Morning view at the Rock Ranch.


Today was the first day climbing at the tanks, and thanks to some friends made along the way, we got to go in with a guided tour of certain areas of the park you can only access with a guide. Thanks again Jackie!
While waiting in line at the front gate to the park, I recognized a van with British Columbia plates, and upon further investigation found not one familiar face, but three! Israel, Tim, and Moses. Otherwise known as the 'Crushers of Squamish'. Three more faces you might be seeing a bit more of over the next few months. With the yearly migration of climbers going south in the winter and north for the summer, it's almost impossible to go somewhere without seeing someone you met in some remote part of the world doing the exact same thing, climbing.

Now I give you today on the East Mountain and the East Mountain Spur.



Ended up that 2 friends of mine from Squamish, Jackie Sequeira and Cody Cox, Happen to be down in Hueco for 2 weeks climbing with some of their buddies from Austin, two of which stomped David and I's asses in foosball last night in the barn at the Rock Ranch.Lucky for us, Jackie happens to be a guide at Hueco Tanks, and managed to get us access to the 'guided tours only' sections of the park with the rest of their buddies on a day where we probably wouldn't have even been able to get in at all due to the fact that we didn't have any reservations, and the first come first served availabilities were gone long before we arrived. Headed out for a quick warm-up in the east mountain, followed by a long and equally as enjoyable session on the classic 'Moonshine roof', which has some of the most amazing features I've seen on a rock! Huge, easy and fun moves to this large prow feature running the entire length of the roof that you pretty much bear hug until you decide you're ready to try and top out. Every movement feels even better than the last, so just pick a problem and go, there's no way you won't enjoy it!

After that, we trekked down to the east mountain spur and put in a good, serious session on another of the many Hueco classics, The Egg. this line has got one of the most ridiculous, yet fun start's I've ever encountered. Jam your right knee into a hole that it shouldn't fit in, then use that and two horrible undercling slopers to pull your bodyweight off the ground. If that's not enough for ya, the first move is to fire with your right hand about 4 feet out and up from where you're hanging from, with one knee and one hand, on the bottom of this bulbous chunk of rock. Then comes the tension. Lots and lots of tension while you traverse on non existent slopers with an ever-slipping toe hook only to come to the crux of the problem, hand/heal match and move into a shoulder wrenching series of gastons and laybacks, only to pop off because you're too tired from a full day of bouldering at Hueco Tanks. That's how it goes though! If ya can't get strong at Hueco, ya might wanna take up ping-pong, which is also conveniently offered in the barn at the Hueco Rock Ranch!

All in all, it was a pretty good first day at the Tanks! I'm excited, at least. I leave you now with the sun setting behind the east mountain. Not a bad day at all!