Is there any better way to start New Year’s than with an almost 7 week climbing trip? I guess not, especially if it includes a visit to Hueco Tanks… :) But first of all we intended to spend a few weeks in Boulder for some indoor training. That stay unintenionally got extended for a couple more days because I sprained my ankle by falling in between the mats and we already feared not being able to go to Hueco cause it looked pretty serious in the first place. Luckily I could already walk and even climb again after a few days and we still moved down to Texas yet almost a week later than originally planned.
University of Colorado at Boulder
sprained ankle right after it happend...
It’s been my first time in Hueco and I was already stunned alone by the beautiful surroundings before even seeing the amazing climbs the next morning. We stayed in the really pretty campground inside the State Park cause besides the advantage of having heated bathrooms and showers, it also made it a lot easier to get day passes since we had to reschedule due to my ankle and did no longer have reservations. First couple of days we spent on North Mountain, the only area with non-guided access. I’ve never seen such an amount of incredibly cool holds and features, already being impressed alone by the Martini Roof. It took me a while to get used to the rock but after that I sent McBain V8 (7B+) by using some feet-first-toehook-beta. My hardest boulder ascent so far :)) After another rest day we went on a tour for the first time together with Alex Puccio, Shauna Coxsey, Katharina Saurwein, Jorg Verhoeven and Bryan Boyko. Although I didn’t get to climb too much that day, it was inspiring to whatch all those strong climbers sending stuff I can only dream of, at least for the moment.. ;)
sunset in Hueco
McBain V8 (7B+)
Next day was my turn, we went on tour again and I sent New Religion V7 (7B) as well as That Hi-Pro Glow V6 (7A+) on my 3rd go, a really slopy and powerful problem. Remo did an impressive flash of Rumble in the Jungle V12 (8A+) and sent The Flame V12 (8A+) in a few tries. Two days later he did Li V13 (8B) which he had already tried earlier and flashed Liane V11 (8A) right next to it. That day we were joined by two other swiss climbers, Alex Devaux (our guide) and Martin Keller.
That High-Pro Glow V6 (7A+)
Remo trying Slashface V13 (8B)
The day after followed the ascent I’m probably most proud of, Mexican Chicken V6 (7A+), not because it was the hardest but because I totally suprised myself by sending it. I’ve tried it a bit on one of our first days and didn’t really think of being able to send it during our stay cause I couldn’t figure out one big move and even if I did, it was followed by a really high topout which I was already scared of by seeing other peolpe do it. However, the others wanted to try some problems next to it that day and instead of just watching them climb I decided to give it another try. After figuring out the big move by using a heelhook and going to an intermediate, I climbed down at the last more or less hard move because I was scared of the topout. Being angry at myself for acting like a chicken, I tried that move seperately and figured it wasn’t even as scary as I thought. So I did it again from the beginning and SENT :) Last but not least I could finish Daily Dick Dose V7 (7B) on one of our last climbing days. I’ve been trying this one during our whole stay and was glad to finally climb it.
Daily Dick Dose V7 (7B)
Remo flashing Power of Landjager V11 (8A) on our last day
After all I’m pretty satisfied looking at my tick list, especially cause I first thought I couldn’t climb at all with my ankle. Now I’m back in Switzerland and already miss warm and sunny Hueco, as well as all the other amazing places we’ve been to and of course all the nice people we met during our stay, thank you all for making this trip so much fun! I’m definitely gunna return to Hueco someday, hopefully stronger and hopefully soon! Next week I’m back to school, hope I get used to using my brain again soon.. ;)