Soothing Sounds!

I first heard of this band when I was headed to West Virginia for a climbing trip to Seneca. We caught the very end of there amazing show and cheered and livened up the place. After they finished we encouraged a jam session. They took a break to eat some of the Purple Fiddles great food and then they jammed a little while longer. I was extremely thankful to have them play some more because as you will see in a moment, they are wonderful musicians and great people. We had a chance to talk with them after the show. Thanks to Tripping Lily for sharing your gifts!

myaccesstv.com

Higher Elevation!

I quietly descend into a canyon surrounded by ice and rock. I am lowered by a rope 150 feet to a small patch of ice that has frozen over the river below. I can still hear the rushing water under foot. It is hollow sounding. The ice steals the sound and muffles everything. I inhale..then exhale and stare at the massive display of vertical ice that is before me. I shake out my arms. All around me I hear the sound of coins hitting a glass floor and splashing in a wishing well. The ice throws tiny pieces at me while I prepare to step off solid ground. The sound bounces from one wall and quickly smashes another. With only fifteen or twenty feet between the canyon walls I feel trapped. the only way out is up. I stare up at freedom.




Swing, smack! My ice ax sticks with precision. I repeat with the other ax followed by my feet which are attached to crampons. I am no longer on the ground. Ice sprays my face. I turn my head to avoid injury. I repeat the same motions a hundred times. Swing Smack! right foot, left foot. Head turn. Stare up Swing Smack right foot, left foot. Im alive! I can feel the blood surging through me. My heart tries hard to pump blood up my arms which have been above my head for ten minutes. I relax my grip to save my arm strength. A few more steps. Swing Smack! there is my guide Kevin securely holding the rope. I take a moment to regain my strength. Kevin moves the anchor over ten feet to a new spot. Again I find myself quietly descending into the abyss. Welcome to Ouray!


Ice is diverse. It grows and forms unique structures. It can cool your drink or soothe a pulled or sprained muscle, it can make roads impassible and driving conditions treacherous, or it can provide a clear pathway out of a canyon. It is a necessary element in the sport of ice climbing. Without it there is nowhere to stick your ice tools or your crampons. I would be a stuck man in a canyon without ice. How interesting though that ice is also fragile. You have to move delicately over it at times to keep it from fracturing and failing under your ice tools. Other times it is solid and secure and you can hang multiple persons off two forged ice screws fastened into the ice.

As I stared up at the ice I couldn't help but draw similarities between ice climbing and life. Life can be fragile like the ice. Unexpected things can cause the ice to give way or the smallest inconsistency in it such as snow or an air pocket can shear off a human sized piece of ice sending it plummeting to the ground. Life is also fragile. An unexpected event occurs and fractures your way of thinking or how you make sense of the world. Things that are not supposed to happen to you or me. As if the stories of tragedy are somehow fictional because we only read about them and don't experience them. Like the ice we can also be a strong foundation. One that others can cling to for support. Life can give us exhilarating moments. The birth of a new child, the accomplishment of graduating or getting a new job.


I talked with a fellow traveler who I had seen on the same flight to colorado on my return flight. We exchanged stories from our trips and when I told her I had been ice climbing she said "isn't that dangerous, how do you do it". I casually explained it "yes it is inherently dangerous, as is driving your car, but with the proper instruction and care you can greatly reduce the risk." We talked a few more minutes and I doubt I convinced her to go ice climbing but it was fun sharing my adventure with someone unknown. Then I thought about it. Life, like ice climbing is an adventure. It includes the loose terrain and bad weather. It also includes being on top of a mountain after giving it everything you have to get there. I think it's those mountain tops that give us the strength to keep going. After all if you are on the top of a mountain, you still have to get down no matter how hard the climb was! Ice climbing may not be for everyone, but life itself is a "daring adventure" - Helen Keller. What are your mountain tops? What is your drive to reach the top? Climb on!






I am fortunate and blessed to have the resources and friends, that allow me to do some amazing things. This past weekend I spent a few days in Colorado visiting my friend Dan. I met up with him in Denver and hopped a small prop plane to Durango in the southwest corner of Colorado. The first morning we drove up to Molas pass and spent the day snowmobiling with a company called Ice Pirates! I recommend them if you are ever looking for a fun time. There are hundreds of miles of trails and our guide led us around them all and eventually to a hill climb that put us 14,000' above sea level. Then we drove to Ouray to ice climb, sit in the natural hot springs and enjoy the Switzerland of America. I don't get to do these trips all the time but it is a great reminder of how blessed alot of us are in America. Take advantage of the beauty and nature, but don't lose sight of where they came from and how fortunate we are! Keep on exploring, wherever you are, whatever you do, life is an adventure, go live it!

