Moab Highline Adventure

If any of my adventures on this site have the properties befitting of the word "mild", this trip was probably the furthest. Leaving Boulder last friday (March 21st) and returning Wednesday March 26th, we were in Moab for quite some time. The trip was prepared meticulously, making certain that everyone who was going had accurate directions to the obscure destination, and that all the requisite gear would be there at the start of the trip. Mary and I drove out to Moab, meeting Joe, Dave, Josh, Jesse, Lindon, Nathan, Dylan, Greg, Josh, Kale, Deon, Terry, Larry, Chris, and a few others at the designated pulloff. Thats right, we had more than 16 people all setting up and crushing highlines at different times during the weekend/week.


The "Fruit Bowl" was discovered by Terry on Google Earth one day last year as he was dreaming of highline in the poor winter weather. A promising prospect, Terry went to scout out the area and discovered some great highlining potential. After bolting the area and establishing the anchor points over the weekend of the 15th-16th, three different lines were ready to walk, a 47' line, a 62' line, and an 88' line. On the 22nd we went and rigged the 47' line and the 88' line, and everyone had their fix of highlining fun. I cruised the 47' line several times, doing tricks and such, but it was a really hard line to learn on, and no first-timers were able to make it all the way across (although Mary got half way on many occasions).


During these two days, we bolted the 130' highline in the same spot, and prepared the bolting locations for the 92' line. Also, Dean Potter came and established a 110' line adjacent to the fruit bowl, and rigged that today. He will be base jumping off of that line in the coming weeks. For more information about Dean's basejumping escapades, see the following link:

BaseLining

We stayed till Monday, making the 1.5 mile pilgrimage back to the cars as infrequently as possible. Many people were able to walk the lines, and it was a really fun time.

On Tuesday we traveled to the Gemini Bridges area of Moab and set up two highlines: the 35 foot birthday gap, and the 80 foot dog hole gap, the former being about 200 feet above the ground and the latter being about 100 feet above the ground. I walked the birthday gap dozens of times, with my hands behind my back, while surfing, etc., but the doghole was a bigger challenge. The line was quite heavy, and heavy long lines are really hard to control. You would get halfway out onto the line, where the exposure was undoubtedly the greatest, and the line would start shaking. You try to keep your fear in check, but this usually means tensing up your body, and without being able to relax, your body amplifies these wobbles in the line until it starts to feel like you cant stand on it anymore. (Imagine walking across a log over a creek or something, and your friend decides that it would be fun to start moving the log back and forth while you are trying to walk across it; the chances that you fall are very high). Anyway, you really had to fight it to get across, and because I don't weigh much compared to the other highliners, it seemed harder for me. Anyway, I managed to make it across and was really excited. After that I focused on helping Mary to walk the birthday gap.


Mary had a really weird method of walking, which consisted of attempting to walk the whole line backward. Apparently it is easier to start walking the line while walking backward, as it doesn't feel exposed at all. I didn't think it was possible, but Mary pleasantly proved me wrong, crossing the line with grace and confidence. As this was her first successful highline, naturally she was ecstatic. We were all pleased too, because from what we can gather, less than 25 women in the entire world have ever walked a highline, and Mary just recently joined that elite rank. Awesome! Joe also managed to send the line right before sundown, marking his first highline as well. It was a successful trip for everyone!


After all the highlining festivities, Mary and I planned to go do some climbing as well. There are many many excellent desert towers in the area, and we wanted to climb some of them. Unfortunately, we didn't realize how tired we would be after highlining for 4 days straight, so we decided to come home instead and recover for a few days. We needed it too. I am definitely pleased with the trip as a whole, and can't wait to return. Terry, Larry and Dean have all established some permanent lines in the area and are leaving them up all spring. Dean's going to be base jumping off his, and Terry and Larry just wanted to get all three lines up to get some epic shots.

In the future we plan on having a bigger highline party at the Fruit Bowl, as it is now the highest concentration of highlines in one place, in the world. It was fun to be a part of the beginning phases of its establishment, and I'm excited to see where the sport goes in the future. All in all, it was another successful adventure!

