Days 15 & 16 - Wed. and Fri. July 18 & 20 - Oh, Mexico

You sound so simple, I'd just like to go... I went to Mexico this week with Stacy and my family. On Wednesday we went to Tulum, an ancient Mayan city. There was a private beach which it opened up to and so I took the liberty to do a little bouldering where if I fell I would simply fall into the ocean. This was probably a 5.9 to 5.10 difficulty depending on where you decided to climb up. I didn't make it for very long, however, due to the incredibly sharp rock and cutting my hand open prematurely. On Friday we went to Xel-Ha, a natural amusement park filled with excellent snorkelling, cliff jumping, rope swinging, and you guessed it - a little bit of rock climbing. All it was was climbing the cliff you just jumped off instead of walking all the way around. It was probably a 5.4 maybe even a 5.3 difficulty, but fun to do nonetheless. It was a great vacation and I was glad to fit in even just a little bit of climbing. Peace.

Day 14 - Saturday July 7 - Yep, Two In One Day

After attending Kaleb's first birthday party this afternoon and spending the remainder doing work in the yard, Stacy and I met up with Crazy to go for a climb. We just hit up Dogwood crag for a quick shot. It looked like it was going to rain so there weren't many people there - which was nice. I hurriedly led a 5.8 more to the East side of the crag and then Crazy took a turn on toprope. I, once again, walked him through the process of removing the gear from the top of the climb - tie in with at least two points of contact, tie the rope off, remove the rope from yourself, etc. - and he finished and came down just in time for the rain to really start coming down. Stacy was not terribly bummed out that she wasn't able to climb so it was not a big deal. It was enjoyable to get up there, and I am certainly glad we went somewhere with virtually no approach hike. We were able to then go to dinner and see a movie. It really was a great day today. This is officially my very first day ever when I skied and climbed on the same day. How can you beat that?

Day 57 - Saturday July 7 - Christmas in July

Well, it's July, and I am not going to have a ton of time to get out this month so I figured now was as good a time as any. I headed back up to Wolverine with CJ this morning. We started a little later and we were not in any huge hurry to get back down, so I was able to really take the time to enjoy it out there. I don't know if it was the later start (and therefore, softer snow) or what, but the skiing was way better today than last week. I really had a great time skiing today. Last week I said that summer skiing wasn't all that great, but today I take that comment back. I had some good solid turns today and things just went well. There wasn't as much snow today as last week. I suppose that is what 100 degree heat will do to your snowpack. We started in Granny's chute but due to snow meltage we could not ski all the way down that one. We went as far as we could, then climbed back up the chute to skier's left and skied all the way down that one. The skiing was quite enjoyable. I did have some pole problems - I am trying out this new pair of poles I got for free at work (not Voile poles), and I love them on the up because they are so light, but they are not terribly strong nor do they have a great locking mechanism for the down - but I got over it. The first part of the hike out - when we exited wolverine to get back up to Patsy Marley - was interesting. You climb all over these rocks and boulders that you think are solid, but every now and again you step on one that totally slides and it is a little scary. I am happy to say that I did make it out, though, and the hike down was quite enjoyable. We received several admiring looks from hikers as they saw how cool we are with our skis in July. Yes, you should all be proud to know me.

Saturday June 30 - The Mountair Mile

Stacy and I volunteered at a children's "triathlon" race today. A dude she works with puts this on every year in his neighborhood. It is a fund raiser for The Sharing Place - an organization that helps families and kids cope with lost loved ones. Stacy's sister, Shellie, and her husband, Jeff, supported us by bringing their kids along. Kaleb was in the first age division (he is just under a year old) and Brinton was in age division 3 or 4 (I can't quite recall - he is 5). We helped set up the transition areas before the race and then we handled the finish line during. The kids did three different disciplines to complete the race - bike, scooter, rollerblade, skateboard, tonka truck, run, whatever - or the youngest ones just got pushed by their parents in a stroller. Both Brinton and Kaleb took third in their age division. We were all so proud. Kaleb looked so adorable up there on the podium. Brinton was a little bummed out because he wanted a red ribbon (second place), but I am sure he will get over it. It was an enjoyable morning. It was fun to see people out raising money and having fun. We will probably be a part of this again next year.
Check out the video here: http://www.kutv.com/video/?id=26969@kutv.dayport.com