Thanks Dan for taking so many great photographs! The blog would not be complete without them.

Training Week is Over!

Excitement and relief are the emotions I feel after successfully administering a staff training for my seven adventure staff. The direction of the program seems to be taking off and it would appear that those who I hired are now well suited and share in my excitement for starting upcoming adventure based counseling groups. There was much that was learned on both sides as an instructor and for the new employees.
I started off the week with an acronym for my staff, I told them "I want you to be the BEST staff!" B-bright, E-efficiant, S-supportive, T-trustworthy.


They seemed to respond well to this acronym and although the first few days were mostly theory and covering the local operating procedures, the latter half of the week was filled with ice climbing, climbing three challenge courses, learning the games and initiatives, learning new debrief techniques, and becoming high ropes rescue certified for our course.


When it was all said and done they were excited to apply their new knowledge. I was excited because I was on the road to the akron canton airport to fly to colorado! Stay tuned for all the details and photos from the whirlwind trip to Ouray Colorado. Prepare for takeoff!

Earthquake in Haiti

If you are not aware, an earthquake has hit the island of Haiti which is located in the Caribbean. Some family friends and people we know that live in Haiti are there right now living through this tragedy. The earthquake has caused tremendous damage to an already devastated country. Its hard to think that God is in control when things like this happen but he is. It hurts, but have hope.

Most of my videos do not have photos but please watch this one.

Music beneath the wall...Off Belay!

I spend a lot of time climbing and being active however there is also a part of me that loves creating things. I really enjoy music, art and books. Currently I have a couple of books I am looking forward to reading but I have them on hold until I finish my staff training this week. I am currently reading a book called the CIty of Joy, it is a great look at life in Calcutta in the India of Mother Teresa. The other books that I am looking forward to reading are The things they Carried by Tim Obrian, and Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson. I also really enjoyed The River Why by David James Duncan.
Other than reading, I play some music and draw. I am not great at either, I used to get bored if i did something to long and would switch to something else within a few days or weeks. Lately I have just kind of done all of the things I like and managed to fit them all in. This is one of the neat things about growing up and having a consistent job, which I really enjoy! Having a job also provides me with the resources to decide to go skiing with some friends last minute on sunday. I have not been out in years but
I went for it. This is somewhat of a random post. I think random is ok sometimes. It has no purpose other than to fill you in on whats new, and comment on some of my interests other than climbing. But don't worry there will be climbing beta soon enough. Until next time...On Belay!

Listen with your left ear!

Having the right equipment!

Notice the lack of crampons, honey can you run to the store and pick up some crampons for me!

Steve doing some icy route finding!

Myself goofing around on some additional building ice!

Whether its a lack of money or resources, we always run into situations where we have to make do with what we have. In times like these, its best to gather whats available and improvise. Today I had my first participants on the ice climbing wall since becoming the Director. We use old mountaineering boots, a miss match of both technical foot fang crampons and black diamond mountaineering crampons, and share one set of ice tools. This suits us well because only one participant can climb at a time. Sure it would be nice to have the fanciest gear but instead we have gear that works and we make the best out of it and guess what, the participants have a hell of a good time! I work with youth that never in their lives would have dreamed they would be climbing a huge popsicle.
I recall another instance, when I was a videographer for a christian sports camp, when I had to construct a miniature light studio to film a set. I had no lighting equipment and no means to purchase any so I ended up using a headlamp, a desk light, and a piece of cloth as a backdrop in the corner of my office/editing suite. It was not phenomenal but it worked and the viewers thought the production was great.
On the contrary, some equipment cannot be sacrificed or mismatched together. For example having the right climbing gear for specific climbs or the right clothing to be outside in -5 degree weather for 4 days and nights. Another example is biking equipment. I bought a road bike over the summer and I knew that if i did not buy padded shorts to ride in i would not enjoy riding so I went ahead and made the purchase of the shorts the day I bought the bike. I have found that if I know I will truly use a piece of equipment, no matter the price ( I look for the best deals possible or buy things when they are on sale ahead of time) I will make the purchase. I once worked on a construction team in florida and if we ever needed a tool or supplies the contractor would send one of us to the store to pick it up. If you are going to do a job you might as well do it right and have the right equipment.
Now I know that my bike will eventually breakdown, my padded shorts will wear out, my climbing equipment will get old and the construction I did will eventually be destroyed for something else to be built. The point is nothing is infinite, including myself. Knowing that I am finite, i know at some point I will not be able to muscle my way up climbs or climb the ice wall without crampons or ice axes. See the photo (i am using axes but not crampons in this photo). Its because of this that I am writing. Those kids that climbed the ice tower today with old ragged equipment could care less what they used, what they remember will be the instruction they received, the encouragement that was given, and the feeling they had when they reached the top of this iceberg floating in the snow outback some old building. While having the right physical equipment is either hit or miss, having the ability to motivate, instruct, and share an experience with someone is priceless. The best piece of equipment I think I have is a positive attitude, and even that can disappear if I don't remind myself from time to time how important it is. The old saying Attitude is contagious may be cliche but its not a bad reminder. As always, climb on!

