One thing I perversely love about Texas is its extremes. Growing up in Virginia, we always seemed to have bland weather….the summers were hot but not THAT hot, the winters were usually cloudy and raining instead of snowing. Which brings me to climbing in Texas in 2022. On July 8th, Texas Wild West held a lead climbing course starting in Hico and ending near Blum. Despite the heat, it was awesome! Our previous course/trip had been in Mineral Wells in January with the starting temperature being 17 oF and February, when the park authorities closed the rocks to climbing due to ice. This July 8th, the temperature hit 108 oF. What did our party of six do, and how?
Climbing class cancelled in February due to ice. We took a hike instead.
Icicles beside Lake Mineral Wells.
We started off in downtown Hico with veteran climber David Bradley giving us an overview of lead climbing. Listening to him is somewhat of a history lesson as it gives you an appreciation of how relatively new specialized rock climbing gear is; a Chicagoland native, Dave learned to climb before dynamic ropes were invented and through the iterative improvements (and some dis-improvements) made to carabiners and pro gear. We listened to his groundschool at the base of his 60-foot, 100-year-old silos, fitted externally with handholds all along the height, and then practiced lead climbing knots, quickdraw clipping, and anchor tieoffs. We really appreciated the shade cast by tarps Dave had hung; otherwise the sun beat down from above and reflected off the concrete base below us. Still it was morning, so the temperatures were still in the (high) double digits.
Groundschool on an concrete slab that reflected the heat. We were happy for the tarps that gave us shade.
Aftwards, for fun and giggles we made a brief tour and climb of Dave’s (air conditioned) bouldering gym in the interior of one of the silos and then drove over to the Nolan River, crossing the Brazos River and enjoying the Texas landscape from our air-conditioned vehicles. Once in position at Nolan River, we all were issued electrolyte packs to ensure proper hydration and hiked a half mile in the blistering sun down into and along the Nolan River canyon. We enjoyed the fossils at the Jazzercise boulder and made some other fossil discoveries around the Chuck Norris boulder, finally arriving at Choss City. There we lead climbed and top-roped the route, which was challenging but not overly so for beginners. It had been fitted out with chains, which made it all the more appropriate for beginners for lead climbing. Poison ivy was present on location but avoidable. While hot, the climbing site was shady in the afternoon making for some enjoyable climbing.
There was sunburn. There were flappers (ripped skin on the hands). There were falls. There was dark urine afterwards. And most of all, there was sweat. But was it worth it? Totally. No one wanted to leave. Come on out—with proper caution, hydration, and camaraderie, Texas triple digits are more fun than anything you could do indoors!
