Zangerl Repeats Two Hueco V14s

Austrian Bernd Zangerl spent a month at Hueco Tanks this winter and repeated two of the park’s V14 boulder problems. It was Zangerl’s third trip to the U.S., and he was due for some success: He broke his heel two days into his first visit and ruptured a finger tendon during his second trip. Zangerl quickly sent Slashface, a route that has seen numerous repeats, and then tackled Le Coeur de Leon, the unrepeated 1998 Fred Nicole problem on which Zangerl had injured his finger two years earlier. After three days of work on the cruxy roof moves, he completed the second ascent “One cannot let grass grow under one’s feet—that’s why I gave it a third try,” Zangerl said of his successful third visit to America. “How do you say? All good things happen in threes!”

The saddle between East and West from North Mountain, Hueco Tanks State Historic Site, Texas.Photo by Luke Laeser