled confidence and pushed me to try with out making it feel forced.  

After such a rad day we all met back at the campsite and decided to hit Vegas for a night out before we all headed out. We split a hotel room, hit the goodwill for some heels and outfits, and preceded to have a great night.

Back to the real life

The East Coast said goodbye with a great rain storm, making it easy to go back to my life of dirtbagging in the Southwest.  

I have flown many of times, but the sky and clouds were unbelievable on this flight.  The light inspired me to take some photos.

The plane ride was unadventurous just how I like all traveling to be.  Rhea picked me up and the next evening I climbed with her, Tori and Susie (the two women I started my trip with).  Who knows maybe i'll end my trip with them back at City of Rocks.

After picking up my home (my car) on Thursday I headed down to Morrison.  Before I went climbing I met up with another friend for coffee. Rachel and I used to work together and she knitted me this amazing blanket.  I can't believe how much time had to have gone in to making this blanket.  It is an incredible gift, which I am very thankful for and got to try it out the past week.  The blanket is so warm and very comforting!

After meeting up with Rachel I headed to Morrison for a short climbing session at one of my local climbing areas.  Unfortunately my injuries (popped tendon in my pinky and a messed up hamstring) were hurting so I spent the afternoon running laps on the warmup traverse and enjoying the sun after being on the east coast for a month.

Morrison was very peaceful as I was the only person there.  You can see snow on the ground on the dark side (across the street), yet it was at least 60 degrees when the sun was out.  I could have hung out there all day.  After Morrison I drove down to Pueblo and spent some time with a good friend I haven't seen in over two years.  I really enjoy catching up with friends I haven't seen for awhile.  It gives you time to see how people have evolved from experiences, but yet are still themselves. 

That friday Dana and I headed to Shelf Road another favorite climbing area.  It was in the upper 60s that day in the sun.  The shade was chilly, but the sun was perfect.  I hadn't climbed on rope really since Smith Rock in September, so I was back to battling the mental game of leading.  I did notice even when I was nervous and mentally freaking out my external reaction was much mellower than before. Focusing on the way I breath while climbing helps my thoughts to not be as wild or overbearing.  

After a full day of climbing we returned to Dana's place cooked dinner and passed out.  I couldn't believe how exhausted I had felt.  The next morning I had a little later start than I had planned, but ultimately started my drive to Hueco Tanks, TX at about 8am.  It worked out perfectly as my friend Jeremy was on his way and had just passed Pueblo so we met up on the road and followed each other down to Hueco.

My friend Phil who I met and climbed with on the East Coast has a good friend who lives out at Hueco for the winters.  He put me in contact with Sid, and Sid was kind enough to let us stay on his land.

Sid is a great guy who was very welcoming.  Jeremy and I had a blast hanging out with him and chatting about politics and conspiracies.  Sid is also a guide down in Hueco and took us out to climb on East Mountain.  We climbed the entire day!! It was pretty epic.  We started at the warm up area, then when over to Dragonfly, a rad V5 and a V10 which Jeremy was working...the name has escaped me right now.  Dragonfly is a beautiful line which follows a crimpy slightly overhung crack to a face climb top out.  There are some big moves and minimal polished feet, but man it was such an aesthetic line.  I worked it for a bit and made progress, but didn't want to spend the whole day at one spot so we moved on.

We walked over to some classic V1 and V0 climbs then headed to another area.  There was a bit of rock hopping to get there and we entered a corridor, with unique features.  I instantly saw a climb I wanted to get on.  The line was so inviting.  However, it was the hardest V5 I have ever worked.  I could make the first move and then there was a huge move to the lip, which shut me down every time.

After working this we headed over to the Moonshine Area.  Hueco is known for many roof problems, which you climb these large huecos (holes or scoops in the rock).  Moonshine is a classic and has V4, V5, and V6 lines on it.  

Here is a picture of Sid in the middle of the climb, both the V4 and V5 share these moves.  When climbing these roofs you are continuously changing your body position to hold tension to keep your body off the ground.  The climbing style at Hueco is very unique and works your muscles in very different ways then most bouldering areas.

