My Next Life

If reincarnation is a real thing, then in my next life I want to be some sort of raptor. Maybe an eagle, a falcon, a hawk, it really doesn't matter too much to me as long as I can soar, swoop, dive, glide, and ride those endless thermals from one mountain ridge to the next. Those who know me well, know that I spend a lot of time in the mountains, usually in areas where there are cliffs. And in those areas I get to see the antics of these mountain aviators at work. I can't begin to tell you how many times in many different places I've been fascinated by what I've seen. There was the one time when I was in Linville Gorge above the Portabella Cave watching Peregrine Falcons dog fight in the sky right in front of me. There playfull game of aerial wrestling was one in which they would go from flying horizontally to dive bombing nearly a hundred feet in mere seconds. And boy did it make a noise. You could hear the birds' wings cutting through air from clear across the canyon. Then there was the time when I was hiking from Tenaya Lake in Tuolomne Meadows to Half Dome and saw right in front of my eyes some sort of raptor swoop in and in mid air grab another smaller baby bird and take it for dinner. It was amazing to say the least. Although I'm a believer that the human species is by far the most advanced species on the planet, I do recognize that we have serious limitations when compared with other species. The ability to fly being the one that I most envy. Just think about it; living in the mountains, flying from one craggy perch to the next, playing by running thermals through the air. Scoping things from above at all times must give one quite a unique perspective on things. That is one thing that I've always loved about climbing. The ability to get into places in which I have a unique view that I would never else be able to attain is one of the raddest things about climbing. Raptors always have that position. Humans have tried to replicate flight in many ways. Skydiving, Paragliding, Hangliding, basejumping, birdmaning, even slacklining are all attempts to tap into the sensation of being a bird. But having skydived and slacklined I can say that at least these two fail miserably. So if God's a granter of wishes and a man of logic he will reincarnate me in raptor form placing me somewhere in a mountain range with abundant rock and rock climbers in which I can "perform" my art and show the future generations of climbers what they are trying to replicate in their sport. Here's a great video of Europeans "birdmaning" (the closest thing to being a raptor for humans). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttz5oPpF1Js

Kam per te Kosovo!!

Kam per te Kosovo. That means I'm going to Kosovo in Albanian. I just signed a 2-year contract to teach at the American School of Kosovo. I'll be teaching high school History as well as creating an outdoor adventure program for the school. Needless to say I'm psyched. I've always dreamed of living abroad and now that dream is going to be reality. Not only will I be heading to Kosovo, but my girlfriend, Tracy, will be teaching there as well. My life is gonna change dramatically in the next 6 months. I'll have to admit I'm a bit apprehensive of all these changes, but mostly, I'm just really excited about the adventure that is front of me. I'll be living in the capital city of Prishtina. Prishtina is an up an coming university town with a little over half a million people living there. The crazy thing is that roughly 90% of their population is 25 and under. Kosovo is a very diverse place drawing elements of Eastern Europe, the Meditterranean, Islam, and of course the Balkans. From what I've read it sounds like a very beautiful country, very rugged with lots of mountains and forests, with fairly poor infrastructure save a few bigger cities. I'm picturing it as a bit Wild, Wild, West, a bit Borat, and a bit Eastern European Suave. One of the great things about this opportunity is all the travelling we will be able to do. It sounds like I can be in any number of countries in a few hours. Kosovo is bordered by Albania, Serbia, and Montenegro. From what I researched so far, Albania and Montenegro sound like hidden gems in Europe. Matter of fact, the entire Balkans sound amazing. Amazing beaches and coastlines, deep water soloing on Ceuse-like limestone, huge rugged ski resorts without the heafty prices of Chamonix valley, Old World architecture and charm that is truly still Old World in nature, and many National Parks and World Heritage Sites.

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.