Monday, January 28, 2013

Snow day distractions

I've taken the last week off climbing due to some shoulder soreness that I'm pretty sure is a result of having slept on it wrong last weekend.  Combined with the sudden onset of snowy weather, I've found myself spending significantly more time on my couch, which isn't always a bad thing.  As I've noted before, I tend to appreciate rest periods as opportunities to do many of the other things I always want to do but never manage to fit in.  In this case, it's meant a lot of reading, a good bit of solitaire, and a few evenings of fine dining with good friends as I take advantage of the local restaurant week deals.

Still, I can't help thinking about climbing, and I've been fortunate to have several great videos to keep my psych high.  Some I've come across on DPM, but the ones I've enjoyed the most are those that a few friends have been sharing from their recent excursions.

Perhaps my favorite has been this one from Max, chronicling the Adventures in Pebble Wrestling trip to Bishop.  I love seeing longer videos like this that stay focused on problems that are approachable for the "average" climber.  Even more than that, I liked Max's decision to retain all of the group's random comments, which almost made me feel like I was on the trip with them.


The fun continues in this somewhat shorter video, focusing on the beautiful problem Jedi Mind Tricks.  Check out APW's trip report for a more detailed account and some great pics, and for a bit of local action, be sure to read about their recent sending spree at Bushwhack and the Acre.


I've also had fun checking out the photos and videos from the Earth Treks team's recent Hueco trip, including this one of Ben sending Full Monty.  Read more about his trip over on The Ordinary Climbers.


Moving back to more local rock, Smitty recently shared this video of a few problems from Woodstock. The footage of the cave was especially well done, showing what an underappreciated spot it is even by local standards.  I love the silhouette shots!


And in local plastic news, here's a fun mix of movement and philosophizing from Dustin Glasner, whose blog To Defy Gravity I've also enjoyed reading recently.  I especially love his tag line of "there is no path to happiness; happiness is the path."  Well said!


Finally, I was excited to see a couple photos from my friend Luke's recent visit back to MD, including these two he took of me working on problems at Northwest Branch.  Check out more of his photography, including some great shots of our 2011 Yosemite trip, here on his Flickr account.

    Crack Line Boulder       Photo: Lucas Anderson
              Curtain Call          Photo: Lucas Anderson
Looks like the ice has stopped and my 2 hour delay is coming to an end.  Time to get this week started!

1 comment:

cadaverchris said...

Great post Robin - thanks for clips to chase away the winter weather blues!

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