Audrey only lasted two days in El Potrero before pulling the "Get Out of Mexico" card. The adventure climbing and the wind was just too much for her and it didn't help that on our second day another climber was hit by a falling rock and quite badly injured. Rather than leave Mexico we decided to follow Kevin Wilkinson to another climbing area nearby called El Salto and that is where we are now.

On Christmas Eve we had a dinner prepared for us by the crew at Homero's (the campground we are staying at). There were three options; tamales, pork or a vegetarian dish. I decided to have the pork and Audrey would have the tamales and we would share. It was quite festive with lots of friends around, and of course some tequila, wine and beer always helps.

On Christmas day we woke up to blue skies finally but the wind was still howling. We tried to do one climb but the wind was too much and Audrey decided to call it quits. I continued climbing with Gary and Pete and had quite a fun day just doing single pitch climbing.

The following day we decided to head for El Salto but first we had to stop by the market in Hidalgo to stock up. Every Tuesday and Friday the market comes to town and that's when you get your fresh fruit and many other supplies. You could get spiced coconuts, chilied corn, toys, clothes and many other supplies. It's really quite a cool experience to just wander through the market. After the market we caravaned with Kevin and Kerry in one van, Akira and Juneko in their van and then Audrey and I following. Kevin had directions to get to El Salto by going around Monterrey and amazingly enough it was actually quite easy. We were on the road to El Salto in no time, we just had no idea how far along that road to go :). The road started by winding up this mountain, going through quite a few small villages and topping out by looking over Monterrey and some very green and lush valleys. The road kept going up, and up, and up! Finally it comes down through a river bed and after a brief detour (read lost), we found the entrance to the El Salto canyon. Here's where things got even more interesting.

All we knew about the camping was that it was just off a riverbed. As we drove down the riverbed, very slowly trying to make sure our propane tank wasn't ripped off by any rocks, we didn't really see any camping. Finally we couldn't make it any farther and decided to just park and make camp in the riverbed. It took a little while to manouver the vans into position and this included having to dig Kevin's van out a few times. All in good fun.

It was now about mid-afternoon and we just went hiking to find the climbing areas. There are two main walls; Las Animas and the Telcotte Cave. We were more interested in the cave and only stopped briefly at Las Animas. The cave is quite similar to Horne Lake on Vancouver Island but with larger features; tufas, horns, and stalagtites. We scoped out the routes and returned to camp excited about climbing the next day.

On Wednesday we decided to try and skip a little bit of the hike by rappelling down a dried up waterfall. It's been a long time since I've done a rappel for fun but this one was awesome. You lower down into this cavern of smooth limestone with an impressive arch above you. Pretty amazing. It didn't save up much time but definitely saved us a bit of effort. Up at the cave Kevin and Kerry decided to warm up on a 5.10a route that climbs up, through a hole and finishes in a cave on the far side, this route is a must do if anyone ever visits El Salto. After climbing at the Red for two months this place is pretty wild and different. The Red is much more two dimensional climbing whereas this place involves full 360 degree climbing. You'll be stuck for a little while only to look behind you for the next foothold or handhold. I love it! We spent the first day just playing around on some routes and basically getting schooled on how to kneebar, heelhook and get used to the full body climbing.

The second day we returned to the cave again and I decided to try a 5.12b that was called The Golden Mean (or Golden Rule). This climb just intrigued me. You started by climbing three bolts fairly straight up but by not means straightforward and then you started circling left in a spiral fashion. You end up only about 30' in the air but you've climbed probably more than 60 feet. I used everything on this route; knee bars, leg bars, arm bars, heel hooks. hand jams etc... it was so cool. While the climbing might only be 12b I felt like I used up a lot of energy on it. We also played on a 5.13d there that just looked amazing. Really steep with mostly tufs climbing. The crux move is hard but hopefully I can do it next day.

Today is a rest day, just sitting in the sun and enjoying it. It's been a long time since I've been in the sun. I'll catch up on some work, sort some photos and just relax.

