Sera Gearhart ticks two 8B’s

Sera Gearhart has repeated Chris Sharma’s Spinal Twist (8B) in Little Cottonwood and sent Spirit Walker (8B) in Ogden.

Can you tell us more about the process behind the two ascents?
The boulder [Spinal Twist] itself is really sick and revolves around some tricky technical sequences. I tried this boulder maybe three days in the fall before falling on the easy outro from the bottom, kind of a punt. I wasn’t prepared to get there at all since it was at night and I didn’t have a headlamp on. Lesson learned! I went back another day in the winter and the conditions were horrible so I wrote it off for a few months. I was sick and traveling for awhile so I didn’t go back until it was a bit too warm this year. This spring I went back another 2 or 3 days but was pretty discouraged since it sits in the sun in the afternoon this time of year and it’s hard for me to go in the morning. I wrote it off again for the season. We got a lucky cold day this week and a few friends and I went to go try. When we got there, I was pretty sure it was going to still feel too warm (again in the sun) but my friend Matt convinced me it would be worthwhile (thanks Matt!)

[Spirit Walker] This was a very similar process! I fell at the end in December and thought I was close, then from a variety of reasons I didn’t get to go siege again until March (sickness, travel, injury). When I went back I realized I could do a more standard beta which gave me a minor existential crisis. Luckily Matt Fultz advised me to keep trying my old beta and it worked. Down to the wire since it got super hot there as well.

How does a normal week look like for you?
A normal week for me isn’t too bad! I’m definitely busy but I prioritize climbing over school. I work standard hours Monday through Friday and go to class, and I usually do all my homework and exams for the week one day on the weekend! I’m excited for summer since I won’t have school.

What is your job and what do you study?
Both my work and school are in biomedical informatics, I work for the American heart association where I do work on quality improvement. I just started last fall for the masters degree, I have another year and a half until I graduate.

How much do you climb in a week?
I am able to climb outdoors most evenings if I stay local, I just put off doing my school work until the weekend haha it’s a lot.