Photos

Slackline Party

This last weekend I hosted a slackline party for Mary's birthday. It was fun. About 60 people showed up and walked the different slacklines we had set up. There was a 15' line, 30' line, 30' line, 40' line, 60' line, 80' line, 100' line, 120' line, and a 135' line. Plenty of fun for everyone. Our parties are starting to get quite big now. I'm thinking about starting a competition circuit here this next year. Should be fun.

Here are the pictures from the event:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2248365&l=4bbf7&id=10222940

We leave for Moab tomorrow (after I finish my dreadful tests this week). We'll be setting up about 6 highlines, (4 brand new ones) and will likely do some climbing in Indian Creek and Castleton Tower. Sweet

Breaking New Ground

Today was fairly nice, so Mary and I decided to go out and do a bit of trad climbing up in Boulder Canyon. I've climbed in many parts of the canyon, but one of my favorites in the winter is the Happy Hour Crag, mainly because it is south facing and gets sun all day. We got up there and got busy. To my delight, Mary wanted to learn how to lead climb with trad gear! I showed her a few tricks and let her loose on some easy 5.5 terrain. She performed remarkably, and wasn't phased at all by the height or the lack of top-rope protection. I was inexplicably pleased. After her first lead I decided to push my boundaries a little as well. I've never climbed with trad gear to any great extent, especially in my upper range of climbing ability. The fact is that it becomes much more difficult to lead when you have to fumble about with your cams, nuts and other metal bits and pieces as you climb, and finding placements is time consuming. On a difficult route this means you tire much quicker, and have a higher propensity for falling. While I have easily led routes in the lower 5.12 range with bolts, trad has continued to allude me. Today I decided to change that and break some new ground in my climbing ability.



After Mary's beautiful 5.5 leading, we went over to a classic happy hour route, "Grins". This is a 5.8+ with plenty of room for creativity. I geared up and flashed the sucker with little difficulty. I was quite pleased. Mary was soon to follow, and then we cleaned the route. Next, Mary led another difficult route in the 5.6 range, again with grace and ease. Her placements were much better this time around. I'm pretty excited to have such a fast-learning climbing partner. Finally I was convinced by some other climbers at the crag to try "Dementia" a cool 5.10 with a weird start finishing on a beautiful, slightly overhanging finger crack. I geared up and gave it a whirl. Now 5.10 normally isn't too bad, but when you have to hang there and place gear it gets tiring. I don't remember all the moves, but up in the cruxy finger crack area there was plenty of really good protection, and I was able to flash the route no problem. Sweet! Mary followed and cleaned and then we rapped from the top, calling it a day.


I guess a lot of trad climbing is just in your head. Fortunately with all the skydiving and highlining lately, my understanding of fear has become less than rational. I'm excited to try my luck on some difficult multipitch trad now. Eldo has my name all over it, then bigwall in Rocky Mountain National Park, and maybe even some climbing in Yosemite this summer. The possibilities are now endless!

Winter Highlining

Mary and I, and my friends Dylan and Ben went to the Amphitheater area in Gregory Canyon this weekend and set up a fun highline. It was about 70-75 feet long, and about 100 feet high, maybe more. Pretty enjoyable though. I walked it there and back on my first try. Mary had a little trouble, though. It was a lot longer than she is used to, and the mental fortitude required to walk such a long highline is incredible. I'm incredibly impressed at her determination, persistence, and attitude. She really kicked some ass! It was rather cold, but a fun time overall. Here are some pictures:

Dylan measuring the line distance with his laser inclinometer.

Me walking the line

Me walking back


Mary crushing

It is really windy outside...

So it is February, and nothing new has been happening lately... The weather has been bad and the work schedule has been worse. Mary and I have gotten plenty of climbing in during the last month, but all indoors. Hopefully the muck that has accumulated from the multitudes of snowstorms will disappear pretty soon, allowing us to go on some more adventures.

Today we are going to go scope out some new highline spots up near the flatirons, and hopefully that is a successful venture. With the coming spring, and our Lost Arrow Spire aspirations this summer, there is a lot of practice that needs to be done if Mary and I are going to rip it up in Yosemite this July. I'll definitely be taking a lot of pictures, and I'll definitely be having a lot of fun. More to come as this story develops.

