Hueco Update

As soon as we got our official school year schedule last August, I called Texas State Parks to get North Mountain Reservations for our Winter Break at Hueco Tanks. But I couldn't get reservations. North Mountain was already full. I called a few more times to see if there had been cancelations, but eventually I gave up trying.

Then winter hit us in October, and it hit me that we could still get into Hueco by reserving commercial tours through the Hueco Rock Ranch. I called and reserved three days of tours for myself and Ashley by depositing $75.00 which is half of the total tour price for three days. We had enough airline points earned up for two free tickets. So we decided to fly this year from Colorado Springs to El Paso. Ashley's parents agreed to watch the girls.

We wanted to make sure we had at least one good pad, but didn't want to pay any crazy baggage fees, so we ordered a custom AirPad from Organic. It's slightly smaller than the standard pad, and is just small enough not to be considered oversized baggage.

We asked Josh for colors that our daughters would like. When we aren't flying somewhere, it will be their bouldering and hangout pad. The girls are very happy with it. Josh does good work.


With the crazy holiday flight delays this year, it took us nine hours to get to El Paso by air. It would have been easier to drive. Lesson learned.

I woke up early on our first day. Psyched to soon be climbing at Hueco.

Early sunrise from the west side of the Franklin Mountains.


Once again, we stayed at the Casa de Suenos. They won us over last year.

The breakfasts alone are worth the drive.

Not to mention the quiet environment, nice bed, and warm showers before heading out into the frosty desert.

We got to the Rock Ranch at 9:40 and waited for 40 minutes for the other climbers on our tour to gather. I must admit that my motivation level, and my career as a public school teacher, where everything is planned down to the minute, made the waiting pretty uncomfortable for me. I have trouble waiting for friends, much less complete strangers. The other climbers on the board never did show up, so Ashley and I were the only climbers on the tour. We followed our guide Neil to the gate, and then the really painful waiting began.


This waiting we didn't expect. We were under the impression that if you reserved a commercial tour you were let straight in. This isn't the case on the busiest days. We had to wait our turn with everyone else who didn't have a North Mountain reservation. First come first serve. Here's what I know about the situation in bullet form.

-Texas State Park Pass holders can make North Mountain Reservations with no money down. They can make more reservations than they plan to use. If they don't show up, they lose nothing. No wonder we couldn't get reservations last August.

-The park is now letting people take reservation spots at ten in the morning, instead of noon, when people who have made reservations don't show up. This is a good thing, and probably is in response to the large numbers of reservation no shows caused by the policy described above.

-The line waiting at the gate begins to get into the park at ten. They fill up the office, and the parking. The office radios out to hold everyone at the gate. Cars are let in individually as the front office processes the climbers in line.

-Tours leave the Rock Ranch at ten. Guides and even most climbers at the Rock Ranch seem reluctant to try getting a tour out before ten.

-So tours arrive at the gate at 10:15 and have to wait in line.

We didn't get into the park until 11:15. That's the situation during the college winter break. The waits will be shorter when the park isn't so busy.

Neil is a good guide. He did his best to get us everywhere we wanted to go. Though he did seem to enjoy sandbagging us on "The Hourglass." Possibly the the trickiest, though not most difficult, V3 in the park.

We worked on "Uncut Yogi." I climbed "That Hi-Pro Glow" on my second attempt, and then we both did "Animal Acts." Known as "the Slashface of V5."
Ashley climbing "Animal Acts."




We ended the day by working on "Ultramega." On the hike out we saw a tour group admiring the real "Slashface" at sunset.


We learned that snow was predicted, so we moved our reservation forward and climbed two days in a row. Steven was our friendly mathematician and guide for the second day. We went back to "Uncut Yogi" and this time I was able to make the heel stick, and I climbed it.

A strong and entertaining climber named Frank made a very quick ascent in his scarf and Abercrombie.



The next stop on the tour was the East Spur Maze. We repeated some problems there, and I spent some more time on "Slim Pickins."

Once again I couldn't get my feet to stick. Maybe someday I'll learn the beta on this line.

Frank working "Better Eat Your Wheaties."

And we ended the day at the Sausage Factory. A great area that I hadn't visited before.

That night I had a bad case of what I've named "Hueco Fever." Waking up sore and feverish as my body burned energy trying to recover from the physical stress of two consecutive days of Hueco bouldering. I couldn't get a good night's sleep.

We rested and did school work for the next two days as it snowed and then cleared up. Then it was time to end the year in the park.

The Rock Ranch was prepared for the party on New Year's Eve.