After we finished climbing there we started to loop around with the intention of heading back.  Sid then asked if we were down to go to the round room.  Neither Jeremy or I knew about the round room, we heard people say the name, but didn't know what was so special about it.  Sid said we would have to hustle to get over there as it was 4:30 and we had to be back at the station by 5:30 and we were a half hour walk from the car.  We said okay, stashed our crashpads grabbed our shoes and chalk and began our run...yea actually running.  We reached the Round Room approach in 9 minutes, took off our approach shoes put on our climbing shoes and climbed the approach.  You climb up and then slide down this crack and walk into this amazing Round Room of rock wall and the lower third of the room is covered in Huecos.  My jaw dropped when I entered I can honestly say I have never seen anything like it.  We began the traverse around it, finished, snapped some quick photos...(sorry this one is kind of blurry i'm not sure why I don't have the good one on my computer) headed back out the approach to our approach shoes, changed shoes and began our run back to our crashpads.  We arrived back at our stuff at 4:58...that has to be some sort of a record.  It was totally worth it.

On the walk out Sid showed us some of the petroglyphs including the star eyed man, which is in amazing condition and in a spot hidden from most of the elements.  We got back to the cars right at 5:30 so it was a full day of climbing, hiking, and even a little running.  It was great to have a tour guide/friend who was got so excited about showing us these climbs and different areas for the first time!

The next day, which was day three of climbing, we climbed with Michael and Leah two of Jeremy's friends who are also originally from the East Coast, but now live in Colorado.  We ended up meeting up with Sid who was climbing with friends and had a blast working so many different problems!  

This is a classic V2 called Nobody Gets Out Alive, Sid was telling us how the landing used to be all cactus hence the name.  This was Leah's project she really wanted to send it before leaving Hueco.  She got on it and cruised the whole lower section, but got her beta mixed up as she was pulling the lip.  She rested for a while and then gave it another go.  This time she had an audience...no pressure... as she crushed the whole thing! It looked effortless and was great to see someone finish their project as she worked so hard.  We were all super stoked for her.  Right before we went there Leah had sent another problem that had been giving her trouble...it was a great day for her!

Sid took us to Getto Simulator, which is a classic V1 or V2.  It has jugs most of the way up, but is very overhung and a bit mental as it is tall even though there is a rock behind you for most of it, which you can step off onto.  There are definitely no fall areas.

We then headed to the Martini Cave.  Everyone was working Baby Martini a long V6 roof problem.  This problem has so many chalked up holds you to tend to get lost each time you get on it until your beta is dialed.  I got on it and literally did a full circle in one spot wasting so much energy.  The next time Sid guided me through the beginning beta, which allowed me to really pay attention to my movements and ultimately helped me to remember where to go.  I made progress that day, but made even more progress the next day I got on it.  It is such a fun climb with many heel hooks, toe hooks, drop knees, and knee bars!  Your body is constantly changing position.

This was a fun V2 or V3, which was a quality warm up and took me a few tries to figure out how to make the long move at the top.  It had a strange top out, but was totally worth doing. 

Here is Sid running laps on Baby Martini!

Day Four I took a rest day only to find out the next day was going to be super windy and cold.  The wind was 20-25 mph on Thursday with gusts up to 45mph...we still went climbing!   Most of our time was spent in the Martini Cave and I made even more progress.

  

We got to the park that day at 9:00am and I lasted till about 2pm and was over the cold and wind!  Leah and I headed back while the guys worked a V10, which Jeremy sent...he crushed pretty much everything he got on. 

Hueco is a beautiful park full of history and adventure.  It is a process the first time you go as you need permits and there are a lot of rules, but it was worth it and now that I know the process the next time will be much simpler!  I headed out on Sunday and was able to spend my sister's birthday with her in Arizona!  First time in 11 years!

