Granite and Volcanic

Went out to Groom Creek the last few weeks. It has snowed out in Prescott so the majority of the boulders are covered in snow, rendering most impossible to climb with frozen topouts. Fortunately, one boulder remains dry, and it is usually the best in the area. The past Saturday, a group of friends converged on the Moonstone boulder, which gets sun exposure all day. The landing might have been snowy, but the holds are dry. Most started sieging Moonstone. I took pictures and finally captured footage of Eclipse. 

Alex

Ajinkya

Brian

Ben

Twilight hour when conditions sucked

Conditions were nice on Saturday. When I sent, it was in the highs of 50 degrees F with little wind, so holds felt manageable. The right foot smear at the start was being cooperative for once. I also implemented a little modification in the toss to the sloper jug. Instead of opening the right hip, I opted to drop the right knee inwards. The improvement in the stability of the position was very noticeable. In order to dial in the movement, I repeated the moves a few more times. I also experimented with the conditions for Eclipse and observed that when the temperature drops to 40 degrees F, the smear foot becomes almost imperceptible and difficult to trust. The holds become quite slick. I dry-fired off of the left hand undercling during an attempt at a lap during colder temperatures. I also pulled on New Moon for a giggle. The movement is quite good, but I don't think it's worth the trip back to this area. 

The day after, I went out to the Superstitions to climb at the fortress again. The plan was to figure out the bicycle on Misadventure of Captain Stabbums. Although I was very tired from the day before, I was able to figure the move out and managed to chunk the climb in several sections despite the skin and body being unconditioned for volcanic rock and the physical style. I also attempted to repeat some old projects to regain the fitness and found out I'll need some time to regain the strength I had last season. The problem with the winter season is that there are such a variety of rock types and skin conditions matter, so multiple sessions are needed to get used to the style. 

Nevertheless, it is nice finally hopping on something that is both equally mentally and physically difficult. I was talking with some friends and I think it occurred to me that the lack of stoke was probably caused by trying things that were either too easy or too hard. The few moments where climbing was fun has happened when climbs required equivalent mental and physical effort. Following this, I wrote down a new list of boulders that I would like to do for the various styles in order to build fluency on terrain on things other than roofs. It's nice actually having an actual list to direct your attention into.