Hangin' in North Carolina

I always try to get out dodge when I have a long break between work. After all, a man can only take so much chaos in the big city. One of my favorite get aways is the western NC area. I went to school out there so I'm familiar with it, still have friends there, and it indeed is a beautiful place. In some ways it seems like a lost area not quite in touch with modern times, almost ancient in many ways. Heading down Rosebourgh, a dirt road that winds down off the Blue Ridge Parkway into Wilson Creek nearly seeming endless, places you into an area that seems untrammeled by man. An area that could easily be in the wilds of Africa, or the rainforest of South America. Picture, Green vegetation of every hue, mist rising out of the mountains, big swirly gray gneiss boulders that are so numerous that one can imagine an indian tribe, or a family of hobbits, living amongst the village of rocks in another world. While out there it rained all three days leaving much of the rock unclimbable but I still made the most of it. Little things like waking up in a tent every morning (except the one night at Linville Gorge where it was pouring so hard that me and Gray fled into our cars to spend the night to escape constant downpour) helped to re-set my mind and make me appreciate life to its fullest. I'll have to get some pics of my new tent, it is by far the coolest shelter I've stayed in. Thanks again babe for that present, you know me so good. I know many of good times in amazing far away places will be spent in that tent. I managed to hike one of my old favorite trails the Boone Fork Trail the first day. I also made good progress on a boulder problem that I wanted to check out called Have Guns Will Travel. Pretty sure I can send that fast. Its a great line, I wish I had some pictures. Finally, me and Gray went up the Daddy in horrible conditions probably doing the stupidest ascent ever on it. We thought it would be a good challenge to link the entire line in 2 really long 200 foot pitches. Bad mistake. Rope drap sucks and slows you down way more than just building an anchor and climbing more pitches. To make matters worse the entire route was soaking wet which made for some spicy sections where foot friction is important. Nevertheless, we made it up and its always a good time with a friend on a climb. Here are some pictures of the trip.

Gotta Get Back to Chasm Cirque: The Diamond-Longs Peak, CO

This is hands down one of the coolest places I have ever been. This 2000 foot wall forms the north face of Longs Peak, CO which tops out at over 14,000 feet. Me and my buddy Gray made the 9 mile hike in and spent 3 days bivied under an overhanging boulder trying to climb a crack system that runs nearly the entire way up the wall. Unfortunately, we only made it 600 feet up the wall. In the end, the altitude, ice, route-finding, and overall enormity of the entire cirque proved too much for us. However, our failure did result in some serious memories. I soloed up 70 degree ice in approach shoes sans crampons and ice ax with only a rock to use as a pick. Probably the scariest "lead" of my life. The 600 foot north chimney took roughly a peice of gear every 50 feet or so and at that time in my climbing career those kind of runouts were pure horror for me. Anyway, I hope to go back at the end of this summer and climb this monster. Matter of fact, after 2 summers in Yosemite and the Sierras, I hope to climb a few routes on the Diamond. Until then I'll dream about that monster of a wall lurking high above Rocky Mountain National Park.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Merry Christmas!!! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday filled with good company, good food, and good times.

I was in Hueco this time last year

Last year at this time I was planning a trip to Hueco Tanks, TX for 7 days of climbing with friends. This year because of money constraints and injuries I'm not going. Instead, I'm going to split my time this holiday season between family, friends, and my girlfriend. This is something I haven't been too good at in the past. You see, I'm one of those weirdos who actually enjoy spending time alone by myself. Its not that I don't like hanging out with others, but more that I actually need the time by myself to collect myself, reflect, and gather focus and direction for the future. As I get older I feel that I'm getting better at this and am actually finding some balance. Here are some pictures from last year's Hueco Trip. Deren ripped it up sending his first V9, Glass Ass Crack. Erin and Megan climbed hard and didn't complain too much about the cold and lack of civilized comforts. Scotty cranked hard despite not climbing too much before the trip. Fred was the group photographer and even managed to climb a few problems. Keep at it Fred, I see tenacity in your heart and that's the greatest skill a climber can have. And I managed to climb every day and by the end of the trip was only bleeding from three finger tips. Can you imagine that?

Bodhi- my partner in crime

"Who's a good boy?"

"What did you hear?"

This is Bodhi, my dog. Anybody who is a dog owner knows what a major responsibility they can be. But they also know the joy and companionship they bring. Bodhi is my partner in crime. He is five years old and for the last five years he has been on many of my climing and backpacking trips with me. He is the most loving dog ever. I sometimes wonder if he likes humans more than other dogs. He loves to greet people with a big old hug. I can't wait to go out for an overnighter in the Shenandoahs with Bodhi this weekend. Like me, Bodhi is most alive out in the mountains.