2^nd Annual Hueco Rock Rodeo Youth Comp Round-Up

It was sunny Sunday morning when people started milling around the Hueco Rock Ranch, recently purchased by the American Alpine Club.  It was the Rodeo’s 2^nd Annual Youth Competition, which took place the day after the 20^th Hueco Rock Rodeo so the people were moving a little slower but still psyched.  The grill masters from the night before showed up—thanks goodness—and did not grumble too much when they asked what they could do to help and I asked Tim and Lindsey to fire up the griddle and start the pancakes and sausage. The line for the Asana breakfast started to form at about 8:45 a.m.  This is the first time we have been able to have a Sunday breakfast for the Youth Comp and it was a great way to start a new tradition.

The Rodeo Youth Comp, only in its second, year picked up a lot of steam—last year we only had 3 competitors and this year we had 21!  Mirko Caballero a 5.10, Organic and Petzl athlete came from California with his Dad to win the advanced category!  Amy Gezel and her family drove down from Minnesota to cheer on her daughter Victoria who won the Intermediate category sending her first V4! We were very excited that the Juarez climbing team came to the event with their coaches Isaac Morales, Adolfo Cornoado and Alejandro Reys, they brought four excited eager kids and some family members.  Out of these four Oscar Dalzada took second place in the Intermediate category, Jorge Carreon took first place in the Beginner category and Edwin Quezada took second place Beginners!   We were also so happy the kids from Ciudad Nueva Community Outreach and their coordinator Hannah Drewes participated in the event.  We were able to raise money through the Rodeo raffle Saturday night to help make it possible for the kids to come take part in theYouth Competition.  New to climbing these youngsters had a great day and were accompanied by two local guides Antonio Amaya and Sid Roberts and Fred Nicole who were all able to help the kids learn about climbing and Hueco!  Manny Roque from the Ciudad Nueva took third place in the beginner category!

After a great day of fun, guides, kids, parents, Rodeo participants and volunteers joined together at the Ranch for the final Rodeo Round Up BBQ presented by Fat Tire and the AAC—another new tradition!  The winners of the Youth Comp walked away happily, well fed and with Adidas gift cards, Asana crash pads, 5.10 and Sportiva shoes and one lucky girl got a climbing trip to Colorado given to us by Kent Mountain Adventure Center.  Thanks to Asana, Fat Tire, the AAC, Adidas, KMAC, the Juarez Climbing team, the competitors and their families and many more for making the Rodeo Youth Comp possible.  Also thanks to of those sponsors that contributed to the raffle that enabled the Ciudad Nueva Community Youth Outreach folks to participate including This Rodeo was fueled by 5.10, AAC, Adidas, prAna, Marmot, Arc’teryx, Organic, Trango, Fat Tire, Osprey, Asana, La Sportiva, New Mexico State University, Metolius, KMAC, Crimp Chimps, Petzl, Climb Tec, Alpine Cowboy, Aims Adventure Outfitters, Joshua Tree, Clif Bar, Rock & Ice, Wagon Wheel Co-opt, Send Climbing, The Access Fund, AK Screen Printing and The Tobacco Tin!

Paul Robinson on Tax Gatherer

20 years and Fred Nicole what else can you ask for!  Oh a beautiful day, psyched competitors and great rock climbing!  The Hueco Rock Rodeo, one of the longest running outdoor climbing competitions, celebrated its 20^th year with style.  The festivities started Friday night with Marmot presenting the Incan Odyssey. Andy Mann, Paige Claassen and Abbey Smith all came down to show the movie!  Paul Robinson followed presenting Chasing Winter to cap off the night.  The six a.m. breakfast came quickly, maybe a little too quickly for a few enthusiastic revelers. Thanks to our great friends at prAna all of the competitors were served pancakes by Fred Nicole, who made the trip overseas just for us!!!  The morning was crisp but the newly remodeled barn at the Hueco Rock Ranch (recently purchased by the American Alpine Club) provided a cozy spot for breakfast.  153 well-nourished climbers made their way onto the shuttles and the first three shuttles were at the gate by 8:00 am!

