Tanques de Hueco

The Holidays are an exiting time for everyone. and for the visitors of Hueco this time of year the entrance and mountains seem to closely resemble Macy's on Black Friday. lots o people. But have no fear holders of the reservations for there will be no waiting for you, except in the rangers station. Once your on everyone is psyched, pads on all the classics, and you even meet people from your home town that you didn't know. We've been down here for about a month now slowly working and sending North Mountain with some memorable assents for all. I made quick work of all my projects from last year, and Ian has been sending all the... well everything. His hardest being Diaphanous Sea (v12) and Skid Mark (v11 HB). I don't really have any projects but I'm going to send Baby face and See Spot Run one of these days. Ian has his projects with Terre de Sienne checking in at nomero uno. The last couple days have been pretty laxted we haven't really done anything and with tomorrow being Christmas we will probably rest up a little more and then take the mountain by storm before the New Year rolls around.

Appache Helicopter

more later

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Ian on Wild Turkey

Diaphinous Sea

Bleeding Brothers

Hueco sunset

update

more pics soon internet is to slow right now

Pictures of the Red

Ten Sleep

I have to say that Ten Sleep is now my favorite climbing area with out a doubt. Not only is the rock quality amazing but the amount of first and second ascents waiting is astounding. I have had only 6 days of climbing there but I have to say that It was defiantly the best climbing I have ever done. I did my first 14b and I have to say that it is the most outstanding climb I have ever done. No words I can say can describe the quality of climbing here. Every war you look is bad ass climbing. I also did this 14a that goes up this amazing orange rock and I can't even describe how sick the movement was. I am addicted to this Ten Sleep and am preparing to go back for as long as possible.

top is No More Green Or Grass V Hard. Next is this cool V5 at Mt.Evans second to last is Beyond life V10 and bottom is this cool V10 at Mt. Evans.

Climbing

Climbing

Clear Creek Canyon, not considered the best sport climbing area around but, for how close it is makes it the best locale spot crag around. I spent a little time there with my brother (Ben) but, have not put in any seres time on some of the harder climbs. So last week I went there to see what I could do. It was just a short one day climbing session but, I defiantly felt strong and am gunning to get back to the Premo wall for some more crushing. For my half day of climbing I sent Squeeze play 13c flash and Public Solitude 13b second go.

Ian

Rifle

Rifle

For me Rifle is the next step in the climbing scene. Rifle offers some of the hardest sport climbing in the area. I have been there a hand full of times, but just recently I have come to realize how sick Rifle really is and I know that to push my self to the next level of climbing I need to spend time in a place that has lots of climbs above my level.

Last Sunday and Monday I was climbing in Rifle and helping out with the 13th annual rifle clean up, hosted by Wolverine Publishing. After the clean up it was time to start the sending. The first day I was there I didn’t have much time to climb but was able to get an 11d flash and 12c flash, the next day I was feeling strong and wanted to get on something hard, so I did. American Prayer was my pick, at 5.14 I knew it was hard but I also knew it was like a V10 boulder problem to 5.12 climbing so I was confident. I tried it 5 or so time before I stuck the crux move and finished the climb. To most people American Prayer is not the most inspiring line because it’s so short, but I have to say the numbers, “five point one four” is intimidating and was a major mental break through for me. I feel stronger then ever and am way psyched to get back to Rifle for some more crushing.

I’m working on a pair of nee bar pads and am itching to get back on Zulu. If I was rifle I would be afraid because not only am I back (this years Jr. nationals were disappointing for me) but I have more confidence then ever. I should also mention that I got to climb with Jon Sherman J and he actually watched me send American Prayer! When I go back to Rifle I am hoping to split a camp site with Jon that would be the sickness.

So many climbs so little time.

I also need to mention that my friend Josh Mitchell was there and not only was it his first time in rifle, but first time on long routes in a good bit. Not only did he have to work a 12 hour shift before he left he also had to work first 4hours he was in rifle, but when we got done we hade time to do two climbs. His first climb in rifle was a 12a flash called Gun’s and Posers (bad ass.)

Ian

Climbing

For the last year or so I have been training and climbing which is my passion. This is my life dream coming true. This may be my passion, but you still have to stay psyched, train and climb hard because there is always going to be the next hot shot wanting to take the spotlight. Someone stronger who does a spin off of what you do, a flip side trying to be serious. Now climbing for me is a passion and I live and dream about being outside climbing with my friends. My brother just got done with his spraying job in Wyoming and is ready to hit the rock again!!! You have to under stand something about my brother, he is the man! Not only can he climb hard, but he has an eye for any kind of photograph like you have never seen, cooks like a pro and is always psyched. My brother and I have been through a lot together and can handle any situation from cops on the highway to chicks at the crag, nothing can stop us (maybe a bear). Which brings me to the main part of my story, road trip! As of right now I am home based, but very soon I will be hitting the road and will be living the good life. Rifle is the first goal, I have a lot of climbs I need to crush there, Zulu, Crue, and Gomorrah... the list goes on. After that I have a friend who has been bolting climbs (location NA) and have some sick hard routes that need to go down. Not really sure after that I would like to climb Devil's Tower. Then its back in gear for both bouldering and sport climbing, say hello to Hueco for Three Months!!!

