I set a goal. It is a big, fat, juicy goal. It is the kind Zig Ziglar spoke of when he said, “Set a goal SO BIG that you can’t achieve it until you GROW INTO THE PERSON WHO CAN.”; the kind you talk about, and people look at you with a blank face because they are waiting for a punch line but don’t want to offend by laughing at you on the off-chance it isn’t a joke. Given where I was in life, it was especially ludicrous. But I was not joking…
Read MoreThe conditions on the descent reminded me of my Mount Washington summit. The visibility and temperature were not quite as bad, but similar enough to have flashbacks. As we moved down, the whiteout was disorienting. Even while moving, it was very hard to discern whether the next step would have us move up or down and to what degree. Faraway rocks appeared closer, and ledges and ridge lines were camouflaged in the flurry. After hiking for an hour or so, my goggles were covered in a sheet of ice, and our clothing and packs in rime…
Read MoreThe night ended with a long conversation about politics and religion and everything in between. None of them were “solved”, so I guess in the end it was no better than endless superficial banter about climbers and alpinists that were “badasses”, but having the deeper conversation sure felt more meaningful. I wonder if those badasses carry on about who summited what and how quickly they did it…I hope not…
Read MoreBecause while they Netflix the latest documentary from their couch, we are digging platforms in the snow for tents. While they are sipping hot chocolate at the ski lodge, we are hunkering around a stove melting snow for water. And while they thumb through the photo books, we are taking in the scenery the camera simply could not capture…
Read More