Amongst the crowd were the top contenders in the Open category Paul Robinson, Jimmy Webb, Jon Cardwell and local favorite Sam Davis.   For the ladies it was Angie Payne, Nina Williams and Jill Waters.   As the day warmed up these competitors were ushered around East Mountain in Hueco Tanks by volunteer Rodeo guides.  The action was unfolding fast and Paul Robinson got right to work doing Bastard in a Basket v13 in two tries.  He proceeded to the Maiden Gully to do Blood of a Young Wolf v14 in six attempts.  Earlier this week Paul had sent both of these problems dedicating a session to each–this is Robinsons first trip to Hueco after a five-year absence.  He stayed in the same cave and did Ayanami Rei Right Start v12 also in six tries.  After that Paul went for a walk escorted by a guide up and over East Mountain to Phantom Limb v12, which he did quickly–just two attempts.  Close by is Cut to the Quick v12, which took Paul ten tries to figure out his beta and send.  Robinson now walked back over East and through the Dark Heart to send Le Chninkle V11 in three attempts. Then he returned to the Dark Hart to finish his day with The Tax Gatherer and even after all of this climbing he did not seem tired doing this challenging v12 on his second attempt.  Paul won the comp with this impressive list with 7780 points.

165 points behind Paul Robinson was local Sam Davis.  Sam had the best climbing day of his life sending Julio & Me v9, Le Chninkle V12, Dry Pinch v8 and Full Throttle v13 all in one try!  He went to the other side of East after that and did Neon Desert v14 and Cut to the Quick v12—he gave both five attempts.  Then he did Phantom Limb v12 and Power of Landjager v11 with just two tires on each to end a great day for Sam!  Jimmy Webb and Jon Cardwell were only 55 points apart vying for third place.  Jimmy did three problems in one try Phantom Limb v12, Power of Landjager  and Full Service v10 and did Le Chninkle in two tries.  He sent Ayanami Rei Right Start  and Shake n Bake v11 after six attempts.  Jon Cardwell had a great day as well sending Full Throttle v13, The Butter Pumper v10, Le Chninkle v11, Phantom Limb v12 and Full Service v10 all in two tries and Mo Mojo v11 in one try.

Meanwhile the talk from the ladies is that the list was hard this year—5 v8s, 4 v9s, 5v10s, 4 v11s and 5 v12s.  I do have to agree that the problems were challenging and reachy in some instances; however, Angie Payne and Nina Williams decided to throw in another challenge and made a pact to try problems from the bottom up only—no working out beta or figuring top outs!  This resulted in a lot of climbing for the ladies and not as much sending.  This is Angie’s first trip to Hueco since she took second in last years Rodeo and was able to take first this year even with the extra challenges.  Payne tried 7 hard problems 39 times from the bottom up including 10 falls at the end of Sunshine v10 and not sending it.  She did send Crimping Christ v10 in five tries the Butter Pumper v10 in three tires and Hobbit with a Boner v8 in three tries.   Nina Williams who left Hueco not too long ago after having a great trip sending several v11 and v10s returned for the Rodeo.  She attempted five problems twenty times.  She was able to repeat Sunshine quickly in one try and did the Butter Pumper in eight ground up attempts.  Jill Waters was on her own program and did the Butter Pumper and Sam’s Problem for third place.  This was Paige Claassen’s first Rodeo and she loved it sending Crimping Christ and getting close on the Butter Pumper—we were so happy she came down to present the Incan Odyssey and climb!

There was a lot of action in the Advanced category this year.  We had a tie for first and third!  The tie for first was between Layla Mammi and Rachel Meyers—they both sent the same four problems Ides of March v6, Hector in a Blender v7, Man Gum v9 and Something Different v7 earning 3005 points.  The winner in this situation is determined by total attempts and Layla Mammi won with eleven attempts verses Rachel Meyers’ fifteen attempts.  It was a great day of climbing for both ladies!  Robin Maslowski and Olivia Hsu tied for third! They both completed Ides of March v6, Hector in a Blender v7 and Dragonfly Direct Finish v6—Robin won with three attempts to Olivia’s five.

Kyle O’Meara won men’s Advanced by doing Taxing The Pipe v9, Full Service, Whispers of Mortality v10, Mojo v10, Snake Charmer v7 and Li Stand v7!  Only 90 points behind him was Nate Drolet who also had a great day sending 10-10 v9, Mojo v10, Try Harder v9, Man Gum v9, Julio & Me v9 and Dry Dock v7! Cha Hoeun came in third with the ascents of Dragon Fly Direct v6, Dry Dock v7, 10-10, Mojo, Man Gum, Hector in a Blender.

