Ski Mountaineering in June

4:30 am, June 12th. The sound of BBC newscasters analyzing the oil disaster in the Gulf comes blaring through my fitful dreams. Barely awake I give my alarm clock a bleary look, my mind going through an extreme case of deja vu. This was too much like yesterday: not enough sleep, waking up before sunrise...but also knowing that I would be rewarded with an awesome day of skiing.

The day before, my dad and I had gotten up at 3:30 and met two other friends at their house at 4 in order to get over to the East Side of Glacier Park as early as possible. Our goal was to tour from Jackson Glacier Overlook up through Siyeh Pass and back down to the Going to the Sun Highway at Sunrift Gorge, a trip of about 10 trail miles, all before a wedding to be held nearby at 5 pm. We left the truck and hit the trail around 7:15, making it to the snow-line (where we were able to quit carrying our skis) within 40 minutes. The conditions were great for a skin up: not too cold and surprisingly dry. Our early morning was rewarded ten-fold when we were greeted at tree line with incredible views of the surrounding peaks. Unfortunately when we reached the pass, we were unable to find a path through the cliffs and around the corner to complete the loop. Nevertheless we had some great turns through spring snow conditions on the way back to the truck.

11:46 am, Comeau Pass

Adam and I had been climbing for the past 5 hours from the pickup, about 3 of which had been on our skis. The weather was working out well for us: not heating up too fast as to cause wet slide avalanches or, even worse, slides off the south facing rocks along our intending route. Now as we booted up the final 15 meters up the headwall to the top of the pass (in the summer there is a staircase blasted out of the rock, but it's chocked full of snow now making a vertical wall that we must surmount) we are greeted with gorgeous views looking eastward into the rest of Glacier Park overlooking snow-capped peaks for miles and the sweeping snow fields leading up to our right ending in the sharp summit of the goal for the day, Gunsight Peak.

When we loaded all of our gear into the truck, the four of us rolled down Going to the Sun road into St. Mary's for some coffee, a change of clothes, and relaxation time before heading to our friend's wedding back in the Park. The wedding itself was fantastic. Overcast all day long, the weather took a turn for the best when the clouds broke and the couple had sunshine and blue sky for their ceremony. Small, informal, and fun adequately describe the event (entertaining too if you count laughing at my friend Dan, the one getting married, totally out of his element and crippled with nervousness...).

2:30, Summit of Gunsight Peak

I would dare anyone to find a better lunch spot than the top of Gunsight Peak that day. The views would rival any of those from the Himalayas, the company couldn't be any better, and I had earned that delicious peanut butter and banana sandwich. The climb from the Pass had been a blast: skinning up the side of a mountain with decent exposure then transitioning to kicking steps through the steeper sections toward the summit itself, looking forward to skiing back down the entire time.

At the top Adam and I had reflected on our feelings of power in such an incredible place. In the mountains it is easy to feel small and insignificant next to the immensity of geological formations and the effects of wind, snow, and ice. The mountain could care less of the two humans scratching their way up its side and in a few days, hours even, any trace of our passing would be unrecognizable. Being Christians, it brought reflection on how we fit into God's plan; I know that I am just a speck in the immense span of things God has in his control. The difference is that God does care about how I take part in his designs.

Soft, spring-corn snow flies from the edges of our skis in our rapid descent from the peak back to the valley floor, our waiting transportation home, and security once again from the dangers of the mountains. It is always a relief to escape from the power of the rock and snow unscathed, but even better knowing that I have been changed by these experiences.

Climbing at the Lost Wall

The Lost Wall in all its hidden glory. Our route climbs the dihedral (book-like formation) on the left.

It's not exactly on the same level as the "Lost World" Jack Black travels to in King Kong, but the "Lost Wall" located in the forests and hills of the Flathead Valley hides is nevertheless a place worth seeking out, especially by those desirous of adventurous rock climbing. Since being home this summer I've made several trips out to this secluded location. Strangely enough the two trips featured two climbing disciplines not often associated with each other: traditional lead climbing and bouldering. Both are specialties that require their own training and technical expertise.

The first trip was with two good friends, Dan and Strider, to climb the 5.9 crack to the left side of the wall. We climbed the 200 footer in two pitches and were able to rap off the chain anchors at the top using two 60 meter ropes.

Me climbing with Dan on belay duty. I'm top-roping the first section that Dan led before running out of gas and lowered.

The second was with a buddy from high school, Ryan, who was in town visiting friends and family and looking for a climbing partner on that Saturday morning. Although the weather had been rather wet over the past week, we decided to go out and explore the potential of climbing in the boulder field at the foot of the Wall itself. We worked a couple of really hard overhanging problem that were relatively dry before the sun came out around noon and started drying things out. We found evidence of other climbers and tried several problems indicated by characteristic chalk marks. The highlight of the day was sending the new route Spayed and Neutered, a razor sharp knife-edge with a hip-shifting top out.

