New Shoes!

So, after much deliberation, I decided to cut short the boot hunt and go with a pair of sample Kaylands I found down at OGE. So far, I love them! They are way more comfortable and warmer than the Nepal Evo's I demoed at the ice fest.

First off, let me start by saying that I've spend the last couple of weeks trying o nall of the boots I could. Because the Red Rocks trip fell through, I had the money to invest in some boots. I go to OGE one night to see what they have to offer, and I find these puppies on the consignment shelf. Now, I'm not a huge fan of OGE, I know I'm biased but I find the staff there absolutley useless. After having been told that "They're, like, totally waterproof, I like, think." (etc).

I tried them on, I think they fit. I put them on hold, go home and think about it. Now, I liked the way the Evo's fit in store, but they were only OK at actually climbing (plus, even on proform they were $250). I was a bit in between sizes, I liked the stiffness but not the fit. I really wanted to try out the Vasque M-Possibles because of the boa system, but no one within a 4 hour drive had them to try on. So I sucked it up and dropped the $170.00 on these Kaland Gioves.

So far, I'm very pleased!

New Page Photo

Changed the photo at the top of the page from one a friend took in Joshua Tree to one I took of an abandoned hunting camp on the side of Big Spencer Mountain near Moosehead Lake in Maine. I've always wanted to paint it, but never have...maybe that's what I'll do tonight.

We all have rough days...but don't forget the A1 sauce.

I really suck at this whole blog thing, I promise I'll try and be better at keeping up with this all.

New semester has barely started, and all of the pressure is looking towards the summer. Shall I be a responsible young adult and get an internship related to my field of study, or should I play for a summer, this being my last real summer vacation and I've worked my ass off for the last two? Suggestions, please!

The boy and I recently celebrated our 2 year anniversary. Not really sure what that means, but we're still plodding along. It will be interesting to see what happens if we do end up spending the summer apart.

Sad news from back home. My middle brother, Patrick, is 12 years old and has had pet chickens since the first grade. He went out to feed them the other morning, and found one of them, Penny (by all means a fat old wretch) dead- frozen to the wall of the coop. He's a very sensitive young man, and he called me in tears on sunday morning to tell me the sad, sad news. I offered what simple advice I could; she was in a happier place now where it never snows, where she never gets barked at by dogs, and where there's planty of grapes for her to pick at.

He hung up on me.

Later that day he called me to apologize, then handed the phone off to my father. He told me how later that afternoon, Patrick confided in him that he wanted to build a funeral pyre for teh dead hen. My father panicked, having already scraped the remains of the deceased off of the side of the coop, wrapping them in a trash bag and sinking them to the bottom of the dumpster.

"Well, you know, Patrick," he said solemnly, "That's a great idea and all...but eventually, it would start to smell like a barbeque."

PENNY, RIP
2004-2008

Wonderland

Since I last wrote, not much has changed significantly, but life has certainly moved forward. The last exam of the semester is today, which will be a great relief to be over and done with. There is much i wish I had done differently this semester, maybe had tried a little harder, but there's no sense regretting the things that you can't change, only make a note for next time.

Meanwhile, snow has fallen and the water has frozen, and the ice climbing season has begun. It's my first season climbing ice, and it's absolutely wonderful. There's something beautiful about this cold pain you get as you're climbing - it hurts, but you just can't stop, because the air is so silent and the ice is so clean. There is a certain sounds that your pick makes when you land a nice solid placement, and it's an aria to the ears. The sport is full of sounds, from the dull thud of crampons on ice to the sound of shattering glass as you send sheets of ice showering down below you.

"Is there any such thing as just being whelmed?"

I saw Fred Beckey, legendary first ascentionist, give a slide show talk tonight. The man is amazing, he's over 80 years old and still making first ascents all over north america. I realized a couple of things tonight. First, I absolutely love climbing, and I want to do it as much as I possibly can and be as good at it as possible, both physically and mentally. Second, his show proved that there is no need to travel to exotic locations at the far corners of the globe, there is more than enough rock and mountains right here on this continent. Third....I need a new camera so I can give slide shows all over college campuses!

Maybe one day you'll see me on a headlining book tour, but more likely we'll just pass each other on a trail somewhere.

A Breather

Life finally let up a little bit today. Last night was movie night, a not-making-much-money fundraiser that is really an excuse to watch climbing movies on a giant theatre screen with crazy surround sound. It was a pretty stressful event to put together, but together it went, and everyone loved it. We actually made money this year, as opposed to last year when we didn't make enough money to cover the sodas we bought to sell as refreshments!

Then this morning I had my last midterm exam. Staying up till 3 in the morning for 4 consecutive nights really does something, because I've never had an exam go so smoothly since high school. Tonight was the last night of the class I've been teaching which has taken up way more time than it should have.

So, stress is gone, weather has turned gorgeous, and things are looking up. Still poor, and still not getting nearly enough climbing in, BUT I'm in love, I love what I do and I'll be skiing and ice climbing within a few weeks.

I've counted my chickens.

Afternoon

Sometimes the best thing to ever happen in a day is getting punched in the face by a rain drop.

The storm had been approaching all day; the temperature slipping a few degrees at a time, naked trees shivered as the wind began to race. It hovered over the high, snow-dusted high peaks of the Adironaks for the early afternoon. In the few minutes between when I entered my classroom to when I left with a dissappointing grade, the clouds had raced across the broad lake and raged overhead.

I've realized that I love what I do and I love what I study, and I love who I'm going to be in the future. But the means of getting there right now are simply so frustrating, overwhelming and discouraging.

An sudden pit settled into my stomach as I ran from the classroom, clutching my exam. The pit worsened and threatened to envelope me. Bursting through the double doors, the rain that had been hesitant to fall all day slammed into my flushed face. It beat the pit out of my body and left it in a puddle at my feet.

All that was left was me and the rain.