Holidays

Leaving Bishop was hard, but I was looking forward to spending some time with my family and friends.  Colorado greeted me with -7 and -10 degree weather forcing me inside and no climbing!  It was alright as I have great friends who took me in and treated me so well.  It is great to know these people are in my life.  I visit the school I used to work at, which was refreshing.  Although I do miss those students and some amazing people who work there, it was immediately obvious to me that I made the right decision to leave.  After spending a few days in Conifer with Katie I headed to the Denver area and spent some much needed time with Tracy.  We had some adventures even though it was freezing out!  We went to the Museum of Contemporary Art, which was a blast.

After the art museum I was lucky enough to attend one of Tracy's yoga classes.  She is such a badass Yogi.  It is great because we started going to yoga together and now 4 yrs later she is a yoga teacher who's practice has grown so much! 

Tracy and I decided to venture to the mountains where we met up with a good friend of mine for a day of snowboarding.  Thankfully James hooked us up with free passes, otherwise I don't think I would have gotten a chance to ride at all this season.

I then headed to Fort Collins to spend some time with Rhea who also was so kind to let me leave my car at her house.  It was so great to catch up with everyone.  On Dec. 11 Bodi and I headed out east.  Bodi as usual was amazing on the plane and super excited to be let out of the carrier when we arrived at Newark airport.  Since being home I have gotten to spend lots of time with family and my new nephew Iggy! So cute!!!

Bodi was able to visit NY and meet Iggy as well.

 Since being back I have had the chance to hang with the girls for some cookie moments! I forgot how much fun we can have.  It is great to be reminded.

(getting crafty with Marzipan)

The food since I have been back has been wonderful.  I feel so spoiled and ate so much on Christmas I had to unbutton my pants! HAHA...I think I will have to start running or i'm gonna gain weight.  I just can't help myself.

 

Climbing while out here has mostly been at the gym so far.  Although I have gotten outside three times and enjoyed it, I have realized how spoiled I am getting to climb out west all of the time!

Sourlands, NJ V5 Dwarf

 We have been getting snow consistently, but I'm not going to let that keep me inside! I have hiked a few times and get outside as much as possible.

Oh yea...my christmas present to myself!!!!! Check it! :)

I still have just under two weeks left here in PA.  I was planning on getting outside a few more times however the forecast is not looking promising.  We just got about 8 inches of snow and its -7 degrees out. I guess i'll just have to keep visiting the gym until I go back out west.

Leaving Bishop

Well I officially will be heading out of Bishop CA tomorrow December 1st.  I have found a spot that I feel could be home, however it is one, which I will really have to figure out what I will do for work.  I have met so many great people and for the week of thanksgiving I had some good friends from CO come out on a last minute trip.  It was great to climb with Noe and Zach and just hang out with familiar people.
We went to a church, which was hosting a climber's thanksgiving dinner.  We were all wondering if we would have to listen to a little preaching...figured there would be some sort of catch.  However, the family hosting it were genuine and kind, no preaching they were just happy to share stories and the meal with the climbing community.  This was the first year they hosted this dinner and were not sure if people would even show up.  I would say there were a total of 25 or so climbers throughout the night who stopped in.  If I am ever back here for thanksgiving I will totally join them again and bring a dish to share.  It was very kind and gave a nice family feeling to the evening.

I had a blast climbing with Noe and Zach as both are very motivating climbers.  I finally sent Son of Claudius Rufus V5 and will get Serengeti V5 (we did an evening session on it, but I just need a little rest) the next time I come to Bishop.  I also sent the Fang V4 on my 3rd try and thankfully Noe was there and in a very mellow and clam voice reminded me to breath as it was a long overhung problem.  I also figured out my girl beta for Erotic Terrorist V6 and I will send that the next time I am here too!

I will be meeting up with Denise for one more quick bouldering session before I head out.  It has been so great to meet some locals and some people who are living here.  I met another group of guys (climbed with them at crystal ridge and am heading to climb with them this afternoon) who live here so when I come back I will already know people to climb with.  

My body is tired and worked, but it feels great!  I am excited to make a short stop back in CO and visit with some awesome people and then head east for family time.  I still plan to climb at minimum 4 days a week while home so I am ready for Hueco, but I sure will feel spoiled staying in a house with a bed and a shower! HAHA.  Life is so sweet when you realize how little you need to be happy.