British climber Tom Newman has just returned from a very successful trip to Hueco Tanks, Texas, USA, where he climbed many hard problems, including 5 8A+'s, 9 8A's, and 10 7C+'s. Tom flashed 3 of the 7C+'s and 2 of the 8A's, climbing several of the others on his second or third attempt.

He headed out with James Humphrey and Adam Watson, and met up with Mina Leslie-Wujastyk and David Mason (UKC News Report), and despite his impressive ticklist, Tom commented on his blog that the cuisine was the highlight:

"The best part of the trip had to be the food. Endless cheap burrito's and meat seemed to be the staple for the diet, I felt like I got to eat like a king at the price of a beggar. We even got to visit the Manliest Steak House in America!"

Here's Tom's ticklist from his trip:

• Power of Silence, 7C+ - Flash
• Black Mamba, 7C+
• Mojo, 7C+
• Full Service, 7C+ - 2nd go
• Focus, 7C+ - Flash
• Out of the Furnace, 7C+
• Call 911, 7C+ - 3rd go
• Big Under, 7C+
• Dean's Journey, 7C+ - 2nd go
• Free Willy, 7C+ - Flash
• El Techo de los Tres B, 8A
• Diaphanous Sea, 8A - Flash
• Liane, 8A - 3rd go
• El Chupacabra Right, 8A
• Rumble in the Jungle, 8A - 2nd go (Video here)
• Tequila Sunrise, 8A
• Anal Intruder #10, 8A - Flash
• The Feather, 8A
• Platonique, 8A
• Diabolique, 8A+ (Video here)
• Sol Adunamentum, 8A+
• The Full Monty, 8A+
• Loaded With Power Direct, 8A+
• The Rhino, 8A+ - Tom's favourite boulder problem of the trip.

Tom was also trying Bonsai, 8B, but didn't manage to finish it off. Tom commented further on his trip:

"The climbing in Hueco seemed to suite me quite well and the endless dry weather out there means you can formulate a plan of what you want to do in the following day's and see it through (this rarely happens in the UK). I was pretty satisfied with how the trip went in terms of climbing and in terms of the people I got to hang out with.

The slight drawback of this place are the restrictions that have been lain down by the state, however, if you are organised before the trip and plan everything well, it's not a massive problem once you are there."