After a long day of trying hard Angie Payne put on a great slideshow on her trip to Greenland as the burger line subsided.  Thanks to our volunteer grill masters Tim Vastine, Lindsey Tjian, James Lucas and Kim Groebner we had four grills going and served approximately 300 people 324 burgers!!!  We were happy to welcome John Bragg from the AAC to present the Hueco Rock Rodeo’ donation to Wanda Olszewski from Hueco Tanks State Historic Site & Park and Ian Cappelle from the Climbers of Hueco Tanks Coalition.  Thanks to our amazing sponsors and all of the competitors we were able to donate $9000 to Hueco Tanks to help their efforts to preserve the park and remove graffiti and $1000 to the CHTC for their project of getting climbing historically acknowledged in Hueco.  Once again thanks to our sponsors including 5.10, Adidas, Osprey, Organic, Marmot, La Sportiva, Metolius, New Mexico State University, Petzl, Bosavi, and Send Climbing and many more we were able to raise $1500 in our raffle that we used to sponsor some kids from a local youth outreach program, Ciudad Nueva, to come out for the Youth Comp on Sunday (more to come about their experience and the youth comp excitement soon).  There were about three hundred people visiting sponsors booths, meeting Fred Nicole, Nina and Jon Cardwell, visiting the spectacular art show put on by Vanessa Compton who was displaying her own art work, Sam Davis’ photographs and Martina Mali’s knitwear and local Mary Bocchicchio won the Dyno contest for the ladies and Alex McIntyre won for men!

It took a village to raise this event and I am so happy we had an amazing local village that came together and made the 20^th Hueco Rock Rodeo one to go down in history! Thanks so much to the folks who worked so hard as volunteers, the AAC for hosting the event and for their support–John Bragg, Phillip Swiny, Jason Kehl, Martani Mali, Lisa Hummel and Jenn Flemming were amazing.  And I was so lucky to have Bronson MacDonald, Adam Strong, Kwang Lee, Nataile Hawley, Emma Flaherty, Andy Banks, Trevor Turmelle, Sam Kelly, Cletus Wilcox, G.P. Salvo, Vanessa Compton, Heath Baily and so many more. Thanks to Kenny Coppedge and the guys from Fort Bliss for bringing down the Dyno wall! Thanks to all of the guides at Wagon Wheel and volunteer guides who made this happen! Thanks to Hueco Tanks for allowing us to have this competition.  Thanks to Andy Klier and Allen Peters for helping with the website and posters and Daniel Yagman Jr for the artwork! Thanks to Merrick Ales, Beau Kahler and Louder Than 11 for the media!!!  Thanks to all of the folks who signed up and had a blast!  This Rodeo was fueled by 5.10, AAC, Adidas, prAna, Marmot, Arc’teryx, Organic, Trango, Fat Tire, Osprey, Asana, La Sportiva, New Mexico State University, Metolius, KMAC, Crimp Chimps, Petzl, Climb Tec, Alpine Cowboy, Aims Adventure Outfitters, Joshua Tree, Clif Bar, Rock & Ice, Wagon Wheel Co-opt, Send Climbing, The Access Fund, AK Screen Printing and The Tobacco Tin!

Great highlight reel from Louder Than 11!!!  http://lt11.com/2013-20th-annual-hueco-rock-rodeo/

Thanks prAna!!!

Paige on the Butter Pumper

Paul Robinson on Ayanami Rei

Paul Robinson on Ayanami Rei

Sam Davis on Bastard in a Basket

Cardwell on Phantom Limb

Cardwell on Butter Pumper

Nina Williams

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  Jimmy Webb on Neon Desert

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  Paige on Butter Pumper

  

  Nina on Butter Pumper

  

  Jimmy on Cut to The Quick

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  Angie Payne on Sunshine

  

  Angie on one of her ten trip to the end of Sunshine!

  

  Nina trying Julio & Me

  

  Angie on Julio & Me

  

  Fred Nicole–thanks for coming!