Pikes Peak Blows

Yesterday Mary and I attempted to climb Pikes Peak. Although there is a road to the top, if I am going to end up climbing all the 14ers in Colorado, I probably am not allowed to cheat. So we set out Monday morning from the Crags Campground on the west side of the peak at about 8:00 am on Monday morning. We were a little worried about the accessibility to the trailhead, as I had read previous reports saying that the road was only plowed to the Mennonite campground, a whole 1.5 miles below the Crags Trailhead. To our great fortune, it was actually plowed clear past the Crags Trailhead, and we were able to get a better start than previously anticipated.

Mary and I donned our snowshoes and took off up the mountain at a pretty considerable pace. We covered the first two miles in about an hour, which is pretty good with 20 inch conglomerations of plastic and aluminum fastened to your feet. Next, however, we had to climb the main headwall up to the Devils Playground, which would lead us to the summit ridge. This became slow going as we consistently sunk to our waists in the deep, snowblown powder. We continued up the slope, trying our best to avoid the dangerous avalanche terrain. At one point, a shooting crack appeared for about 20 feet, but to our relief, it didn't slide. We eventually trudged our way up the 1000 vertical feet to the Devil's Playground.

At this point, the wind picked up considerably. We had observed from the bottom of the climb that the clouds were moving quite rapidly over the top of the mountain, but once we were in the middle of that quagmire of snow, ice and other precipitation, it was much more difficult to navigate. It was probably the most miserable wind I have ever experienced, and after the climb I learned from the summit weather station that the winds were in excess of 60 miles per hour, with additional gusts faster than that. Mary and I weren't able to appreciate the beauty of the rock formations surrounding us, as we hunkered down behind a large rock to provide us with shelter. We discussed the possibilities of continuing for several minutes, but eventually decided to turn around. It was a good decision too, as when we reached the bottom of the climb, the summit became engulfed in a large storm which surely would have disoriented us.

We had a good time, and Mary proved to me yet again that she was born to climb. That badass bit of beauty and muscle will soon be summiting the hardest 14ers in Colorado. Hopefully next time we will be blessed with less wind, and more sun. Plans are already in the making for another trip up a TBD peak on February 3rd. I'll keep it posted.


(sorry for the lack of pictures, it was too cold in the 60mph winds to take my gloves off and dig out my camera. Lithium batteries have a minimum operating temperature, and on these 14er outings, you have to keep the camera insulated in a jacket or something to maintain battery life.)

Slacklining on 9 news

I forgot to put this on back when it was aired, and I ran across it today on slackline.com and figured I should include it. I host slackline parties regularly, and for our August 2007 party, we had 9 news come out and film a brief segment about it. The script is really cheesy, but we are getting the word out and getting slacklining introduced to the general public, which is a really good thing. The more people come to know, accept and embrace slacklining, the better this world will be :)

Here's the Video

(Note that you can only view the video in internet explorer, Firefox doesn't like it)

I'm now one of the main content writers for Slackline.com and editor for the site. I'll be publishing some work there soon, and am working on an article about the history of slacklining in the US, and a brochure/booklet about slacklining for trade shows, conferences and climbing events. Gotta love the slackline!

(Chilling on a 160' line at the Boulder Mountain Park)

Fun in the snow: no avalanches involved

I've been trying to get out into the snow as much as possible before school starts back up again, because I know it will be a rough semester with my large credit load. So last thursday Mary and I went out and did some skiing in the backcountry near Brainard lake. It was about a 7 mile trip and the wind was blowing very considerably. We had a blast though, and got some good exercise. Here we are at the lake:


