Going to Cochise!

One of my very good friends from college will be at Cochise Stronghold for a while this winter and I am looking forward to making it there.  I have told him to wait for me to get there since there is always some extra adventure in going to a new area and exploring and getting into the local rock.  This is something where once one partner has been there it is easy to get into the rut of sharing rock climbs that one of the partners has already done and that takes away from the adventure a little.  And even if you play the silent partner without giving beta you run the risk of being called a sandbagger.  This stifles both partners growth because neither is on new terrain adding new climbing moves to their lexicon. 

So finally it is coming to fruition this week and I am flying out there for two weeks.  This trip to Cochise Stronghold in Southeastern Arizona should be really interesting.  The climbing is on granite but it is unlike other areas at times because the protection relies on natural rock flakes called chicken heads that you just throw a sling over.  Some of the rock looks just like the skin of a dragon hide or something. I think that at first this is going to be difficult because where you normally look for a crack in the rock to protect yourself it is going to be different.  I am hoping that this and the rock variety from other areas I have been to make this a good learning experience. 

Looking at the guidebooks it seems like all of the climbs will have a little bit of everything in terms of runnouts and protection and change in moves.