  

Then and Now: Hueco Rock Rodeo Celebrates its 20th Year

Monday, 14 January 2013 12:22 | by Melissa Strong |  | 

We got a little taste of the south—just a little and now we are bailing on our trip ten days early due to the weather.  We took three rest days hoping to wait out the doom and gloom forecast but it only got worse.  It’s not so bad, we are just going back to Hueco!  We had a great trip–just wish we had more time.  At one point we emailed our landlady to see if we could keep our wood paneled rented paradise in East Chattanooga a bit longer.  Dazzled by the extremely textured sandstone we thought this was simple genius planning; leave Hueco when it turns into a hectic scene and enjoy this southern paradise—so easy—we might have even chuckled at our friends camping in the snow in Hueco, until oh right it can rain in the south and for awhile.  It went beyond sticky damp and has become unpleasantly dank so we are out in the morning.  In two days—good lord willing—we will be back in our fifth wheel of paradise in front of West Mountain.

One of the proudest ascent of the trip was Wickwire sending Golden Harvest V10, which I missed but have some other images of the problem.  Our sunny days were limited and I split two tips day one and two—thin skin from Hueco that the sandstone continued to wear.  I was getting a feel for the place and hoping to return to a few problems but maybe next year.  We climbed with friends and had a break from the desert.  Also I got to climb with an amazingly strong, impressive, young woman—Shauna Coxsey.  With an injured finger and coming back from a broken leg she was able to take down some impressive problems—here is a video of Shauna cruising The Orb V8 (not using the “off hold”). I also cheered her on as she sent Biggie Shorty,V10 in three tries but unfortunately did not pick up the camera.  Inspiring!

The different style of climbing was a challenge that I know was good for me but I am looking forward to getting my fingers behind some steep iron crimps of Hueco!  One day I hope to be well rounded!

Shauna Coxsey, The Orb

From Colorado to Hueco

It is always a difficult for me leaving my home in Colorado but once I wake up and see this view of Hueco—I am home again.  It was a whirlwind leaving, as it usually is—trying to tie up so many loose ends and unfortunately we were hit hard by the flu, first me than Adam.  But despite the flu and flat tire along the way we made it!  We made it to sunny warm Hueco!  We were welcomed by beach weather the first few weeks, which thankfully has finally relented to some cooler temperatures.

We arrived the day before Thanksgiving and began the season opening our doors to friends we hadn’t seen in a while and had a Thanksgiving pot luck.  I was eager to test my idea of Thanksgiving pizza out on the group, sautéed garlic, sage, and thyme was the sauce topped with caramelized onions, roasted butternut squash, sage rubbed roasted chicken and sprinkled with stuffing!  It was well received!

It has been one of the quietest Hueco seasons I have seen in a long time but familiar faces and friends fill the valley.  It is terrific being reunited with friends and having time to climb and have a social life and not be running off to work all of the time.

Besides climbing a ton and enjoying friends I am putting most of my free time into organizing the 20^th Hueco Rock Rodeo.  I am organizing the event–helping the American Alpine Club host their first Hueco Rock Rodeo February 15^th-17th at their newly purchased property – the Hueco Rock Ranch!  It is gearing up to be a great event with tons of challenging climbing, slide shows, movie premier, dyno contest, a mechanical bull, food, beer, music, top athletes competing, conducting clinics and hanging out including the one and only Fred Nicole who will be there helping us cook breakfast!!!  It has been an enriching experience being more involved in this event getting sponsors, advertising, attempting to grow the event, introducing cultural aspects, getting athletes on board and local organization—wow there is a lot involved from beginning to end and it has been time consuming adding to my growing list of jobs (bartending/managing at the Dunraven, owning and operating Wagon Wheel Co-opt, wagonwheelcoopt.com, book keeper for Adam’s Tree Service and writer on occasion) but a great fun learning experience.

The serenity that I spoke of in Hueco has abruptly come to and end with the passing of Christmas.  Set free from family commitments people begin their migration, flocking to the gates of Hueco Tanks where they are stopped and waiting.  The report was 44 people waiting to get onto North Mountain yesterday and almost a full backcountry.  Currently and by default our guiding service, Wagon Wheel Co-opt, is the only operating guiding service in Hueco Tanks.  That will change eventually since new concessions were recommended this year but until they get their insurance, radios and guides—it is wagonwheelcoopt.com!  We will be happy to share the brunt of the clients but until then we are proud we have been able to help climbers gain access to Hueco Tanks for the past seven years! We have several eager guides who are vying for clients—you can arrange a tour at wagonwheelcoopt.com!