Ryan on Spayed and Neutered on an attempt right before the First Ascent.

My hope is to become familiar enough with the area to be able to take camping trips out there, take laps on the traditional climbing routes, and establish new boulder problems. I've heard rumors of a Montana Bouldering Guidebook that would feature a section on the Lost Wall. It would be great to be a part of something like that.

Pictures to come...

Memorial Day Weekend

Rain is a very funny thing. I get home and the Flathead Valley is experiencing an unusually wet and rainy spring. Naturally I find myself complaining that I am not able to get out and do what I love to do best: climb (and skiing isn't really a very good option either since the weather is bad in the mountains). However I have to pause and realize what a blessing it is to have the moisture. It's making everything green and grow well, giving farmers hope of a good farming season and everyone dream of no fires toward the end of the summer. I have to remind myself surprisingly often that I'm not the center of the universe and not everything revolves around keeping me happy. Imagine that!

Well regardless of the (un)fortunate rainy weather, Memorial Day Weekend had a lot of excitement, especially of a sort that I don't often get to take advantage of since I'm usually on the go. Saturday night, my parents and I threw together a couple of homemade, whole wheat crust pizzas from scratch and ate them while relaxing with the movie Up. Very tasty and entertaining! Then Monday, I had work off for the holiday and was able to whip up an apple pie (again from scratch) to celebrate Dad's belated birthday. We even savored the scrumptious dessert to the tune of decaf coffee and Bananagrams.

Yet another reason to be thankful for the blessings-in-disguise of the rain: forcing us all to slow down and relish the small and often overlooked things in life.

Blogging Struggles

I've been struggling on posting to my blog recently. I am concluding this is due to my fault of being a perfectionist and wanting to write posts/articles that are magazine quality or noteworthy enough to be compiled in a published memoir. But this should be more about sharing my life and thoughts with the world, whatever raw form it comes out to be. I need to be more willing to treat it like a public journal, keeping track of my thoughts on the world around me, reactions to various media stimuli, and chronicle day to day adventures.

Take two...

Wildlife Extravaganza

Of the many things that were drilled into my head during High School English classes, I am most mindful of "transitions" currently. Whether you are writing an essay, a research paper, or a book or even telling a story to friends, your main ideas have to have transitions leading from one to the other in order to have logical flow throughout what you are trying to express.

The story of my life has had a lot of change recently and I am thankful that it also follows good "writing etiquette." I've had to shift between school mode and summer mode, between working hard intellectually to manual labor and working with my hands. It's probably not the biggest change I'll ever have in my life, and I've actually done it every summer thus far since High School. However this particular spring sees the move from college life to life after college. (It has struck me as strange every evening for the past 3 weeks that I don't have homework) Making this change special was the segue of the May Wichita Climbing trip that Alex, Nathan, and I took.

Bouldering at Mt. Scott's Upper Wall.

Alex and Nathan both had plans in Texas for the weekend following graduation, but were willing to travel with me up to the Wichitas. We made it to the Visitor Center in the Refuge Monday afternoon, being greeted by high winds and the usual armada of animals. We bought a climbing guide for the area (sounds like we were really prepared, eh?) and drove to the top of Mt. Scott to check out the conditions. We figured it would be pretty wind and weren't disappointed. Thankfully we found a sheltered place out of the wind and bouldered around for a couple of hours, having fun trying different appealing lines and taking some cool photos. Then we drove to Camp Doris, pitched a tent, settled in and had a great dinner of left-over brisket sandwiches.Nathan on the project of the day.

I'll pause in the middle of the climbing report here to talk about the Wildlife Extravaganza. It was really amazing how many different things we saw. Big game: elk, deer, longhorns, and bison. Bugs: lightning bugs, june bugs, a tiny scorpion, and of course the obnoxious mosquito. Creepy-crawlies: a lizard with blue sides, a multi-colored snake, and a big, fat tarantula (not something you see everyday sneaking around your tent, nor do you want to). Then others: rabits, coyotes, geese, bright red birds, and others I probably am forgetting.Just a little bit unsettling...

We rose early the next day rearing for a solid day of climbing. Our goal was the area known as the Narrows, which Alex and I had explored on a previous trip in January. However, due to the wet conditions we were unable to attempt the super classic routes of the area and we were jones-ing for a second shot. Crazy Alice (5.8) and The Dihedral (5.6) were perfect for our goals of improving our crack skills and traditional lead climbing experience. Thankfully they were dry and all three of us made it to Crazy Alice and rapped off in quick succession. Geared up and ready climb Crazy Alice.

Then Alex satisfied his "crack habit"leading The Dihedral, rapping off so I could try my hand at a 5.9 extension called the Flying Nun. This route follows the 5.6 but goes another 25 feet higher instead of ending at the rappel station shared with Alice, pulling a rather impressive roof. The crux was pretty heady since the pro wasn't bomber for my liking, especially when I kicked out the highest nut on the first go. Nevertheless I struggled to the top, ticking off my hardest trad lead to date.

