Hueco, Part Two

New photos!

Well, the heat hasn’t subsided, much. Paul and I managed to have reasonable temperatures today on East Mountain, but the it came at a cost–wicked winds, especially on the slabs overlooking Mescalero Canyon. I thought the seven of us were going to blow off to West Mountain while we worked on Mojo.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Yes, it’s been hot. We’ve sought shelter in the caves, and the fleeting morning shade of the front side of North Mountain. The mornings have been nice, but moving between boulders in the heat of the day is unpleasant, to say the least. But, we’ve soldiered on, and even managed to do a few things. Notable ticks include Stinking J (V8), a fantastic sloper problem on North Mountain. The movement is unlike anything here, almost Coopers-like. I may go back to work on the lower start, which checks in at V10. I also managed a quick ascent of Dirty Martini on the Rocks (V9-ish, or V12, if you want to believe the guidebook). It’s a dynamic problem, with a big, arching move from poor crimps on a steep wall. Yes, I took the safe escape route after the difficult section, but I’d rather live with that rather than broken bones sustained on the chossy topout. I can painfully close to doing Notorious D.I.G. (V9) on East Mountain, but alas, it wasn’t to be. I did salvage that day with a second try ascent of Li Stand (V7), a fun, short problem on the Warm Up Wall.

I have perhaps two more climbing days before we move on to Tuscon, AZ. I’ve found thus far that I climb better when I don’t have expectations–that is, I haven’t targeted particular climbs to send. It seems that if I target something (say, Choir Boys or Glas Roof, of which we shall not speak), the weight of the expectation is too much for my feeble mind, and I fail. Neither Stinking J or Dirty Martini were on my ticklist, but both were sent very quickly.

Today, the boys and I are taking a rest day. We spent part of the morning trying to find tires for the van (which ended in failure) and trying to find free WiFi (obviously successful, since I’m posting this). It’s windy, and dusty, today. Jen, Paul, and April went up East Mountain, and they are doubtlessly fighting some strong gusts there. Tomorrow looks to be some of the best weather of the trip, with temps around 80–time to clean up North Mountain projects before we hit the road.

I am bittersweet about leaving. I am, on one hand, sick of the heat, and the wind, and the dust, but there are problems left undone. And I will the miss the mornings, the sun peeking out above the hills to the east, sitting under the shade of a low tree, sipping coffee and watching the hummingbirds. And I will miss the evenings, after the sun disappears behind East Mountain, eating burritos, drinking beers, and reliving the days successes and failures. But, we shall lean westward, on to new adventures.