Eclipse and a tribute to Jamie G.

Not much to say here. Classes started up again, digital IC design, and it's a bit of a pain in the butt. Northern Arizona got a lot of snow, so roofs and roads are shut down, so it was time to go local. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it to Joes last week, but perhaps it was for the better. Anyways, this winter, I decided to spend it climbing a bunch of things that weren't full on roofs in order to be more well-rounded. Some climbs, like the mother of extension and public enemy, were hard on my body and taxed my wrists and shoulders, which have been injured before. Others forced different movements on terrain that I'm not particularly used to (granite/bulge climbing). I'm still rehabbing my wrist injury, but at least I learned that it could be due to weak antagonists. I'm resolving to do reverse wrist curls and related exercises after every climbing session. Didn't end up climbing any harder lines than what I thought, but at least I'm doing the equivalent of eating my vegetables. 

The current project is Eclipse at Groom Creek. 

Eclipse

I've spent a total of 2 sessions on it, and I kept messing up the last move. It's a technical, steep, compression arete climbing with not so great feet, so it's exactly the opposite of what I would like to climb. It is also hard on the wrists. However, there are several redeeming qualities. The first is that it's an antistyle and so I've already learned a lot from projecting it (standing on tilted feet, climbing square, climbing bulges, etc...). The second is that the movement is really excellent. Finally, there's a personal reason to do it. 

Last week, Jamie G., a member of the Phoenix climbing community passed away from medical reasons. She worked at Phoenix Rock Gym and was a pretty big influence on my climbing in that she was the one who got me started with my crashpads that I've used since day 1 when I went outside. Funnily enough, the first place that I went was Groom Creek, where I almost bashed my skull in falling off Zorro, a V0 boulder problem with a hand jam topout. Her generosity through the crashpads have given me the opportunity to meet many unique people in the American SW, and to travel to a bunch of places I would have never gone otherwise. She was a big influence in the last 4 or so years of my life, and she has a lot of fun and amazing boulder problems under her name, and so, Eclipse would be a fitting one for her to take for the road. 

Anyways, I would hope to get it done soon. I'm going up to Groom tomorrow with Sav and Kim, who's been working Moonstone so we got another window of opportunity. 

Thanks Jamie. Source of photo from Christina an afternoon at the Supes