After we all made it up and rappeled back to solid ground, we were still wanting to climb another route with the amount of daylight offered. Choosing Captain Crunch (5.7) we set off around the corner toward the Leaning Tower feature. Once again we were rewarded with a great climb with spectacular views of the whole area: piles of granite left randomly strewn around and the Cache Creek canyon meandering below. Not to mention an airy 120 foot rappel down Leaning Tower Direct. However, anyone attempting either LTD or Capt. Crunch should be prepared for a somewhat sketchy approach. Combined with the wind, it was almost enough to diswade us from climbing the route.

"Monkeying" around while on rappel.

For our final climbing day together, we traveled back to Mt. Scott's upper wall since we figured a quick approach would maximize our climbing time, not to mention there were some routes that Alex had his eye on from the January trip. We climbed two 5.6s, The Sleeper and Yee Haw, both were fun routes with solid placements and fun movement for aspiring leaders such as ourselves.

After climbing that morning we drove back to camp and sorted gear, shared some pictures, and had a big group hug. Then we delayed the final Goodbye a little longer by driving together back to Snyder to fill up on gas. The adventure trio parted ways after a solid trip together, wrapping up our college experience at ACU, looking forward to more adventures in the future. Someone mentioned to me in the midst of goodbyes when I graduated High School that I'll stay in touch with very few of my friends from that time in my life, but it's the people I'll meet in College that will remain life-long friends. This prophecy has been very accurate so far and I know that it will remain so, because amigos like Nathan and Alex will not soon be forgotten. With them both going to grad school next year in Wyoming and Colorado, it gives me ample excuses to visit them in the future.

Showing some brotherly love at the top of The Sleeper.

Thus my life-story goes on. I look forward to continued adventure, exploration, and good times with great people. And it is my hope that every new chapter will be marked with equally fantastic transitions.

Creating Gladiators

I heard an article on NPR the other day about college basketball coaches looking at recruiting a 10-year-old in the Chicago area. Obviously the kid has talent, and he's probably bigger than any other 4th or 5th grader. The conversation tended toward a more generic look at college basketball recruiting, where coaches are having to become interested in players at younger ages, even getting freshman to sign letters of intent. More and more pressure is being put on kids playing sports sooner and sooner in their lives.

So this got me thinking about sports in the world today. It's a big business with a lot of money at stake in advertising and ticket sales. The money is spinning the industry in a downward spiral, where the style of games are being completely changed due to the demands of TV networks (for instance, changing the time of the NFL draft, spreading it out over the course of several days so as to show it live during Primetime) and athletes are lifted up like "gods" in all forms of marketing.

It is also allowing athletes to make a ton of money, all in the name of entertainment. College scholarships are allowing (I hate to say it) young adults who could care less about learning to, at least on paper, get a college education. It starts to remind me of the Roman Empire and the honor given to gladiators in the Coliseum. Our society is now in a sense paying more respect to someone who can run really fast or jump really high than an chemist intent on researching a way to stop certain diseases or an educator imparting wisdom to the next generation. Are we stepping back in time, sliding from a forward-thinking, innovative society to one in which only the physically strong survive?

Now I for one am a big fan of being in good physical condition and I enjoy being able to climb high, technical peaks, not to mention a good college football game every once in a while. However, when a disproportionate amount of our time and money goes toward fueling the feeling that athletes should be lifted up on a pedestal, it's time to reflect on where we are going. We should be encouraging kids to become other things, other than gladiators in some arena.



I took a lot out on athletes in this post, but entertainers of all forms are being held in too high a regard for my liking: musicians, actors/actresses, etc.

Bucket List

Several months ago, our university group at church watched "Bucket List" during the Sunday Movie Night at the Cukrowski's. Afterward, while reflected on how life would be different if we knew we were going to die soon, those in attendance created our own bucket lists: a list of things that we would want to do before "kicking the bucket." Whether you end up watching the movie or not, I would highly recommend this exercise. It makes you think about things you really want to accomplish in life. I'm a big proponent of goal-setting in the first place and this is a good way to "trick" yourself into writing some goals if that's something you struggle with.

Here's the list that I came up with that night:

• Kill a 6x6 bull elk with a bow
  
• Climb Denali
  
• Ski in Europe
  
• Marry the greatest woman in the world
  
• Climb the Diamond, Longs Peak, CO
  
• Climb the highest point in each Western State
  
• Play a love song on the guitar...to a girl
  
• Write a book
  
• Become an engineer
  
• Become a teacher
  
• Save a complete stranger's life
  

Some of them may sound hokey, others more profound, and the list is definitely not completed, but it's a start and it's something that I would like to continue to build (and check things off, eh?).

So what are you waiting for? Get out that pen and paper...