January 2016

19 Jan

Posted at 04:10h in Inspired Adventure

“Faeries, come take me out of this dull world, For I would ride with you upon the wind, Run on the top of the dishevelled tide, And dance upon the mountains like a flame.” — W.B. Yeats, The Land of Heart's Desire Even if you have never stepped one foot on a mountain, you are a mountain climber.  I love that a mountain is such an iconic representation of a life challenge that everybody, even if you’ve never gone for a hike, understands the metaphor.  I fell in love with...

14 Jan

Posted at 04:48h in My Adventures

“You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” — Dr. Seuss Sometimes, when you only have two days off before a business trip, sleeping in a snow cave sounds like a really good idea.  It doesn't take much to convince me to go on an adventure - especially when it involves something new.  I had never built and/or slept in a snow cave in my life, but when my friend Brenda proposed the idea, I thought, "Sure,...

04 Jan

Posted at 03:47h in My Adventures

“You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know.” —...

01 Jan

Posted at 05:37h in My Adventures

“My favorite part was when Brenda went bat$hit and started screaming obscenities.”” — Aaron Allison Mt. Challenger lies in the Picket Range of the North Cascades.  Fred Beckey, author of the Cascade Alpine Guide writes, "“Because of the rugged terrain, the Picket Range has remained the wildest and most unexplored region in the North Cascades. It is not an area for the wilderness novice…the length of climbs, combined with steep mixed terrain and variable conditions, demands all around competence and fitness.” I have some history with Mt. Challenger...