Its easy just grab the colorful ones!...Route Finding

Ok sorry to start out with climber terms. On the wall, as in the picture posted, the walls at many sports and workout facilities are covered with brightly colored climbing holds. While it is always easy to spot them they are not always as easy to grab. If you think it is hard getting up a wall littered with bright neon yellow, orange, and pink holds try climbing a wall that is consistantly the same color and shadows appear to be great holds and great holds appear to be shadows on the rock. Add 1,000 feet of air and space between you and the ground and you have a real climbing experiencing, or at least the ones I long for during these wintery days. As I mentioned the routes are not as easy to find once your on them let alone getting to the base of the climb. I have found myself shwacking through mountain laurel so thick I was ready to give up all together and sell my climbing gear, maybe not all of it.
Route finding is indeed an art. In traditional climbing, you go where the rock gives you cracks to place protection. It is because of these experiences that I appreciate climbing, however not everyone can have them and for those who are not as adventurous, the art of route finding is transformed into the art of route setting. As I set multi colored holds on the climbing wall at work for my students, I can't help but think about the parallels between route finding on the rock and route finding in life.
Life is a continuous journey of route finding. I am only twenty four and have much discovering to do in both rock climbing and life. But I don't just look at my own experiences. I observe and watch others. In climbing I watch the way people move over the rocks. I see how fluid methodical movements produce great results in some situations and powerful dynamic moves fit in others. I scan the rock many times to see how the rock is formed and try and choose the path of least resistance, or most resistance depending on how bold I am feeling! I do the same thing in life, I watch others and assess their successes and failures and try not to judge or criticize, although it happens, so that I may learn about myself and how to find a better path for me to follow. I am currently preparing to train a small staff of seven people. At twenty four, almost twenty five, I am blessed to be in this position but know that I am not here by fault. It is the path I have chosen and as the rock many times leads, it is the path that has chosen me. I have seen and learned so much from the individuals around me, what to do and not to do, and I have stored that knowledge away and wait for the right moment to say "I can do this" or the humbling "I better try this another time on another day".
This is why I love it when I am climbing a new route I never know what might be around the next overhang or bulge or even what the holds might be like but that is one of the reasons I climb, to discover something. Life provides the same excitement. I never know what each day will bring. I have seen many beautiful vistas from perched positions on the sides or tops of mountains but I never choose to stay forever. There will be many others to see. I take in the part of life I am currently living, and do the best I can with each new day that is gifted to me. I have my share of rainy days and wet sloppy climbs but its in the face of adversity that forms the heart and soul of a man and I am being shaped with each moment by climbing, responsibilities, relationships, and experiences. I can't wait for the next time I rope up on the mountain or in the workplace. I also posted a photo of the ice tower with a person to give some perspective. See you on the rocks!

xbox rots the mind...But I still want one!