Since we knew that everyone was in good hands we decided to take a break from the busy season in Hueco this year. After celebrating Christmas with friends, we packed up the truck with: myself, Adam, our good friend Mike Wickwire, two dogs and a cat and headed to Chattanooga, TN!  We met up with Keith Allen Peters half way to Tennessee, which gave us a lot more room in the truck when Mike and his dog Bran switched cars.  A long journey greeted us with rain but we have been able to get a few days in climbing on the amazing southern sandstone, we got toured around by the locals and celebrated New Year’s Eve in the city.  The forecast looks promising so hopefully there will be a lot more pictures to come.  We are really lucky to have Hueco and Rocky Mountain National Park at our doorsteps but after so many years of the same thing I am really exited to be trying some new boulders!

Mike Wickwire sending Tetris from melissa strong on Vimeo.

Mike Wickwire sending Lonely Mountain V9

Gold Diggaz V10, Melissa Strong

I can barely lift my arms to type—I am so fatigued after a three-hour training session with Kris Peters.   I have lost my psych so as a result I started training–crazy but true!  It has been one of the hottest summers on record in Colorado, 90 + degrees in Estes Park and 100+ in Boulder and on a regular basis.  Wild fires have plagued the front range of Colorado. We are in a drought surrounded by an unhealthy overgrown forest that is a century overdue for a burn.  In Estes Park we have been lucky so far—the local wildfire was put out quickly, 22 homes were lost but it could have been so many more.

It is so hot and dry that the wilted grass in our now dehydrated meadow is more like hay and the wild flowers that adorned the field in years past refuse to sprout.   As the earth gasps for moisture I am devoid of climbing motivation.   The National Park is not helping my situation since they decided to rip up the lower half of Bear Lake Road. They claim the traffic by Glacier Creek is causing the water to be contaminated and are cutting down a .9 mile swath through the forest to redirect Bear Lake Road.  While they are doing this, I guess they thought widening the road would be a good idea.  It is hard to swallow damage done to the environment by this construction is being justified by claims of helping the environment.  I could fight the construction–getting up to the boulders before 9 a.m. is one option which is difficult this time of year when I manage/bartend nights at The Dunraven Inn, a restaurant in Estes Park.  Or on one of my few days off I could wait until after 4:00 p.m. to head up but by that time I tend to lose motivation.  And there is the shuttle option but they run only until 7:30 p.m. and the thought of being crammed on a hot buss with hundreds of tourists has all but squashed the shuttle option for me.

The oppressive heat combined with the difficulties of accessing the park this year have sent me running to the gym in Boulder to train– something I never thought I would do.  It has been three weeks of me just training and golfing too.  I was excited early in the season to climb on the boulders newly discovered by Chad Greedy and Dave Graham.  These areas are close by and do not involve access via Bear Lake Rd.  However, these boulders are not at high elevations compared to Chaos Canyon and are not conducive to hot temperatures.  After my last skin tearing sweltering session at the Wild Basin boulders I committed to training.  There has been a lot of hullabaloo on the internet about training with Kris Peters.  He and his wife Kati recently relocated in boulder and I saw that he was working with a lot of my friends who crush.  If the best of the best train and I want to get better well then I should train too, I thought.  On his blog he promised he would work for free with anyone who was serious in the month of May and he honored this promise when we were able to finally nail down a date for our first training session mid June.  I have met him at Movement Climbing + Fitness in Boulder for the past four Mondays and have had so much fun while getting totally worked.  This is my first time actually going into full training mode and working with a driven professional trainer and I am hoping for the best. My great friend Bronson MacDonald has decided to join me in the quest to reach our climbing goals through training.  We have both committed to the program and I cannot wait to see where I am in the fall when things have cooled and the road reopens!

I am still going to try to climb a couple days a week on top of training three days but I am also giving myself a break—something I have not done in the past.  I am a very driven person and if I am passionate about something –like I am about climbing I have a very difficult time not climbing.  I tend to beat myself up, feel lost or disappointed in myself if I am not climbing.  I am learning how to accept this and not be so hard on myself.  We need the rain and this past weekend we substituted the unbearable hot temperatures for a two-day deluge.   If it is 90 I will douse my self with sunblock and play golf, if I am tired I will rest, and if it rains I will smile.  This might seem like commonsense but I have always have had a difficult time not consistently pushing.   The rain has drenched us with a good dousing of moisture and tomorrow I will get up to the park at 8:30 am and check out the new boulders in upper Chaos trying to find the fine balance of psych, fun, training, exhaustion and energy… wish me luck!

the new bear lake road

Kris, Kati and Bronson

Some climbers cringe at the thought of taking a non-climbing vacation.  What will I do, I’ll get bored, I’ll lose my good skin, I’ll lose strength are thoughts that rush into a climbers mind when faced with a vacation not fashioned around rocks.  Maybe, in the height of our Hueco season or when I am feeling particularly strong similar sentiments are on my mind.  However, after climbing for a season in Hueco I was ready for a break.