Well we finally arrived at El Potrero Chico yesterday in the early afternoon. We are set up and relaxing after driving across the country and dealing with the hassle of driving in Mexico.

The drive across the country wasn't too bad. We spent a very brief time in New Orleans, basically just drove through it making extra effort (running red lights) to avoid stopping in some areas but the downtown core and the French Sector looked lively and amazing. It was too bad that with a loaded down van we weren't comfortable stopping to get some good 'ol cajun cooking. After New Orleans we drove on to San Antonio where we stopped and had an amazing lunch with Audreys Great-Aunt Shirley and Great-Uncle Ted. I couldn't believe the meal they had prepared. We unfortunately only spent a few hours there and then were on the road again and heading for McAllen which is right on the Mexican border in Texas.

Audrey had some friends Virginia and Fred who lived there and she was excited to see them again. We arrived quite late and chatted only a little before heading to bed. The next morning we slept in a little, had a wonderful breakfast and then went to run some errands. We had figured out how to get our tourist visas and vehicle permits for travelling in Mexico and we hit the border at around 1:30 thinking that was plenty of time to get through the border. In fact we were through the border in a matter of minutes and on the road to Monterrey, the only problem was we didn't have tourist visas or the vehicle permit... We had not seen any signs indicating where to stop and get these so we drove back to the border and somehow stumbled across the correct building. It was under construction so there weren't any signs on it but we followed some people with a Texas license plate. Once in the building it seemed like a fairly straight forward process to get the permits. It wasn't until we had filled out all the paper work that we had to wait to get it approved... and wait... and wait. Three hours later it was finally our turn and fortunately there were no issues with the paperwork but now it was 5pm and it was getting dark soon. The prospect of navigating unknown roads in a foreign country in the dark was not pleasant. So we called up Fred and Virginia, went back across the border and had a great evening with friends.

The next morning we went across the border with not hassle, and not needing to stop for paperwork we were on our way to El Potrero Chico. We only briefly lost our sense of direction near Monterrey but arrived in Hidalgo by around 2pm.

It is currently raining and pretty windy but the weather is supposed to clear up on Christmas day so we should be able to do some climbing then.

I love sandstone bouldering! It's just so much fun. Rarely do you have to worry about bad landings, the problems are intricate and varied and the boulders themselves are just so damn cool looking. I still owe Walson Tai $20 for a silly bet I made saying I probably wouldn't enjoy Fontainebleau many years ago. I loved Font and some of the places I've climbed at in the last few days were just as fun.

We spent the past weekend in Ohio with Audrey's sister and her family. We arrived really late on Thursday night after stopping in Columbus to visit some friends and have a few beers. On Friday I spent most of the time going through photos and finally catching up on some emails. Friday night we went to go see Audrey's nephew, Josh, perform in a choir for a christmas concert. On Saturday we were planning on leaving but the promise of a warm bed, an amazing roast dinner and the company of family was too much to pass up. We ended up staying until pretty late on Sunday as well!

Sunday night we drove to Knoxville, Tennessee to stop in and say hi to Craig and Noell, just a couple of the many amazing people we have met so far on this trip. In the morning we continued our journey down to Horsepens 40 in Alabama to meet up with Kenny and Julie for a little sandstone bouldering. I had no idea what to expect. For some reason I couldn't recall any photos that I had seen of the place, nor could I remember much of what people have said about it. We had great directions from some website so we found the area no problem. As we drove through the gates I couldn't see any of the boulders and it wasn't until we actually parked the van that I noticed them. Literally the boulders are 30 seconds walk from the camping and right away I was excited by how much it looked like some areas in Font.

