Issue link: https://fredparent.uberflip.com/i/1538421
www.FredericksburgParent.NET 17 Amias moves up the wall with a combination of innate understanding of physics and excep- tional critical thinking skills. Photo by Martin Davis Amias also loves logic games, playing chess, and similar activities. Dave says that they also play strategy games. "He's impossible to beat." The young climber brings all of this to bear when he gets to competi- tions. According to Dave, one can literally watch him puzzle out the path up the wall before ever putting a hand onto one of the grips in the wall. "We have videos of him walking up to a wall and looking at it" while he is moving his hands in the space around him mimicking how he feels the climb is going to develop. "I usually look at all the holes" in the wall, Amias said, "figuing out the hand sequencing" he will need to make the ascent. "Others," he said, "think about the climb in terms of body positioning. Amias' approach leads to some creative solutions. Wolfe is a highly experienced climber who also maps out the wall before beginning an ascent. But he says that Amias sees pathways that he, and others, don't see. This combination of gifts is what gives Amias the opportunity, Wolfe said, to become "an elite climber." On to Portland To earn one's way to the national championship, competitors must win first at the regional level, and then at the divisional level. Amias competes in Region 81, which includes Virginia and Maryland. To advance to the division level, competitors must finish high enough in that competition to advance. The division level competition was held in Philadelphia and included competitors from Region 81 and Region 82, which includes Delaware, New Jersey, the eastern half of Pennsylvania, and the western half of New York. Amias finished third in that competition, earning the right to advance. In Portland, Amias will not only face the best climbers in the U15 group, he will do so as one of the younger competitors in the class. Every competitor wants to win, of course, but Amias has two more years after this one to compete in this class. His coaches know what's possible — Amias becoming one of the sport's elite climbers. For Amias, it's all about the moment. And enjoying the ascent.