Yesterday, James S, James Mc, Mark and I went to go climb Quandary Pk. in the tenmile range of Colorado. We got there at about 7:00am, but the wrong pulloff was marked and we started going up the wrong gully for about 5 minutes before I decided that something wasn't right, and that we weren't going the right direction (I've climbed it in the summer about 8 years ago so I had a vague memory of what the trailhead looked like. We finally found the right location once the sun had risen and we could see the mountains better, and got going at about 7:45. It was slightly overcast and snowing a small amount, but the sun expelled most of the cloudcover and the only thing in the air was blowing snow with the high winds. At about 10:00 we had made it to about 12,800 feet and had hiked 2.0 miles when James S decided that the wind was too much and that he needed to turn around. I don't think he had a down jacket or very good gloves, and his hands were quite cold. I didn't blame him, as the wind chill was predicted to be nearly -26 or something like that. James elected to go back with James so that we wouldn't be split up unevenly, and Mark and I continued. It was slow going due to the wind, snow and the altitude, as I hadn't been up a 14er since September. We managed to make it to the top at noon, and enjoyed a brief snack before heading back down. It was still very windy and cold. The wind would pick up drifts of snow and blow them in circles around us, encompassing us with snow from all directions. These spurts of wind would last for a few seconds, and then it would become calm again and we could see nearly 30 miles into the south park valley. Then the wind would pick up again and it would be back to 50 feet of visibility. Mark and I managed to get off the summit and follow the faint outline of our tracks all the way back to treeline, and then got back to the car at 1:50. On their way down, James and James made a snowman for us to enjoy. We got some grub at Beaujos in Idaho Springs, and then got back to Boulder at about 5:30 or 6. It was a very fun and exhausting day.


I'm thinking about going down to Co Springs this next weekend with the crew to try climbing Pikes Peak via the Crag's trail. We'll see how that goes. This weekend Mary and I are competing in "The Gun Show", a bouldering competition at The Spot. It should be fun.

Happy New Year!

It has been a fun year of adventures, and they have gone from mild to wild as the year has progressed. From the cross country skiing, to the climbing, to the 14ers, to the skydiving, to the highlining, to the kite flying, to meeting and spending time with my wonderful girlfriend Mary, everything has been absolutely fantastic. The capacity of man to enjoy himself is amazing, as I have thoroughly enjoyed myself throughout the last 12 months. But now it is time to look towards the next 12 months, and the days which will surely hold more incredible and delightful adventures. I have many goals for 2oo8, and amazing as 2007 has been, this new year will surely be filled to the brim of fun and adventure. Here are a few of my goals for this year:

• Design and build a line of power kites


• Finish the 13 remaining Colorado 14ers on my list


• Climb 5 14ers in the remainder of the winter


• Reach 100 skydives, or maybe even 200


• Walk the lost arrow spire highline in Yosemite


• Rig 5 new highlines in Colorado


• Begin writing a book


• Get a job with an engineering company


• Help Mary train to climb 5.12


• Climb Castleton Tower


• Rig and walk 3 highlines in Moab, UT


• Teach myself to kite-ski


• Get published

Hopefully these things will keep me busy throughout the year, and I will keep everyone posted on the progress of these events. Wish me luck on accomplishing these dangerous feats and daring adventures.

Long Time, No See

It sure has been a while since the last post. Unfortunately my time in the last two months has been spent otherwise employed in my studies, but fortunately I have been having plenty of fun and wild adventures. I guess I'll start where I left off back in September. Since I last wrote here, I have had many adventures. Lots of climbing up in Boulder Canyon before it got too cold, lots of skydiving (I'm up to 25 jumps and still going regularly), lots of slacklining, and lots of kite flying. Mary and I have been having some incredible times together, and have been really living life to the fullest, which is my number one priority lately.

In October Mary and I set up a really cool highline in the trees across the Boulder Creek Path. It was a real blast and the rigging took forever because I was mostly doing it on my own. However, the line was a success and even though we were trespassing, (which eventually was the reason we took the line down) it was still a fun adventure and we both got some great walks in. Mary is really incredible on the slackline. Also in October were plenty of trips to the drop zone to do some skydiving. Mary finally finished her AFF just recently and is now doing solo jumps! Once she gets her A license we can jump together, an achievement which we are both looking forward too.



At the end of October, we competed in the Spot Psychadelia, an annual bouldering competition that takes place with black lights, fluorescent paint, and lots of trippy climbing costumes. It was pretty fantastic, and Mary ended up taking the cake in the womens recreational category. A movie of the event can be seen here. About halfway through you can see me in a prisoners outfit busting some moves on the slackline:

Psychadelia at The Spot

In November we did some hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, ticking off a few more 12ers Flattop and Hallett. These are pretty easy hikes, but I wanted to judge Mary's climbing strength. Just as I thought, she is a beast on the trail and had no problem keeping me winded the whole time.