We came home with our bodies less broken than usual after a four month stretch in Hueco– the most consecutive time I have spent in the Tanks. Trying to be kind to our budget we did not travel overseas (hopefully next year). Of course we could have wandered and gone to the south or to Bishop, which is always a thought kept in mind for next year.  But in reality the busy season and the growth of Wagon Wheel Co-opt made it hard to leave.  Then, the Rodeo made it impossible to leave—there could be worse places we “had” to stick around.   After the Rodeo was over we hung around for a few weeks enjoying the quiet.  Then back to Estes and our “real” jobs.  So the thought of a vacation to the Cayman Islands did not seem so bad.

Our skin sloughed off and our muscles released as we relaxed, swimming in the ocean, the pool and snorkeling in the translucent turquoise sea.  We filled our days with books, sea kayaking (sometimes to the local bar), walks on the beach, a lot of family time and we treated ourselves to a nice dinner (as part of Adam’s birthday celebration).  My family was fortunate enough to have bought a home on Grand Cayman in the 80’s.  As kids we did not really like going there–the home they bought was the only one in sight for miles.   We use to joke about going to Gilligan’s island for vacation.  Over the years more houses were built along with a few restaurants.  When they can, my parents spend their winter months there and I always like to time my trip home to be in Cayman when my sister is there with her family including her husband, my 9-year-old nephew and twin nieces that are 5.  So there were a lot of squirt gun fights, which ended up being mostly between my sister, myself and Adam—the kids couldn’t hang.

Now it is really time to get back to reality and I cannot complain.  We live in an absolutely beautiful town that is not too crowed at the moment.  I have a wonderful job to return to where I have a great boss and very enjoyable, caring and compassionate coworkers surround me.  And Adam, he has plenty of trees to cut down.  Also thanks to Dave Graham and Chad Greedy there is a bunch of awesome new boulders not too far from town!  Wrapping up Wagon Wheel for the season shows us that our guides took out twice as many clients this year! And I have agreed to do the Rodeo again in 2013.  Due to Emilia’s mother’s failing health she is going to take a role on the advisory board and I am stepping up as President of the Hueco Valley Foundation.  With Adam as the Vice President, Bronson as the Secretary and with Emilia’s advice we will make a great team. We have lots of planning to do this summer as we enjoy the mountains and our life outside of the desert.  I cannot complain.

Wow!  The 19^th Annual Rock Rodeo was a huge success!  165 competitors gathered at The Hueco Rock Ranch early Saturday morning, March 3, 2012.  It has been one of the warmest winters I have ever spent in Hueco but this day the competitors got lucky.  It was cold and the 40mph wind gusts that brought this cool weather in Friday subsided to a nice breeze.  These temps would feel good at the rocks but as Emilia Rafaela and I stood at the registration table it was bitter.   Eager competitors were eating the breakfast provided and cooked by Evolv as we got them through the registration process with the help of Wagon Wheel and Rock Ranch volunteers.   33 guides gathered to help get the competitors out into the back country.  It was a bit chaotic organizing people in groups of ten, in their categories, getting their names on guide and north mountain forms and getting them on the shuttles but Mallory Pickrell and Heath Baily were able to help Adam organize the chaos.  Adam Strong, Rocco Bocchicchio, Trevor Turmelle and Andy Klier were the masterminds behind the problem list this year and Adam was responsible for changing the guiding format up a bit to facilitate competitors moving around the guided access areas by having some guides stationed in areas and others running competitors.