Audrey and I started by warming up just playing around on some easy problems, not really following any line in particular but traversing and just trying to stretch after a few days of no climbing and driving. I wandered over to where Kenny, Julie and Nate were bouldering and jumped on a few problems. I can't remember the names but the were fun. Audrey came over not long after and flashed a V5 complete with shaking out and chalking up for the topout! She's been at the Red for too long :). We played around on some other problems, I briefly touched the starting holds of a V11 but couldn't get my ass off the ground and not long after we called it a day, or at least a break for dinner. After dinner Kenny, Nate and I decided to do some nighttime bouldering with lanterns, nothing harder than V5. I had not been on any of the problems before so climbing in the dark was a little tricky. At some point early on Kenny fell on a problem twice and I made the mistake of saying I was keeping score... after that it was all about finding classic problems and trying to make each other fall. Some of them were awesome, with full on scary topouts and grappling with slopers. My fingertips, forearms and body were used to the max before we finally called it a night.

The next day we went to Little Rock City (aka StoneFort) in Tennesee, just outside of Chatanooga. The setting of LRC is crazy, just to the side of a golf course and in fact at one point a golf ball landed about 40 feet from Kenny and I. I was so exhausted from the day before that it took a lot of whining before I put my climbing shoes on and actually started trying harder problems. The problems here were more crimpy than in Horsepens but again I was surprised by the number of problems in a small area. While most of the day Kenny, Nate and I were flailing on V6s and V7s, Audrey and Julie cooly cruised up a V9 and several V7s. They owned that day for sure.

Today we were planning on driving up to Little River Canyon and climbing a few pitches to just check that place out but our bodies were sore and we wanted to get a head start on the drive to Mexico. So that's where I am now, in the back seat of the van somewhere in Louisiana.

Well we are finally leaving the Red and there must be something about me and absolute last days at a climbing area. On Wednesday, after Audrey redpointed Table Of Colors, we went back to Lago Linda's and started packing up. We had decided that Thursday (December 14th) would be our last day no matter what. The weather was looking good for the weekend but we wanted to get down south, do a few days of climbing and then bust out for Mexico. We figured we'd go out to Purgatory in the morning and I'd try Lucifer a few times and then we'd take off.

We awoke Thursday morning and as forecast the sky was perfectly blue and the air was crisp. I walked around the lake at Lago Linda's, took some photos and then we loaded up and headed for Purgatory. It was a little weird feeling walking in there. I had never been to the crag as early as we were and the sun was shining straight down the path before you turn into Purgatory. We walked into the crag and quickly tried to warm up. I started with the usual routine; one burn on The Castle Has Fallen to the 5th bolt, come down and go up again. Normally I'd stop at the 5th again but I was feeling pretty good and decided to just climb it to the top. I lowered off, moved the rope over to Dracula '04 and climbed it to the top as well. I was feeling strong and for the first time in a few days was actually excited about the prospect of redpointing Lucifer today.

The first burn on Lucifer ended as many others have, falling moving past the fifth bolt. This time though I felt really strong on the move but just barely missed the hold I was throwing for, I actually went past it... That move was starting to haunt me, while a hard move I still felt that I should be able to pull it every attempt. I lowered down, rested for a few minutes and went up again. This time the sun felt warm and the rock felt a little slimy. My hands were sliding as I moved into the crux at the 5th and I fell again, this time with my hands shooting off the wall. I lowered feeling pretty dejected.

While waiting for the next attempt Audrey asked me if I wanted her to set up the video camera, just in case. I was feeling so lame I didn't even think it was worth the effort to set it up. Audrey played on The Castle Has Fallen for a little while and just before she lowered down I started to feel a cool breeze. I was feeling strong just not sure that I'd be able to climb Lucifer that day.