We went back out with Neil with a full tour group that Thursday. We got on "Ultramega" early in the session, and both of us managed to send it. I think our training on Lander's dolomite helped us climb the pocketed line. We also climbed in the Dark Heart where Ashley almost did "Something Different," and we finished the day by climbing "Moonshine Roof." A great day, but the pictures didn't turn out.

So to wrap up, We got full climbing sessions for three days of the trip, just as we had planned. We got to the problems that we wanted to climb, though that seemed tenuous at times. It would have been nice to get in earlier, so we could have spent more time simply appreciating the beauty of Hueco. But it still was a great trip. We'll just try to get our reservations a full 11 months in advance next time.

As annoying as all the regulatory hoops, travel, and waits can be, Hueco is worth it.

Photos of Ashley by Daniel Brayack

Daniel is a professional climbing photographer, and he shot photos of Ashley working "Better Eat Your Wheaties" on our last day at Hueco. Here are my favorites.




You can see more of Daniel's excellent photography at his website www.BrayackMedia.com. Some of the best climbing shots are on his Portfolio (Flash) page.
Thanks Daniel!

Missing Hueco Already.

We had a spectacular final day of climbing at Hueco. We got back out with the tour group we climbed with on the first day, but instead of going back to Ultramega we toured the East Spur. We stopped on the edge of East mountain on the way, and warmed up to try "Sex After Death." The problem looked good, and I didn't warm up for long before starting to work out the moves. Mike had excellent beta on the problem. Jeremiah watched for a little bit, and then flashed the problem.

Watching someone climb something seems to help me a lot. I topped out the problem, and then Ashley really got committed to doing it too, but she insisted on climbing it static so it took her a few tries. Right after Ashley sent it, Mike jumped back on and did the line.
Mike climbing "Sex After Death."


The sending could have ended there, and I would have been satisfied with the day. But it didn't.

From there we went to the East Spur Maze. A maze of boulders covered with boulder problems. A low ball finger tip crack in a dihedral roof called "This is Your Brain on Drugs" screamed Ashley's name, and we couldn't pass it by. Much like a backwards version of Vedauwoo's "The Tempest" but without a sloper topout, Ashley climbed it pretty quickly. I realized I didn't have the power to do it, and moved on to "Jigsaw Puzzle" which was just around the corner. It climbs a section of very unique rock, is a bit pumpy, and has a slightly awkward ending above a bad landing. I backed off it once, practiced the end, and then did the line. Ashley did the exact same three steps.



I worked on "The Egg" but it felt very conditions dependent. Ashley worked on "Better Eat Your Wheaties," but didn't have the skin or power left to finish it. From there we went to "New Religion." I felt worked, but I was so psyched by the line that I jumped right on. Mike helped by giving me some beta. I gave the line everything I had left, and it worked. I topped it out feeling overjoyed with the day. Ashley took photos, and the one below captures the great energy of the group we were with. They helped us both try harder, and climb better.

With an hour left before the park closed, I repeated "Walrus In Blender" and then was so worked that I couldn't complete the moderate "Layback and Like It" traverse. Then it was time to say goodbye to Hueco.

Now we're back. Our daughters are safe and happy, my Mom and sisters had a good time watching them. Everything is as it was when we left, but it seems that even a natural high leaves a bit of a hangover. The week was so good, that both Ashley and I are a little down that it's done. We'll get back someday.

In other news, Front Range Bouldering posted an interview with me. Check it out while it's still up.

Wonderful Hueco and the "House of Dreams"

David and I are having a truly relaxing vacation at Casa de Suenos (“House of Dreams”) bed and breakfast in Santa Teresa, NM, just outside of El Paso, TX.

As most of you know, we have been to the El Paso many, many times over the last 12 years to go bouldering at North America’s premier bouldering area, Hueco Tanks State Historical Park. This amazing area continues to astound us with its desert beauty and magical feel of nature and history combined.

During our early trips to Hueco we camped in various locations around the park, including the infamous Pete’s, which was just a patch of bare desert near Pete’s Quonset hut where he let climbers camp, build bonfires, play music (including an Austrian trombone, accordian, and guitar band and an Englishman who sang drunkenly outside our tent all night one year), hang out in the hut, get a little food, use the overflowing porta-potties, and meet friendly climbers from all around the world. After that lovely experience, I decided that I wanted our next trip after Pete’s to be upgraded a little, so we camped in the state park itself, which had nice sites with hookups, water and hot showers. After many attempts at a hot shower in the women’s bathroom, I heard from the underground that the men’s showers were much superior, so I ventured into that scary territory while David stood guard outside the door, and lo and behold, they did have better showers! Who the heck planned that? Most of the guys who climb at Hueco never even bother to use the shower, so what’s the point of giving them a nice one? Must be some secret plan by the park service to limit the ladies' use of the limited water down here!

