I thought that I had been a lot of places until I looked at this map of everywhere I have been.

Mount Washington givith and takith away

It has been raining here in the MountWashington Valley for about two weeks now on and off. There was one amazing nice day of weather. Luckily, because I am a working stiff sometimes, I had to guide a route in Huntington's Ravine; the steepest 800 ft. craggy part of the mountain.
We brought everything that a climbing team should bring: extra cloths, water food, compass, map, bug spray, sun screen, emergency blanket... etc. The list goes on. Would I have brought all of these things had I not been responsible for a client, the wonderful Eddie Mack, no? To Tell the truth I would bring them with a client, but Eddie brought them all. He even brought me, as always, a wonderful bag of treats from his wife Sheri.
Just like in carpentry tools will not build a house for you, just like survival tools will not keep you alive with out experience and know how. So what is the helicopter all about in the picture. MWV search and rescue, and fish and game were on the last day of their each for a 70 year old man who went missing eight days prior. It was assumed that they were searching for a body. It was also assumd that he did not have any of the essentials from the list above. The weather had been so retched for seven day that it was assumed that he could not be alive. The search was massive. At least, by my estimation, 50 search and rescue members where there including 20 or so high angle technical specialist from Mountain Rescue Service. On top of the man power they had this very intimidating helicopter circling very close.
When we topped out the ravine onto the Alpine Garden we were met face to face by this machine. At times it was so close that I could see the passengers face. I got me to thinking how lucky I am that I can go climbing for the day not having to worry about one of these scary machines chasing me shooting bullets. Some places in the world right now that same mechanism, built and operated by the USA is chasing people around and killing them. Just seeing it up there really brought reality together for me.

Climbing Partners; couter weights to die for

Find a climbing partner can be the crux to any climber day off. Sometimes our friends are working or out climbing with someone else already. As good as friends are no one ever want to be the 3rd wheel. Some times friends can't climb together because they each have their own selfish, no necessarily a bad selfish, goals in mind. So what happens is a partner less climber will either go solo (bouldering, free solo, aid solo, rope solo) or aproach "randoms" or random people at the crag to find an effective counter weight. This can turn out to be more dangerous than free soloing. At least when you are free soloing you know you can't fall. When there is a questionable belayer it is unclear. It feels like a belay, it smells like a belay, but it might not actually save your life.
Climbing partnerships are the basis of many deep friendships. The rope holds friends together through thick and thin. It seems odd that one could pick up a random to share that tether with. The only way one could do this is by have purely selfish goals. It would seem just as selfish, yet safer to solo. While soloing only the one climber's goals are confronted and accomplished, or failed.

Southern Patagoina Winter 2009

Cheers to being a gumby (a new climber) again. What is the best way to go from feeling like an expert to feeling like a novice in a day? Fly 3000 miles to southern Patagonia and start climbing mountains that challenge your mind body and soul. Learn "ice & snow skills" on the fly.
The buddist philosophy of "the beginner's mind" is a great states to strive for. A beginner sees with fresh eyesand acts every moment as though it were the first. Doing what is easy gets boring and the only way for me to learn how to swim is to jump in the deep end. This deep end just happened to be some of the most challenging peaks on the planet.
The 40 days I spent in El Chalten, the jumping point for the Fitzroy and Cerro Torre were mostly good relaxing bad weather days, about 25 of them, punctuated by 15 or so day of nice weather and sadistic exercise. No amount of running with a pack on or climbing 20 pitches a day can prepare one for the amount of abuse carrying a 35 kilo pack for 25 kilometers will give. I hiked 2072+ miles, i've climbed 1000M of hard granite in a day. This was by far the hardest thing I have ever done. Again, it is good to be a beginner again.
I did get the bug and I do have the mind set for alpine climbing. I love the danger and the comittment. I love the clarity that comes from solitude. I love the mental challenge of staying positive while rain bound in a tent.
During those 15 days in the mountians I climbed:
400 M up the Fitzroy, only to be turned around by my partner's fear of comittment
500M Solo to the summit of Guillamet via the 5.10 Brenner Ridge
600M up El Mocho via the 5.11 Benatears. We added two new 70M 5.10 and 5.11 pitches to the base by starting on the south side
250M up El Mocho via the 5.12a squeeze chiminey called Grey and Yello Arrow. We backed off 3 pitches from the top due to not taking the route seriously enough.
400M up the 5.11a Media Luna

I Go Places and You Can Too

The point of this Blog is to be a place where I can share my pictures and stories from my travels. It is also a place where you can see places I can guide you... if that is what you are into. This is a place for my clients to see their pictures as well as places they can go with me.Here is a place for my friends to see me at work and at play. I am all over the place so if I put everything in conological order it would be a collage of a dirt-bag climbing guide's life. Instead I will put like places with like places regardless of when I went there. Enjoy!