A couple times with ropes before the eigth month mark

The old, fat guy with two artificial hips is still climbing

I recently passed eight months since my hip resurfacing surgery (I'm at two years, seven-and-a-half months since the revision). At this point, in terms of strength, balance and flexibility, the revised THR and the HR are almost indistinguishable. The news is I've started to jog a bit during my regular hikes. Last Tuesday after work, for example, I took the headlamp and went out for a 5 mile jaunt, jogging for 400 meter stretches about a half-a-dozen different times. I think it was something like three or four years before the botched resurfacing when I gave up running for good, because of my hip condition, That means it's been seven or eight years since I last ran, so if these short stretches jogging don't sound like much, it's a pretty big deal to me. I've also been working more on yoga exercises and doing stuff (simple as it might be) that I haven't been able to do for years.

Last weekend it rained and the weekend before I went bouldering by myself. However, I did manage to get out and climb a couple of times with ropes during the past month or so. One time I went to el autodromo with Martín, Hugo and a local kid named Federico.

It took Fede some work to redpoint this 10d

Hugo gives the same 10d a go

Even though the rock drew first blood

Martín scratched his leg

Martín made a good effort on this 10d roof (although no redpoint yet):

Martín managed this 10d roof with a hang or two

That day, I only managed to redpoint routes I'd already done (there are eight routes I've yet to send in el autodromo), although I did go up to try the roof: 

Tim goes up to try a roof

Get the clip

By the time we packed up to leave, the lights of Balcarce were shining dowen below

The end of another beautiful day in the Sierras of Balcarce

The other time out, I went back to the routes in el bosque with Martín and Hugo. This day I climbed a little better and managed to send two different 5.11s (an 11a and an 11b). It's been a lot of years since I redpointed two 5.11s in one day.

Martín and Hugo top roped the 11b: 

Martín on a bouldery 11b face

Hugo eyes the last hard move on the 11b face

I also tried three times to redpoint an 11c face, but I didn´t have what it takes to manage the crux without a hang

Although short, this 11c face has some quality climbing

Solitary bouldering during the sixth and seventh month

A V2 boulder in la Media Tierra

Motivation amongst my regular climbing companions (Gaby, Ceci and even Martín) seems to have fizzled out recently (during the sixth and seventh month post-op) so when I could get outdoors to climb, I mostly went bouldering by myself. Actually, I really enjoy some aspects of solitary bouldering, although I'm somewhat less able to push myself if I get nervous about falling.

A V1 boulder problem in the sector of El Huevo

A V2 traverse in la Media Tierra

Nearing the end of a long, pumpy V1 traverse

All in all I've sent about 70 different boulder problems since my resurfacing (all problems that I've done before but in some cases haven't been able to repeat in years). A big highlight was that I recently sent three problems which I had worked on several times last year without success. These are all boulders which I haven't been able to do for maybe five or six years (or longer). Here's a sequence of shots from one of these problems (the grade is maybe hard V3 or easy V4):

Coming out of the sit start

Move out onto the face then heel hook the left foot 

A left heel hook and pressure with the right leg for body tension on a big move

A knee bar to move past slopy holds

The rest is easy but high

La Vigilancia in August

El Nido en la Vigilancia 

La Vigilancia is one of the most extensive hills (sierras) in the Sierras of Balcarce. Along the northwest flank of the sierra, at a distance of about 15 miles from my home, is a cliff band that hosts some of the best sport climbing in Argentina. There are about 250 routes in la Vigilancia, mostly clip-ups but there are also a few interesting gear routes. The climbs are generally between 10 and 20 meters long but they tend to be continuos at their grade and physically demanding. And the quality is excellent.

The area is on private property and in order to climb it is necessary to pre-register online and pay a fee. There is a camping area available at the base, a refugio and also a safe place to leave your car.

Camping at the base of La Vigilancia

In August we made an overnight trip to La Vigilancia.

Gaby and Ceci on the hike in to climb at La Vigilancia

Making skull faces

Hiking up the hill to the climbing area

Because it was kind of hot (in spite of being winter), we decided to climb in one of the few areas that is shaded by trees. 

Ceci top-roping a 5.9

The first day we climbed with Martín (and family) as well as Hugo and Adrien (who is another friend from Necochea). On the second day we returned with Martín, Analia and Rafael to climb in the same place.

Martín starts up a 5.9

Martín does a high-stepping thingie on another 5.9

The highlights of the area were three side-by-side, steep, continuous 5.10 face climbs. All three of these climbs require a little effort to get to the first bolt. 

Gaby gives me some hand-jiving mojo while I climb to the first bolt on a 5.10

The hardest of the three face climbs (maybe a 10c) has a tricky crux section near the top. 

Getting ready to do the crux on a 10c

Got it!

All in all I red pointed seven routes: two 5.9s and the rest 5.10s  (I had done all these routes several times before, but I hadn't been back to climb in this area for about eight years). 

Ceci top ropes a 5.10a

Back at the camp area, Ceci and Rafi worked the slack line 

Rafi gives Ceci a hand on the slack

Ceci walks the slack alone

That night we ate a big supper in the dinning tent

A couple of days climbing near Rio Cuarto

Headmaster Enzo shoeing up by some boulders he found

As the month of July turned to August, during the second week of our winter break, we went a few days to the city of Rio Cuarto en Córdoba, where my wife's family lives. There is good climbing in the Province of Córdoba but until a short while ago there hasn't been any established climbing close to Rio Cuarto, so I tended to get a bit anxious after a few days at the in-laws' house. Recently, though, a friend of ours who climbs, Enzo, took a job as Headmaster at a bilingual school in Rio Cuarto. On a Thursday after getting off work, he took me to a small zone of boulders he discovered, bordering the river just outside the town of Achiras, less than an hour drive from Rio Cuarto.

We started up with some of the easier problems that Enzo had done before

Enzo begins a boulder problem from a sit start

Looking at the next move

Me chalking up a move higher on the same problem

The top out by a fence

Enzo on a traverse problem

The highlight of the afternoon was climbing a brand new (and very nice) V2 that actually took us a few tries to send. Well, I guess I had the excuse of not wanting to fall off haphazardly while still being (just barely) less than six months after surgery. We also worked a harder (V3 or maybe V4) variation of the problem, coming in from the left, that we couldn't do. At any rate, I felt happy to be climbing some new boulders in a new place so shortly after surgery.

On the following Saturday we headed out to Alpa Coral (about an hour drive from Rio Cuarto) to try some new routes which had been bolted near the river. There are about 12 established routes, mostly 5.9s and easy 5.10s, in a pleasant setting (good for swimming on a hot day), The climbing is not spectacular (the rock is so-so and slabby), but four out of five of the routes we did were both fun and interesting. Plus the area along the river is really nice.  

Me nearing the top of a 5.9 with Gaby on belay

There are something like eight different routes on this small cliff band bordering the river:

A friend of Enzo is top roping a route on the left side of the cliff

A friend of Enzo top ropes a 5:9

I managed to onsight the following 5.10a:

Enzo belays me entering the crux of a 10a

This short, tricky crux bulge is actually kind of steep