So close.

Went out to Hueco yesterday and got on El Techo de los Tres B.  I am from the start to sticking the throw but having been back from Afghanistan, I am still low on stamina.  It's also not as good to stay out until 3:00 AM the night before either.  I did run into a friend of Ben Edwards (my favorite climbing partner) named Colby Clear.  It's good to see people from the Austin area.  Sometimes I feel like everyone stopped climbing when I left, since I hardly see anyone.  I guess that is one of the perks of living in the mecca of bouldering.  People come to see me occasionally.

Also, I found the video of the "Speedclimbing Competition" I did a few weeks back with Dan Goodwin.  It's pretty entertaining.  I feel silly competing in speed climbing, being that I have competed in so many technical comps.  I still had that feeling that I always have at the beginning of a comp.

Spain Buildering

Here is a clip I finally found and downloaded of some buildering in Spain.  I had already done this little V4 problem but they wanted to get it on video.

Back from the NC

Well, despite being in a beautiful state full of trees and grass, there was not very much climbing. Even the hypothetical buildering I scoped out was greeted with a not so southern welcome. Therefore, I went to Hueco on monday immediately after coming back. Day 2 on El Techo was pretty good and after throwing around the corner about 20 times i discovered a different foot that allowed me to get the move first try. The bad news is that I didn't have the strength to finish it. The good news is that Alex got some great photos.

Everybody's here. It's CRAZY!!! Just a little clip I stumbled on today that I have never actually seen. It's clearly from the 2009 CCS Nationals. Exciting stuff.

I was fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to climb with legend Dan Goodwin, or SpiderDan. Many of you may have seen his climbs of some of the tallest skyscrapers in the country but Dan has done a lot more than that. Dan hosted the first sport climbing competition in the states in 1988. Then he set out on a mission to expose the weaknesses of our nations skyscrapers after witnessing the MGM fire. He survived Stage 4 cancer and has gone on to become a motivational speaker. All around a great guy.

Hueco

We got the pictures back from the one hour photo today and they looked pretty neat. They are the pictures of me at El Techo de los Tres B. It was a great day and a lot of fun. Hopefully the send will go down soon.

Es Pontas

Well, it looks as if I never even updated on my trip to Spain. I went and climbed in Mallorca and it was amazing. I got on Chris Sharma's line, Es Pontas and I have to say that it is very hard. Just getting out of the water is tiring. Then you fall off and have to fight the ocean current and jellyfish. All in all, it was a great time though. I wanted to get to the dyno but no luck.  I made it about to the move before it.

If you have watched King Lines, you know the part where they mention the jellyfish...well, they are infact pretty brutal. We didn't really get a picture of me climbing but you can see me standing at the bottom of the arch.

A little lacking

I have decided that my blog needs more content. Therefore, I have decided to post more of my pictures, as well as take my camera out with me more. This weekend at Hueco was a little bit of a fail only in that Alex's camera died on the third picture. We did snap some photos with a disposable though and we'll see how they came out. I may post them later tonight. Here are a few from the archives.

Back in the USA

So, I have been in the states again for about a month now. I have been to Hueco three times, to the gym about 4 days a week, and competed in a comp. I created a climbing team at Fort Bliss and should be hired at the Soldier Activity Center pretty soon. I got to climb with famous sport climber, Dan Goodwin, aka Spiderdan (the guy who climbs all the buildings) and I am very close to sending El Techo de los Tres B V11/12 out at Hueco. All I need to do is piece it together. I think that pretty much sums it up. I really want to compete in the 2020 olympics; the first year for climbing to be entered. Therefore, I have been training really hard. I hope to be solidly at V11 by the end of the year.

In Afghanistan

For those of you that keep up with my non-climbing life, I am currently in Afghanistan. I clearly am not climbing (not that there aren't rocks) but I am doing a good bit on the hang board. I have my shoes and a hangboard put up in the Tactical Operations Center, or the TOC. I am to 90 degrees on a one arm pull-up, which is a big step up from not being able to lock-off when I first got here. I will keep you guys updated and will put up some pictures of my set up once I get a chance.