We then upgraded from a tent to the Eurovan, which no matter where we parked, we were happy, so we alternately parked at Pete’s and the Rock Ranch for that trip. We did like hanging out in the “shed” at the ranch and met some cool people there, but the overall atmosphere of dirtiness and unfriendly staff in the Ranch house deterred us from wanting to stay there again, not to mention the “flush it down only if it’s brown” rule, and the limited shower use policy.

Longing for a bit of comfort on our Hueco trips, I decided we should try the comforts of El Paso (is that an oxymoron?) for our future excursions. This led to a number of trips (3-4 I think, it’s hard to remember the details after one turns 30!) where we stayed in various hotels, La Quinta, Comfort Inn, Extended Stay America, etc., but I was never satisfied with these locations either. What I really wanted was to stay right near Hueco, as I really liked being surrounded by the desert and all its creatures, not the city life of El Paso, which for the most part has a grimy and poor feel, and definitely some different social attitudes them mine and Dave’s, evidenced by all the trash that people just dump in the desert and the stray and dead dogs that one will see on any given trip. So for this trip, I decided to do a little internet research and find a nice bed and breakfast, figuring there has to be at least a few in a city the size of El Paso.

Well I was wrong – there are no B and B’s in El Paso, but I did find one, Casa de Suenos, in NM. I decided to call the owners and I spoke with one of them, Marlene, on the phone. She was amazingly helpful and friendly, and explained that their B and B, while in NM, was actually only an hour way from Hueco, as you can bypass El Paso (yeah!) and take the 375 loop around El Paso and hook up with Montana and then into Hueco. As we were driving about 40 minutes anyway, with a stay in El Paso, why not give this B and B a try? David was skeptical at first, but I was convincing (or he was tired of my whining about El Paso?), and here we are, at the wonderful Casa de Suenos! The B and B is actually located on the west side of the Franklin Mountains,


which El Paso wraps around on the south end of the mountains (does this city ever stop?), and it is a bit up on the mesa, so we have wonderful views of the NM desert, the Franklin and Organ Mountains, and we can see all the way into Mexico and Texas.

This area is rural and agricultural, with lots of horse ranches and pecan farms and wineries. The B and B has a beautiful courtyard

with a fountain and seating areas, as well as a large back patio with areas to eat and grade papers (in our case), or just hang out and watch the desert life.
Our room, the Kiva, is very comfortable with a queen sized bed, couch, private patio with a fountain (this I have really enjoyed) and is tastefully decorated in the southwest style, as is the rest of the inn. This morning we had one of the resident road runners see his reflection in the window of the dining room and decide to defend his territory against… himself!

He proceeded to attack his reflection in the window, but luckily he realized his mistake fairly quickly and was nice enough to pose for a couple of photos.

The birdlife is very abundant. We have seen a type of cardinal, and the doves and quail are numerous. David and I have been really enjoying the amazing breakfasts provided by Marlene, and I have had vegetable omelets with green chilies, asparagus, red peppers, and cheese with sides of bacon and toast three days in a row!

I think it might be time for me to try the pancakes tomorrow! The owners, George and Marlene, are very friendly and they make your stay feel like a home away from home.

We really lucked out with this find and I think that after 12+ years of searching, we have found our place to stay while enjoying the bouldering in Hueco.

Ashley’s Side of the Hueco Mountains

Now that we’ve got the relaxing and resting part of the trip taken care of, it’s time to focus on what we really came for – the bouldering! While David did a nice job highlighting our first day here on Sunday, I thought I’d add my two cents and a few more pictures as well. One can never get enough of this place, can they?

We were really lucky to get on a tour with some awesome people on our first day here. Our last tour had been in the winter of 2001 and we were not impressed. The guide was really strict (i.e."Can I leave your sight for a moment to relieve myself please?") and the other members of the tour were not real into the “group consensus” of where we should go. Hence we were not all that bummed about having to spend our last several trips on North Mountain because we’ve had the kids in tow. As they are not with us this trip, we decided to give a tour another shot. We hooked up with a large group of climbers from the southeast, mainly a group of friends from the Red River Gorge climbing community. The guides, Mike and Stephanie, have been at Hueco for the past 6 months and their friends were psyched to be climbing together again for their spring break trips. Everyone was really friendly, and we enjoyed climbing with Mike, Stephanie, Jeremy, Emily, Jeremiah, and Julia. They definitely have us convinced that we need to get to the southeast to check out the Gorge and also Horsepens, Little Rock City, etc. Ahhh, so many places, so little time (and money!). Like David mentioned, we began at the warm-up roof area, where Julia took an early morning swing off the V5 on the left side of the wall and gave herself a good, deep flapper. She managed to climb hard the rest of the day anyway! David and I could have spent all day at that boulder alone, as the roof problems are a bit harder for the vertically challenged and I was left with the Executioner as a project, while David managed to send it just before we left.
"The Executioner"