Putting on an event of this size there are always a few things that don’t go as planned–the shuttles were not as big as promised.  Freed up from registration I went into action.  The first round of competitors were off to the park but there was a long line from the road at the Rock Ranch back to the barn. Our truck and Uhaul were both stuffed full of prizes, scanning the crowd and the cars looking for a match I saw Beau Kahler and I also saw his truck.  I shouted to Beau about what I was thinking and he threw me his keys.  I grabbed a group of 7 people registered in the open category, including Sean McColl, Mike Doyle accompanied by their guide Liz Gilbert.  Every one crammed in and Doyle jumped in the back with pads.  We were off.  About 30 seconds out I remembered Beau telling me the day before that his truck was running on fumes! I remembered our yellow gas can sitting in front of our camper, “Ok everyone I hope you don’t mind but we are going to have to make a little stop at Wagon Wheel” I announced.  I knew Mike was going to be confused when we took a right instead of a left to get into the park but we all laughed as we gassed up and filled him in on the pit stop. After a few trips we got the competitors in before 10 am.  I was able to meet up with the ladies in the Mr Serious cave where Angie Paine and Nina Williams had just quickly dispatched of It’s a Good Day For Swiss Crisp Mix and Mr. Serious.  They moved on and I hung out to see some really good tries by Flannery Shay-Nemirow, Natasha Barns and Courtney Sanders who fell off the top out.  The ladies next stop was Focus.  Nina Williams made some great attempts climbing to the end of the problem about eight times and Angie sent.  After, Angie said it was the scariest problem she has ever done rivaling Suicide Season in RNMP.  Angie continued to have a great day getting the first female ascent of Sub Zero V11.  Later, she told me “I knew the Rodeo would be fun, but the event turned out to be even more fun than I expected, and I got to spend the day trying hard with an awesome group of strong women.” I had limited time in the back country since I wanted to return to the vendor village and get things rolling.   On my way out I walked by Daniel Woods who was trying Crook By The Book and asked him how it was going, “trying to deal with the heat” Daniel responded, I laughed wishing I got to climb on one of the best days we have seen in months with some great and motivating people.

The comp went on and Daniel Woods said that it was “the best climbing day of his life.”  In about seven hours Daniel did Two Days With Gene V11, Full Monty V12, Phantom Limb V12, Nagual V13, Crook by the Book V14, and The Machinist V14 totaling 7880 points.   Jorg Verhoeven from Abcoude in The Netherlands was only 475 points behind Daniel. Jorg did Chupacabra Right V11, Rumble in the Jungle V11, Two Days With Gene V11, Sub Zero V11, Nagual V13 and The Machinist V14.  Only 40 points behind Jorg came Sean McColl with a challenge flashing Nagual making him the second person to ever do Nagual first try.  Sean also did Focus V10, Chupacabra Right V11, Rumble in The Jungle V11, Sub Zero V11, Full Monty V12 and Flamignon V13.  Dave Graham was not far behind McColl by 305 points doing The Hand V10, Sub Zero V11, Chupacabra Right V11, Two Days With Gene V11, Phantom Limb V12, Cut To The Quick V12, and he came real close to Nagul but his foot popped at the last second. Brian Anthenunisse, Sam Davis and Nick Duttle also all had good days sending hard boulder problems.

Katharina Saurwein from Austria was a late entry.  She and Jorg did not realize they would have stayed for so long and waited all morning to see if there were spots left in the backcountry and lucky for them there were.  Katharina earned 6240 points by climbing Glas Roof V9, Russian Women V9, Chupacabra Left V10, The Hand V10, Focus V10 and Rumble in the Jungle V11.  Angie Payne was175 points behind after a great day of climbing doing Mr Serious V8, Frogger V9, Glas Roof V9, A Good Day for Swiss Crisp Mix V10, Focus V10 and the first female ascent of Sub Zero V11.  Nina Williams had a strong day as well with 3685 points doing Mr. Serious V8, Frogger V9, Sex After Death V9 and A Good Day for Swiss Crisp Mix V10.  Courtney Sanders was climbing really well but it was a heartbreaker of a day for her as she fell off the top of Swiss Crisp, Frogger and Glas Roof!  Flannery-Shay-Nemirow and Natasha Barnes were out there trying as well and had a terrific day giving good attempts and keeping the mood light.

The after party at the Ranch was a huge hit!  Back at the Ranch Vanessa Compton was classing up the joint with an art show in the house.  Her unique visions of Hueco and other pieces were available to purchase as well as Sam Davis’ photographs.  Matt Segal and Emily Harrington entertained the crowd of around 350 people with their slideshows about their world travels including the various cultures and climbing they encountered.  Party goers are still taking about Dave Graham’s slideshow, “amazing” and “hysterical” are what they are saying.  People enjoyed Graham’s down to earth account of living the life of a climber growing up in the industry and some of his life shaping experiences; Graham theorized that if he were still in Maine he would be home shoveling snow.

