"After the holidays I left Connecticut with the thought of Hueco Tanks.  After the long drive through the country I made it to El Paso and felt like I was back home. El Paso is a special place that I have visited many times over the past few years, so when I arrived a lot of old fun memories came back with being here. It’s unique and different from other climbing areas not just in the climbing style but also with the outside surroundings of the city and with the type of people that are drawn to Hueco for various reasons. Many things have changed here over the past eight years of my time visiting Hueco but its still always great coming back here and trying new boulder problems and seeing friends that I haven’t seen in a while. It’s also a nice change to be in the dry, warm desert rather than the bitter wet, cold northeast. The weather has been great so far and Hueco is just as pretty and peaceful as I remember it from my first trip here. I’m really happy to be here and I’m excited to see what happens on this trip." -Phil Schaal