Bouldering in the Pordre Canyon

I have lived in Fort Collins, My whole life which is OK with me because there is so much good climbing so close to my home. Rotary Park, Arther's Rock, the Poudre Canyon, and of course Rocky Mountain National Park. Climbing is my passion and for years I have enjoyed the many areas close to my house, but after a while you want something new, something that you can call yours. Which take me to what I'm really talking about. Monkey Foot, which is a boulder problem that my brother and I found well camping in the Poudre Canyon. At first I did not think there was a line that could be done, but thanks to the creativity of my brother (Ben) and my Friend (James) we managed to find an amazing line. What I was looking at was my new found project. When I first tried it I knew it was above my ability but knew it would go down with some training. After finding Monkey foot one of my good climbing friends call me up and wanted to drive to Bishop for a week of crushing. So I had to leave my new found problem and traveled to Bishop, CA which was one of the best trips of my life but, that's another story. After a week of cranking down in Bishop I came back with new found confidences, and drove back up the Poudre hoping to crush!  There was a lot of snow on the ground and had to hike in knee deep snow but, nothing was going to stop me from my new love. After a few tries I was getting shut down on the same move over and over again but, my brother James found a hidden foot which unlocked the secret batta for sending. As soon as James unlocked the foot bata I sent, calling it Monkey Foot and V? This boulder problem is my proudest FA to date and would love to show any one where it is. call me (970) 443-3179

con-Graduations

One more off deck. Ian pressed through his graduation ceremony this weekend to finally actually be done with school. although he actually finished at semester, he can now share the short feeling of freedom that you attain when you accomplish something so major and yet so small at the same time. He is planing on crushing all the boulders around RMNP with James until the snow drives them out of town. On to Texas they'll roll, 3 months in the Tanks, and then who knows which way the wind will blow. Nationals? Worlds? Bishop?... school?... haha... Not, just go climbing.

Sray-cut-Spray

For a little more then a month now I'v been living out of the back of my car working up in Laramie, WY for Tiger Tree Land Management. Attempting to get a handle on the Western Pine Bark Beetle infestation that has spread to epidemic levels in the past years of drought and fire prevention, we cut and clear infested areas and spray healthy trees to prevent infestation. The insecticide we spray is non-harmful to mammals but decimates aquatic life all most instantly. So incidentally we are unable to save trees that chose the easy life and grew near any active water source. We work basically on an on-call schedule, or you could say, we work when its not windy, raining, freezing, or to much snow on the ground, but you must remember, this is Wyoming. Sometimes it seems like we would get better coverage if we stood in Utah and sprayed up in the air. My crew, the Green Sprayers, is made up of a great group of people, and we have a great time working together. Although right now were all spread out trying to get the U-dub campus sprayed. Lavaughn, our truck (the 550) supervisor from Utah is on his second summer with TTLM, and has worked in Alaska at a fish plant and in the oil fields around Wyoming, Funny dude, its awesome. Jeremy, from Tennessee got hired on the same time as me. He was in the Navy as a Coreman for seven years and has wife and two daughters, and being in the military he has more stories then you can shake a stick at. I'm probably going to laugh a few more years on to my life working with him. Rosanne, from Organ and the only girl on the working side of the business. She worked on the fire crew up in Organ for three summers and then did something for Verizon Wireless down in SoCal for a while, decided that California isn't for everyone and moved to the one and only great city of Fort Collins where she is in the process of trying to go to school. And of course Me, and i love my my job.

Orange'n in Joe'sville

If you were a dog Joe's Vally Utah would be like a street lined with so many of the most amazing firehiderents that you would die before you were finished with all of them. But seriously there is so many boulders, you could never scope out all of them.

After a quick oil change James and I start lay'n rubber on the pavement, we were on our way...Welcome to Orangeville... in just over 8 hours. I don't really remember what happened the first night, but we woke up the next day and proceeded to climb stone. Upon returning to camp that night we discovered that some other people had taken a liking to our encampment. Tom and Jenna where their names and from New Mexico they came. It was their first time in Joe's so we teamed up to crush together. Tom had the strength of the Temple behind and pulled down some good sends in the time he had. Jenna pulled down hard too, she did the sit to 3 weeks,but just hung out most of the time. The weather for the first week was pretty consistent, nice days, cold windy nights. We managed through it and found a perfect little wind shelter to have fires at night.

Rest days consisted of climbing eventually, no matter how hard you try you climb something sometime, unless you let your buddy take your car with your climbing stuff in it, lock yourself in your tent and read, go look for new boulders and/or wood, then watch some low-cals scramble over for New Joe's into the Right Fork.

The best day was a simi-rest day for myself. It started with shooting pics and video of the Evil Resident in Area 51, which had many suters but no senders (until this Ryan guy tried, good work Ryan). I did have a plan to send Big Boy, but i had tried it so many times already i had a mental block per'say. I knew i could do all the moves but if I fell I would get this negativeness that prohibited me from sending. So I just waited till I couldn't any more, took some agro fuel and... YA! sent. Then James started to try Two Finger and sent out of the blue. It was so sudden that I didn't even push record on the camera, I just pointed it at him and cheered him on (whoops).

Back to the New Mexicans, a bunch more showed up to meet up with T&J. Ciris, Spenser...

I think... I cant remember there names but there was three of them and one beautiful model from the NYC who's name was Ava. Their trip was kind of shat upon by the mormenized gov, but after a couple days they were phyced again and climbed hard. We never really got to exchange farewells but I assume that they all made it home safe.

James also had to fall back to the home front at the end of the week. So on Sunday we got him all packed up and he flew home in record time. I on the other hand was staying for another week, and the night James left was one of the most epic wind battles I have ever fought. Basically my rain fly blew off, my tent, being only weighed down by me, then started to blow across the ground releasing the tarp that was under the tent into the wind as well, the poles splintered under the unrelenting wind, and that's the night that HE showed up. But i got it all back together, in a way, and got through the rest of the trip just fine.

Oh! and I forgot my sleeping bag?