I aspire to be a well-rounded climber. What’s a well-rounded climber? Well I believe it’s someone who holds a sense of adventure and an appreciation for nature above all else. In the most recent issue of Alpinist Magazine, Jim Logan describes how he and Mugs Stump prepared for their successful first ascent of the Emperor Face on Mt. Robson: “we’d spend the whole summer doing whatever it took. We hiked in, set up camp and simply observed it [the Emperor Face] for a few days, learning.”I believe respect and admiration for the rugged beauty and power of the mountains is paramount. [Read More]
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Maybe this time… Nineteen minutes… It has become my four-minute mile, my El Dorado, my white whale. Every time I peek through my apartment’s solitary window, I see the trail up the “M” hill that presides over the town, unmoving and unmoved. Its serenity taunts me. Someday soon, the stars will align. A light snow will cover all of the icy patches. A tailwind will hasten my every step. My footing will be sure and my gait strong. The trees will come and go just a little bit faster. The hill will feel just a little bit smaller. I’ll reach the last switchback where the wooden bench finally comes into view, and my watch will read 18:15…18:16…18:17. With renewed but restrained hope, I’ll charge ahead. Each second will remove another pound from my pack until I’m racing, weightless, against the clock, against myself. I’ll reach the bench at the top of the hill – the man-made reminder of failure after failure – and check my watch with the same innocent enthusiasm as each time before; only this time, I won’t be disappointed. “18:56,” it will read. Lo, the City of Gold! I’ll ditch my headphones, and Van Halen [Read More] Girlie Push-ups My husband and I do not belong to a gym. I think gyms are great, but as principle, we try to exercise outdoors as much as possible and save all our extra pennies for hiking excursions, thus gyms currently do not make the cut. Most of the year, I am fine not belonging to a health club, but during the cold months of winter there are days when I am simply too much of a ninny to exercise outdoors. For example this past week was the coldest week in Asheville since 1970, every time I ventured outside I came back indoors without sensation in my fingers, toes, or nose. For eight straight days we had negative wind chills and during that time I only once braved the cold for a 9-mile run, all the other days I exercised in our home gym. Now some people really do have a home gym, but we just have a carpet. That said, I have enjoyed some of my best workouts on that carpet. So for those of you who are unable or unwilling to venture outside in the cold, dark, winter months, here are some of my favorite indoor [Read More] The past couple of weeks have afforded me some incredible ski-tours in the Never Summers. I’ve been touring here since I was old enough to drive and I’m always psyched on the place. Lately I’ve gotten really excited about pushing longer trips into some of the more remote drainages along the Divide. While the usual Diamond Peaks, Montgomery Pass, Seven Utes, Lake Agnes area, etc… are all great destinations that offer good skiing, studying the RMNP border area on the map has me amped on longer, more committing tours. Snow-caves and heavy packs anyone? [Read More] |
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