The group then agreed to move on to the Central Dragon’s Den, with much talk about Hobbit in a Blender. HOBBIT in a BLENDER!! Come on!! I was not psyched but hoped that there would be other things for me, the afore mentioned hobbit, to climb on. Luckily, I was able to figure out how the hobbit sends (or avoids?) the blender! With some high feet for the first move, and lots of encouragement and pads from our group for the techy, sketchy top-out, I was able to defy the myth that a hobbit cannot climb this problem. Awesome! Some others in the group were working some crimpy problems to the right of Hobbit and I started to salivate. With some good spotting and beta, I was able to flash Ides of March and I am so psyched about returning to this spot for further crimping sessions!
Jeremy climbing "The Ides of March"


Once again, David and I could have stayed here all day, but we were good little hobbits and moved on with the group to the south Dragon’s Den area where we were instantly mesmerized by Dragonfly. After watching others do the flowy smooth moves, David jumped on but got a little too pumped at the end to send the flash, but he sent it a couple of tries later. I then hopped on and had a blast on the nice smooth holds, and the campusing and heel-hooking movements (am I in heaven?) and managed to flash it. Such an incredible problem. Mike then recommended I try "Kim With a Bathtub in her Head," and I decided to give it a go despite the very, sharp, rock. This problem is definitely made for shorties, as the opening moves are really scrunchy with small moves to really sharp, small holds…I liked it instantly! The last move is pretty long so I fell on that, not getting the flash, but after working out that move I managed to send a few tries later. Definitely a fun problem if it fits you right, but I wouldn’t recommend it to most because of the... really, sharp, holds.

We then moved on to Ultramega, one of the coolest problems I’ve ever seen (but aren’t they all? Yes!) This problem was super cool, and if I would’ve had a little bit of skin and power left, it definitely would’ve gone, It had one reachy crux move in the middle, but other than that the holds are really good and not too far apart. And it’s a roof/traverse combo-yeah! Can’t wait to get back to that one.

After thoroughly destroying ourselves on Sunday, I knew that things might be a little different on Tuesday. We decided to stay on North Mountain, and although we had planned on getting an early start, Marlene’s suggestion of omelets and bacon caused us to be a little late starting, especially for such a hot day. By the time we got to the first area, the Bloody Flapper Traverse, my project from last winter, it was too hot to even think about getting on it. So we hiked over to Choir Boys Light, David’s proj from 2 years ago. He had been really close to getting this problem, especially with Tony's (short guy,from Boulder) beta. Unfortunately, without Tony there, David could not remember how he avoided the dab at the end of this problem. I was able to figure out how not to dab by pulling first my left foot high, then getting a right heel hook, but Dave was a little to scrunched up and big for my beta (take that tall man!).

After getting smacked around by that problem, we decided stay in the shade and get on Stegosaur, which we had seen last winter but it was too cold to try. With Misha’s beta, we knew that we had to start with our feet facing out of the cave and we managed to put together most of the moves fairly quickly. There was one move though, where you are on the sharp crimp with your right hand, and you have to move your right heel way down the ledge, that proved to be very difficult. None of us (we were climbing with two nice guys from Houston, Mike and Scott) could quite master the move. Maybe next time on a little cooler of a day.


Wilting from the heat, we thought the Gymnasium area sounded nice and cool. Two years earlier I had worked on the Burn Baby Burn traverse

and thought it seemed doable, although I was a little confused on the ending, as there was no chalk where the guide said the problem ended, and no visible holds either. It seems that some beanpole with a huge ape index figured it out recently though, as there is a bit of chalk on little areas of roughness of rock between what I thought was the end and what the guide describes as the real end. Tall
b&%$#@!*! Despite this, I tried to give it a go but the heat had completely melted my skin and I was done for the day. Not David. He was determined to get a new problem, and he found Gag Reflex, which pretty much did make me gag with its dyno move at the top.





David got really close to latching the hueco at the top, and will most likely link it next time.

We are hoping to get on another tour with the SE group for our last day, Thursday, hopefully getting back to Ultramega, some new problems, and old ones that we haven’t climbed in years. It's tough, but I'd better get back to my lounge chair and rest up for tomorrow - Ashley