13 February 2025
Matt Fultz does Desesperaciรณn (8C)
Matt Fultz, with eight 8C+โ under his belt, has done
Desesperaciรณn (8C) and The Hangover (8B+), video, in Hueco Tanks (TX) .
Can you tell us more about the trip and these ascents?
We travelled to Hueco Tanks last week and were unfortunately greeted with record high temperatures. I was a bit disappointed but still used that week to learn some of the movements on both Desesperacion and The Hangover. Then on the first cool, windy day of our trip I was able to send both back-to-back!
Desesperacion is a more difficult entrance into the end of the famous Esperanza. Martin Mobraten made the first ascent in 2019 and called it 8B+, stating that although it was harder than Esperanza it didn't feel a full grade harder. I believe I made the second ascent, and in my opinion it's at least one grade harder! So I think an 8C grade is fair. Either way, it's a great addition to the cave and I'm hopeful the video beta will inspire other people to try it.
The Hangover has a funny history. "Martini on the Rocks" broke in 2005 (I believe) and hadn't been repeated since due to the now outrageous distance between the holds. I found that I was able to reach the holds with my 195cm span, but only barely. After a couple of days of effort, I figured out the trick to the move and was able to start sticking it consistently. Then I added a lower start to the original problem (and more logical in my opinion) for the first ascent. This problem's difficulty is very dependent on wingspan, but for my morphology it felt around 8B+.
Can you tell us more about the trip and these ascents?
We travelled to Hueco Tanks last week and were unfortunately greeted with record high temperatures. I was a bit disappointed but still used that week to learn some of the movements on both Desesperacion and The Hangover. Then on the first cool, windy day of our trip I was able to send both back-to-back!
Desesperacion is a more difficult entrance into the end of the famous Esperanza. Martin Mobraten made the first ascent in 2019 and called it 8B+, stating that although it was harder than Esperanza it didn't feel a full grade harder. I believe I made the second ascent, and in my opinion it's at least one grade harder! So I think an 8C grade is fair. Either way, it's a great addition to the cave and I'm hopeful the video beta will inspire other people to try it.
The Hangover has a funny history. "Martini on the Rocks" broke in 2005 (I believe) and hadn't been repeated since due to the now outrageous distance between the holds. I found that I was able to reach the holds with my 195cm span, but only barely. After a couple of days of effort, I figured out the trick to the move and was able to start sticking it consistently. Then I added a lower start to the original problem (and more logical in my opinion) for the first ascent. This problem's difficulty is very dependent on wingspan, but for my morphology it felt around 8B+.
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