I had high hopes of getting to climb the ice tower today however it was not completely formed. Instead steve and myself pulled together some gear again hopeful to find some ice at the Mill. This proved to be a recon trip rather than a climbing trip because the ice is not ready and I don't want to risk damaging it and ruining the possibility of climbing later. While my expectations of climbing this early in the season have not yet been met I feel as if it is not going to be long before I am picking my way up some perfect ice this winter! If not here than in Ouray Colorado. Oh yeah, I am going out in two weeks to hang out with Dan.
Upon failing at climbing some ice today we settled for a bite to eat and a drink at Rachels, a restaurant, that had some great food and good company. Shortly after lunch Steve headed to work and I had to figure out what to do with the rest of my day. I decided to face the hazardous road conditions in my faithful ride, the chevy prizm, and drove to butler to buy an XBox 360 and a 46" flatscreen tv. All was well, they had the tv and the xbox however upon trying to get approved for a sears credit card I was denied. For one reason or another I was not meant to have my prized xbox and tv. With inspection and registration coming up I need to be responsible and take care of those things before dropping a load of cash on more toys. The benefit with the card is that it was no interest no payment for 12 months. I am not someone who usually advocates this type of credit card behavior however it seemed the right time to get the toys because of the christmas specials on everything.
To say the least the drive back was disappointing but enlightening also. I don't tend to let things go unnoticed. There undoubtedly will be some reason I did not get the toys this time around. The car will break or I will have an unexpected payment on something that would have kept me from paying off the sears card. I realized perhaps I should just enjoy the things I have for the time being and spend the next month focusing on work, working out, reading, and writing. Sure enough I carried this attitude home with me. I took a nap to fight of a headache and woke up feeling invigorated to write some music I got the guitar and started writing and recording. I know its not perfect I just enjoy playing my guitar and being creative.
What I learned from this whole episode today is that I am extremely blessed to begin with and as much as I want an Xbox and tv I already have plenty to be thankful for. Beyond just material things I have a wealth of talents and knowledge that allows me to enjoy my time regardless of the technology around me. Hopefully I can upload one of my songs so you can check it out.(I know thats ironic seeing that I just commented on the technology around me, oh well) If not ask me to play it for you live. Its better that way!

Thawing and Freezing

I recently became the Director of an Adventure Program. This program has been one I have worked for in some form or another for about six years. I am excited about the possibilities the job offers and the creativity it requires. Life takes us on many different journeys and I am never disappointed with where I have been. With each new experience I have the choice of becoming a better person because each new experience provides us with the possibility of a new direction or maintaining the course we are on. Just like the ice I so enjoy climbing, each year it comes and goes but it is different each year, although it may be in the same spot, some years it is much better and some years it may not be there at all. What I am saying is that I hope to continue to get better, all the while knowing that some years in my life will be dry seasons. For the moment I am enjoying one of the best freezes ever, which brings with it beautiful ice.

There is no question to why I use ice as a metaphor for my life. I am a climber. It is my hobby, my passion, and my job! Yes, a large portion of my job includes climbing. Therefor I invite you to embark on a journey with me that teaches you about climbing life, and the relationships that make life grand. 

I am currently grooming an ice tower at work for the participants at the school I work for to climb. It is roughly 32' tall and is about 5' wide. There are many ways to learn about yourself but what better way than understanding your limits. In this case, the participants are challanged, but never forced, to try and climb the ice tower. The tower is constructed of ice which hangs from a chain and two ropes. The anchor for the structure, besides ice, is a 3/4 inch shoulder eye Machined bolt that is connected to an I beam which is part of the buildings structure it is attached by a 16mm rapid link and backed up by a 7x19 galvanized steel aircraft cable that also runs around the same i beam. The loop of cable is connected by 4 u bolts. This cable is connected to the ropes, which are part of the ice structure, and the 3/4 inch shoulder eye machined eye bolt by two 12mm rapid links. 

The ice is being  formed by a contraption that a friend of mine, and climbing partner, Steve. It is roughly two three foot pieces of 1 inch pvc pipe that has a T connection in the middle. This also has a valve for water speed control on it where the hose connects to it. (see picture) this slowly drips water for a period of time creating simulated waterfall ice. The chain, because it is metal, conducts the cold and starts freezing immediately. In order to get the best freeze and structure I needed to have a week where the temperature was below 25 degrees. If it is closer to 32 the water has to be dripped much slower and takes much longer for the structure to form. With the temperatures like they are (12 - 20) I managed to construct almost the whole thing in 24 hours and expect to be climbing by mid week. I am excited to start so early in the year, most times we don't start construction until February or late January but I will be climbing by the 5th or 6th of January. 

A note to those interested in trying this. If it gets above freezing at any point during the construction take the water off of the structure because it will melt it quickly. Otherwise use the water as needed throughout the winter to continually rebuild the structure for further use. Beware that sometimes the new ice does not stick as well to the existing ice and can come off in large flakes. I also must say that ice climbing is inherently dangerous just like climbing, therefor take extreme caution before you go playing around ice. Do not try climbing without the correct equipment or proper instruction. As I mentioned earlier each new experience brings with it new opportunities and consequences, we need to be able to accept whatever happens knowing that we made the choice. If you are to scared to try something new, stay home, but don't blame others for any missteps along your path. Thanks for listening, stay posted for more.