Desert Tower Climbing

Dust and snow swirl around making it hard to see. The temperature has dropped and the wind has increased. My fingers burn and tingle as blood struggles to reach my tips. I lay back off the rock and move up hand over hand delicately placing my feet in the fist size crack. My heart pumps as a try to focus on the valley floor. I can't seem to maintain a focal point because of the varying terrain. The valley floor is over 1000 feet below. I am on the second pitch of Castleton Tower in Moab Utah. The day before I climbed Ancient art a tower with a spindly finish and a summit the size of a pizza box. Dont believe me, check out the photo and take notice of the rope blowing in the wind. The wind was a challenge on all of the climbs but especially on sunday during the attempt on Castleton. I have another picture of me leaning forward off my heels and the wind is all that keeps me from eating the dirt.


Moab is a special place. It is no surprise that filmmakers have used this majestic place for the last sixty years. The land is filled with beautiful landscapes, scenery that photos cannot do justice, and an awesome peacefulness that both calms and chills all at the same time. It's a Mecca for the outdoor/adventure community and a destination for many family road trips. The desert can capture your heart, stop your breathe, and make you feel more alive than you ever have before. The landscape can be explored by foot or four by four, traversed on a bicycle and ascended by climbing the impressive canyon walls and towers that define this magical place. And if the desert is to daunting, the La Sal mountains, which rest to the east, keep a close watch on the valley. The snow covered peaks are a stark contrast to the dry red desert and steep canyons. An impressive display of Gods incredible creation.

On my way up!

In so many ways the title, on my way up, reflects the events of life, both upcoming as well as in the past few weeks. I will be ascending into the sky early friday morning by jet. Then again on saturday using my own strength while climbing Castleton Tower in Utah. The past few weeks has offered countless new experiences, from interacting with upcoming christian music artists to dabbling in the world of motion graphics. I have been blessed, stretched and challenged in my new role as the operations director of Citikidz.
Friday presented a chance to get to know a few of the members of Shachah, a christian rock/rap band. Awesome guys who love the lord and worship Him with their talents. I also met a few of the members of Level 3:16 an inspiring up and coming christian hip hop group that will be releasing their first album in a month. The scene unfolded in IHOP at about 1 am in maryland. I have some video footage of the experience, which I will be posting soon. It was truly an inspiring experience. They are all awesome, God fearing, wonderful individuals whom I am so glad to have met.
Finally I must say that God has been doing some awesome work in my life. I am inspired and excited to press forward and continue to learn and grow in the midst of His awesome presence. If you have any interest in supporting Summers Best Two Weeks Citikidz, or would like to learn more about what God is doing with this awesome ministry I would love to sit down with you and tell you all about it!

Starbucks!

Lame title I know but that is where I am right now. They have internet and its only about 15 minutes from where I live. There is not even a movie rental place where I currently live I just moved to Boswell ???? I know most of you are thinking where on earth is Boswell. Surprisingly,it is a nice town, located very near to the beautiful Laurel Mountain which I love for obvious reasons. It is a short drive, and by short I mean a 3 hour drive from my hometown. Why am I here? Well I accepted a job as a photographer and videographer and operations director for a christian sports camp. This is truly an awesome opportunity. I get to use all of the skills I have acquired over the years.

So lets see. My new house actually feels like a house. In fact it is a house. I am living with housemates again. This is different but they seem like fun guys. While I was sad to leave my apartment in Grove City which I have called home for a year and a half, I am glad to be living in this new place. The moving process was overwhelming at times but mostly because I tried to pack everything I could into the two weeks I took off between my previous job and my new job. In those two short weeks I put a roof on the porch at my parents house, went rock climbing in Texas with a great friend, went climbing in West Virginia with two great friends, went on a date with my girlfriend and moved all of my stuff. No one seems to feel bad for me, not that I want their sympathy, because I spent part of my time off traveling.

While many of my blog entries have to do with climbing, this one is more informative and only lightly dusted with a hint of climbing. Don't worry there will be more to come about climbing. I have been on many trips and will be taking many more in the months to come. Anyway, I have found that one of the downsides to moving three hours away from anyone you know is that you don't have anyone to hang out with and I am currently in the process of trying to meet folks to hang out with. In this process I have found that while I am able to be outgoing in the last few years I seem to have become introverted and it seems like a job trying to go out and meet new folks. Oh well, all part of the process.