On November 16th-20th Mary and I headed down to the Sand Dunes National Monument to play in the dunes, fly our kites, and watch the Leonids Meteor Shower. This was an incredibly fun trip, and we got to just escape reality and fly and jump and play. It really was wonderful.


Not only did we enjoy the dunes, but we also went out to Penitente Canyon for a day and did some sport climbing. Mary did her first lead climb, and then proceeded to lead a 5.10 and flashed a 5.11 as well. I couldn't be more impressed and pleased to have such an incredible climbing partner.

The photos of the trip can be seen at the following link:

Sand Dunes Album

Aside from that I haven't had too many adventures, but there are many in the works. Skydiving after my final on saturday is one which I am greatly looking forward too. Also I have great news. I am now the editor of the new and improved Slackline.com and will soon be publishing monthly editorials on the site with updates in the slackline community, events coming up and personal growth experiences on the slackline. This will eventually turn into a push to publish a magazine, and is a collaborative effort of the best slackliners in the country along with the support of slackline.com's wonderful founders. I am extremely excited about this new position, but because of the involvement in the new age of slacklining, my ability to use my love of writing, and the monetary compensation that this position will provide. Anyway, that's whats new. I'll keep this posted more often. Peace.

My Position on Life? (don't publish, just archive)

The fact that you're here doesn't mean you are breathing, and the fact that you are living doesn't mean you're alive. This may sound strange. Learn to live again.

Some people don't have dreams. Other people dream and think how fine their lives could be. They don't change anything. This sounds strange.

It is not true when adults think that they don't grow anymore. Some of them even shrink. Growing is an exciting experience. Step by step there is nothing to be afraid of. The universe is endless.

The bare thought of the undiscovered things and adventures in my life make me so excited that my eyes shine and something restless fulfills my body such that I can't wait to see tomorrow.

Dreams

Have you ever had a dream that you thought was so real that you couldn't tell the difference between that dream and reality?

Have you ever had a dream that you were flying above the world?

Have you ever had a dream that so resembled your passions that you can't help but be motivated to live life in a way that emulates that dream?

Have you ever wondered how life could be different if we didn't have bodily limitations and our spirits could roam free on this earth?

Have you ever loved doing something so much and so completely that you devote your life to doing it?

Have you ever seen the smile on someone's face when they are truly satisfied?

Have you ever sat above the world and admired the glory of the human race?

Have you ever reached out your arms and embraced the goodness of humanity?

Have you ever talked to God? Have you ever had an answer?

Have you ever had so much passion for something that your heart cannot contain it?

No? Have you ever lived?

Endless Sky

Tuesday night I worked ground crew for a BASE jump, Wednesday I slacklined for 2 hours and was late to my important meeting, Today I went skydiving between classes, Tomorrow I am going climbing in Boulder Canyon, Saturday I am going skydiving again, Sunday I am having a slackline/bbq with lots of friends. Life is good :)


They say you don't have time to have fun when you are in Aerospace. I am living proof that whatever they say is wrong. You can do whatever you want, whenever you want. Do what makes you happy and you will find a way to get through the struggles in your life. A passionate life is a successful life. This is what I live by. Have no doubts, no reservations, no skepticism, just pursue what gives you the greatest pleasure, and your life will be much more enjoyable. We didn't choose to be on this earth, nor do we know why. But who we are and how we got here are insignificant matters compared to what we live for. I live for life.

Monastery Movie

This is me walking the line at The Monastery earlier this summer. Total Mind Rush! Enjoy!

Monastery Video

Doubt.

I question all that is questionable in order to find a higher truth where there is none. I strive to discover a meaning to this random manifestation of life on earth. The more I question, the more I realize the answer is unattainable, and this frustrates me. No amount of adventure can make up for the fact that I cannot find a purpose to my existence. Will I find an answer? probably not, but I'll make sure that I give my life meaning and purpose. I'll make my actions and adventures meaningful and this is the beauty of life. We can chose a path of our own design. If I know anything it is that we are capable of anything we desire. The purpose of life is to cultivate these desires to achieve happiness. The paradox of life is that while happiness is easy to achieve it is nearly impossible to maintain, thus leaving us watching our life pass by as we search for something new. But what can be done when all possibilities are consumed? What if there is nothing left to aspire to? Is that the end? This world is too small for the capacity of the consciousness of man.