eureka

i do believe i may have figured out what it takes for me to climb here at hueco.

i took a rest day on tuesday and just focused on stretching and relaxing. any muscles that hurt got some attention with a lot of stretching and workout. i figure that if the muscle hurts, it isn't strong enough, and my theory seems to have worked out since i'm not so sore anymore. stretching is great. i went to bed early to get a good night's sleep and i got myself really worked up to climb again.

wednesday i woke up excited to climb again but then things got a little bit frustrating... the reservation someone gave to me wasn't valid and i had to wait at the gate until 12:30 before getting into the park. at first i thought i wouldn't even be able to focus my energy on climbing, but i chilled out and did some laps on one of my favourite problems in the park - nobody gets out of here alive. it's a roof problem that transitions into slab and it was a really exciting experience to work through the problem without a spotter. i've been scared when climbing here in the past and i needed to get over that. i had to totally believe in my abilities and it really helped me to focus my energy.

i met up with some canadian boys and climbed with them for the rest of the day. i had a great time! i pushed as hard as i could, and climbing was a total out of body experience. as always i tried problems that were a few V-grades harder than i have ever completed, but i got a lot further on them. it was like watching myself climb, completely detached from pride or ego, instead of being so involved in the experience. when i felt a bit of doubt, i worked through the move anyway and a number of times i really surprised myself when i held on. there was a great energy in the group and i had a really great time.

i also got to see a new-to-me area in the park and there are even more really great problems. i'm excited to go back and try harder on them! at the end of the climbing day we went to an area that i haven't returned to since my first day here. the problem is called "sign of the cross" and i had a lot of trouble on it my first day here. the crimpers are sharp, and there's a bit of a toss at the top that i was too scared of. after that it gets a bit tall and i just couldn't do it on my first day.

i sent the problem on my first try yesterday, and it felt great. i've finally had a breakthrough with hueco tanks climbing, and i'm not going anywhere soon. i'm making lots of friends and really enjoying the atmosphere here now. the rock rodeo is coming up this weekend and i'm looking forward to it.

fun in the desert!

adam on babyface (that's the sixth or seventh adam i've met now, but he's from nova scotia and we went to the same high school, so that's okay)

me working on "the mexican chicken" - this is one of the moves that i surprised myself when i held on

raphael working through the start on babyface (big move to small hold)

adam on "the mexican chicken"