Well, I tied in again and this time managed to pull the move at the 5th bolt, despite the lower crux feeling pretty bad. At the shake I had decided to try and tear the tape off my right ring finger that had been preventing me from feeling the crux pocket well. I figured that even if I tore skin on this last attempt it wouldn't matter much. I felt good leaving the rest and hit the pocket perfectly. I managed to keep the pocket crimped, move my feet and set up for the throw that was another high percentage fall move. I hit the next pinch well, even managed to get three fingers on the right hand side where I normally only get two fingers initially. I made the 7th clip and on previous attempts I would hold on with my right hand until it was super pumped in order to rest my left as much as possible. On this attempt however I felt comfortable holding that right hold and just shook the left a few times, chalked up, positioned my feet and reached up for the next small crimp. I matched quickly, and then I was staring at a split finger pocket; index finger on the left side - three outside fingers on the right side. I had fallen here three times tapping the outside of this narrow slot. This time I managed to get in it, move my feet, cross up and then stand up to the big jug rest. I'm not usually a screamer on a route, either in joy, effor or frustration but as soon as my hand wrapped up onto that ledge I felt compelled to just scream! I waited at that rest for awhile, shaking back and forth too scared to leave the relative comfort of that hold. Finally I started moving, scared of a broken hold, a slipping foot, somthing that would lead to that familiar feeling of being surrounded by air. Move after move I was extra cautious and finally reached the finishing hold. I paused a few moments, grapped the rope, looked down at Audrey and clipped the anchors.

As pathetic as it sounds I really wanted to get some photos of me on the route. I even went so far as to walk to another crag and recruit someone to come belay me while Audrey hauled herself up another line to shoot. It was all a little ridiculous but hey, why not?

After Purgatory I went to go get on Dogleg again, just to see if I could do it. I couldn't...

Somehow Audrey convinced me to drive back up to Ohio that night to visit her sister and drop off some extra items. On the way up we stopped in Columbus and had some celebratory beers with Kenny, Julie and Jeremy Pettigrew.

Anyways, now we have left the Red, who knows for how long but I'm willing to be it will be for awhile. Next up is a long drive to Mexico :)

I have tentatively rated the climb 5.14c. I'm not sure the grade will stick but I figure if I grade it 14c hopefully some strong climbers may go and try it. Here's a link to a post on redriverclimbing.com where I explain my reasoning for the grade, and compare Lucifer to some of the other routes at the red.

Score: Audrey - 2, Mike - 1 (Yay!)

Sigh... Audrey is just ticking 5.13s right and left while I flail again and again. Today she redpointed Table Of Colours at Left Flank on her first try!

Score: Audrey - 2, Mike - 0

But we'll get to that later...

Wowser it was cold last week. It snowed Thursday and was absolutely freezing out. Friday wasn't much better but Audrey and I toughed it out and sat in the van :). I spent most of the time working and cooking/snacking while she was reading and fooling around on her computer. So we survived two days stuck in a van. Phew... Our propane for our heater almost ran out so that was a little scary.

Saturday was sunny and surprisingly the rock wasn't that cold. I again headed back out to Purgatory after having not been on Lucifer for over a week. The first burn was ok but I tried to climb without tape on one of my fingers and I quickly went through the skin again which sucked. I tried a second time and it was better but I can't squeeze my sausage fingers into this one pocket with the tape on. I decided to wait until Sunday for any more burns since it was supposed to be slightly warmer and I had been numbing out a bit. After Purgatory we headed over to the Motherlode for Audrey to try Snooker again. She made a great attempt but decided to rest after one attempt and try again on Sunday.

On Sunday unfortunately the sun wasn't super strong and in the morning I couldn't get over the numb fingers. I'm definitely starting to get annoyed by that route. I feel like I should have done it a long, long, long time ago but I just can't put it together. I feel like I'm fighting Stupidity, Skin, Temps, and Fatigue in that order. Oh well the weather looks good for another few days. Audrey decided to rest another day since it was a little cold.

