It was Creeksgiving as they call it in the climbing world, or the time when many-a-climber makes the journey to Indian Creek, that grand valley between highway 191 and Canyonlands to climb their faces off during Thanksgiving. For this reason, all the affordable campsites were occupied, there was no room for us at the inn. … More Return to Moab Part 2: Is This a Canyon?
It’s been over a year since I was in the desert. I’ve been asking myself to get back there ever since I left. Auspicious things seems to happen in the desert. Last time I was there, I experienced the extreme paradoxes that life has to offer: the feeling at once of being exactly where and … More Return to Moab Part 1: One Good Day, and One Bad Day
It seems like this happens a least once a year, but especially during those seasons of exceptional change, such as now. We are now deeply into the changes of fall/autumn, and the shake up is beginning to be felt in other ways. While it is still bright and summery down on the Front Range, the … More Life is Wild Sometimes
In high school, I did a lot of Nordic skiing, especially with my dad. He had never really been one to love alpine skiing, and I had moved away from it as my friends were involved in nordic. It was a typical winter evening (read: it was 4:30 in the afternoon and the sun was … More Moving With the Seasons
Sunny Colorado has turned into cold and rainy Colorado this week because I apparently brought the Vancouver weather back with me. Not that I mind too terribly, though. A rainy day or two is pretty nice, especially when you’ve chosen to apply to graduate school and are spending an inordinate amount of your time trying … More Green Mountain, or; I Thought I Left B.C.
I crossed the Colombia river into Oregon at Biggs Junction, having come out of the desert and over the hills of the Yakima. I thought that I was prepared for the majesty of the Colombia River gorge, having seen into before outside of Portland, but the formation has a totally different look to it east … More Mt. Hood and Lolo Pass
Climbing and, indeed, all alpine-oriented sports are inherently dangerous. I clearly don’t need to state that fact. As any piece of climbing gear or climbing guidebook will tell you, CLIMBING IS DANGEROUS. Just this past September, we lost Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson in Pakistan. In almost any climbing magazine, there will be a special section dedicated … More Risk, Uncertainty and the Relentless Pursuit of Self-Actualization
It’s like I did the PCT backwards. In a car. In five days. Okay, I really just crossed the PCT a few times as I snaked back and forth across the Cascades, always heading southward during my time in Washington. After an unfortunate encounter with a border patrolman who took my avocado and threw it … More Roadtrip Week 4: Mt. Baker, Chest-Colds, and the Yakima
September 14th-19th Jasper disappeared farther and farther behind me as I wended my way out through the mountains, chasing the sun as it set. Suddenly it was 6:00 pm instead of 7:00 pm, and I had crossed the time zone into British Colombia. The Canadian highway 5 became absolutely terrifying once dark had fallen, and … More Squamish Part 1: And it Rained
September 9th-12th I fled from Lake Louise, wanting to leave the cold, rain, and throngs of tourists behind me; ironic, considering I was going to Jasper. I drove the Icefields Parkway, remembering vaguely the last time I had been there as a ten year old. I did as everyone does and stopped at the Crow’s … More Jasper’s Lovely Lady