About a month ago we decided that we should have a climbing wall.  Dave from Joshua Tree helped with the design and a crew of Wagon Wheel volunteers got the materials and put it together quickly.  The first year that a Rock Rodeo had a climbing wall obviously means that it was the first dyno comp.  Daniel Woods set the dynos and Courtney Saunders emceed the event.  There was a rare sighting of the masked man, Does Huevos who flew with conviction but Sam Tingey took the men’s victory and Nina William’s got first for females.

We were privileged to have such great athletes being a part of the 19^th annual Rock Rodeo.  The problem list was challenging and the competition was stiff.  I was so fortunate to be surrounded by so many psyched people who were all happy to help volunteer their time to get The 19^th Annual Rodeo together and thankful that the Rock Ranch allowed us to continue to host the event (the 9^th Rodeo held at the Ranch).   Emilia Rafaela killed it getting so many amazing sponsors and with out her I would have been lost.  We were a great team.  Our sponsors were phenomenal this year.  It was a joy to work with professional supportive people.  We had copious amounts of prizes to give away and several top dollar items donated for an Access Fund and Hueco Valley Foundation raffle.  I have signed up to do this again next year and Adam has agreed to help and of course we will have the beautiful Emilia on our side.

We are still working hard to try up all loose ends but we expect to donate $9000 to Hueco Tanks—and that is what it is all about.

Besides climbing as much as my body will allow and Wagon Wheel Co-opt, The Rock Rodeo seems to be filling my days!  I am Vice President of the Hueco Valley Foundation working with closely with the President Emilia Rafaela Brown and Mary Anter Bocchiccio.  Together we are attempting to make the 19^th Annual Rock Rodeo the best Rodeo and to achieve this goal yearly giving as much of the proceeds back to Hueco as possible.

In 1989 the Rodeo was started by the El Paso Climbers Club (EPCC) before the restrictions came into place.  In the early days the event was small and the after party was held at Pete’s.  The proceeds went to things like bolt replacement and the festivities.  Back then there were no cash prizes, it was just trophies and a bottle of tequila for the most injured competitor.

For six years the Rodeo continued to bring in up to 150 participants including Dale Goddard, Hans Florine and Matt Samet.  In 1992 due to lawsuits and vandalism the park was closed for two weeks and new rules were implemented.  In 1993 the Rodeo rules were reformatted as a result of access issues.  In ‘94 the Rodeo went on still hosted by the EPCC and Pete’s but after this it was suspended in 1995 due to ongoing problems between climbers and the park.  In 1996 the Rodeo goes on and is called the 7^th annual Rock Rodeo.   The 8^th and 9^th Rock Rodeo occur before the Public Use Plan (PCP) is put into place in 1998.  After this there is no Rodeo in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002.

In 2003 Rob Rice appealed to the park and was able to put on the 10^th annual Rock Rodeo–the first Rodeo hosted by the Rock Ranch.  Since then the Rodeo has been in the hands of the Rock Ranch.  Rob Rice and Rick Oliver brought a lot of heart and spunk into the event.  Eventually people move on and management changes.  The 2010 Rock Rodeo was followed by some controversy.  Claims were made that all of the prize money advertised did not match the money handed out, casting a shadow on the event.  Late in 2010 a group of climbers came together and decided to take the rodeo over again—The Hueco Valley Foundation was started and we are gearing up for the 19^th Annual Rodeo March 2nd-4^th,  2012.  We have a lot of fun events this year and several awesome sponsors who are helping us bring the Rodeo to a new level.

I am honored to be part of this portion of Hueco’s history!

Rodeo 97 Pete's

Rodeo 97 award ceremony

1993 Rodeo Poster

1998 Rodeo poster

Line of events for 2012!

Rodeo guides 2011

Registration line

Glenn Johnson rodeo guide 2011

Ana B on Tremors

Sammy D on Mo Mojo Rodeo 2011

Daniel on Crown Royal Rodeo 2011

Glenn Johnson Dark Silhouette Rodeo 2011

Ana B on Better Eat Your Wheaites Rodeo 2011

Ana B and Merrick Rodeo 2011

Courtney on Better Eat Your Wheaties

After party 2011

http://blimpbouldering.blogspot.com/2010/02/rock-rodeo-2010.html