We awoke Monday to perfectly blue skies and Audrey wanted to get on Snooker early before it got too warm (amazing what a little pure sun can do). We had a quick breakfast and I even skipped coffee! Ok, our propane ran out so I couldn't boil water for coffee but still it was a quick breakfast. We drove over to the Motherlode and Audrey warmed up quickly. We headed over to Snooker and it was still in the shade. On her first attempt Audrey's fingers went numb and you could tell she wasn't quite warmed up enough yet. She came down, rested 30 minutes and started up again. She cruised the bottom section of the route which is quite sustained and hard. The first real, real hard move for her comes at the 6th bolt and she barely managed to make that move. She hung out on a pretty good hold, shaking back and forth and then launched into the hardest section of the route. She had been up there a few times before on redpoint and fallen, but this time she hit every move perfectly and was at the anchors for the redpoint! She gave a little cheer and clipped. Her first 5.13!

As soon as she lowered she wanted to go to Left Flank to try another 5.13 that she had been on a few times. So we headed in that direction pausing only to fill with propane. Left Flank was in the sun and almost a little too warm so she went up once to try and remember the sequence and then waited for the sun to get a little lower in the sky. On her next attempt she made it right into the thick of the crux section before falling. Pretty amazing day if you ask me. 4 burns on 5.13 including one redpoint!

Score: Audrey - 1, Mike - 0 (or -6)

This past week has been pretty mellow. I've decided to give my skin and body a break from Lucifer and play on some other routes, and also to give Audrey a chance to dictate where we will climb.

On Monday we ended up resting and driving into Richmond, a small city about 45 minutes away from Lago Linda's. The have a nice new Kroger's (local supermarket chain) with a good selection of health food. I made up for the health food by buying a big bag of twizzlers, don't worry. We then did some laundry and found a really cool coffee shop with free wireless. It's right on the highway 52 in downtown Richmond, called LiveWire I think.
Good coffee + free wireless + cool atmosphere =
great way to spend a rest day.
On Tuesday Audrey wanted to go back to Left Flank even after only one day of rest. It was sunny and good temperature but you could tell her body was still quite tired from the previous week of climbing hard. I climbed three pitches only, basically just stretched out in the sun.

On Wednesday we warmed up at the Drive-By and then headed for The Dark Side so Audrey could try another one of her projects, Tuskan Raiders. It was cold at the Dark Side, appropriately named since it never sees the sun, but Audrey was all geared up to send. On her first attempt her right foot slipped in the crux and she fell. On her second attempt her left foot slipped one move farther. You could tell it was frustrating her, even to get to the crux was a lot of effort. I didn't think she'd have it in her for one more go but she rested a little, suited back up and hiked through the crux! She finished by cruising to the top without much drama. After that we headed over to the Gold Coast so I could try a route I had been on over a month ago, God's Own Stone. It's a bouldery route with a hard crux section and I couldn't remember it that well. I fell on my first attempt, lowered to the ground, pulled the rope and got back on and managed to do it. It was a little silly to just get right back on but even though I was a little pumped I felt pretty warm and had a feeling I could do it. We finished up the day with Audrey almost flashing another 12c on the Solar Collector wall. All in all a pretty good day.

Today however... it's miserable outside. I mean we're resting so it doesn't matter too much but it's cold, snowing and windy. It's supposed to warm up by the weekend though so we're resting today and tomorrow.

Well it's definitely cooled down here, this past weekend we were climbing in sunny weather with highs of around 10 degrees and lows well below freezing. I was prepared to leave Kentucky today after flailing miserably on Lucifer in the cold. After looking at the forecast in areas around here we've decided we might as well suffer in the cold up here and then head for Mexico around mid-December. Audrey is psyched to finish up her first 5.13 and I still want to try and tick off my projects. So we're sticking around... I don't know when we'll be leaving exactly but I'd be surprised if we're still here on Dec 12th.

It is absolutely dead here now. This past weekend we've had the crags pretty much to ourselves which has been great. After only resting last Friday we climbed both Saturday and Sunday under blue skies. All I managed to do was fall a few more times up past the main cruxes on Lucifer and tear more holes in my fingers. The highlight for me this weekend was watching Audrey on Snooker when she threw for a hold, had her feet come off the rock and her body ended up perpendicular to the rock face but she managed to hold the swing and get her feet back on. Pretty cool move!