Life Up High

Having a blast !!!

This 4th of July weekend we spent climbing and camping with a group of friends. It was by far one of those weekends that we won't soon forget. The weekend was full of good times, good food, and lots of good climbing. Since moving to Durango, I have found myself slowly falling back under the spell of climbing. I never really lost it (by choice) but shoulder surgery put climbing on the back burner for a few years. Moving here also put a damper on my climbing. You would think that moving to a place like this would mean that you would be out climbing all the time. This isn't the case. Making a living in this town is one of the toughest things I have ever done. The cost of living here is through the roof. The price we pay for this little piece of paradise can be astonishing to some, but to us, it is a small price to pay to live in a place where are dreams are right outside our front door. Weekends like this make all the trials and tribulations well worth it. We spent our afternoons in the canyon climbing and our evenings around the fire, laughing, joking, and telling stories that kept us all in stitches. We had two people with us this weekend who had never climbed before. Watching them climb reminded me of what it was like way back when I started. It felt good to see the psyche that they shared after their first climb.

It has felt great to be back on the rock. My newest climbing partner (Doug Wright, pictured above) has truly been a blast to climb with. Doug is the consummate "happy climber". Doug doesn't say much, but he is one of the funnest people that I have climbed with in years. Doug doesn't complain when you are hang doggin' or taking whipper after whipper. He doesn't care much what we climb. He is just happy to climb. He climbs because he loves it. He doesn't boast about climbing or advertise the fact that YES he is a climber and damn proud of it. He just climbs and always has a smile on his face. He doesn't care about ratings or any of the other BS that others tend to obsess about. Doug and I can spend an entire day climbing together and maybe exchange a few sentences, and that is okay. We both share the same vibe as we complete a fun, challenging climb. Sometimes words just aren't necessary.

Having my family there with me this weekend was, as it always is, an absolute treat. They aren't always with me when I climb, so when they are there, it is even more special. I watched my son climb a route that I bolted last fall. The climb was called Finding Forester. A very fun 5.8 that I put up in memory of my good friend Jimmy Forester. Jimmy was killed two years ago while soloing a climb in Mexico. To see my son on the climb was just awesome. To see him climb like he was born into it, is priceless. The kid is a rock star. He started climbing when he was two...the kid has almost as many years under his belt as I do. My little girl didn't climb a whole lot, but she was a trooper too. She has a rock fetish, and not the climbing kind. She likes to collect rocks. She brings them home, names them, and will let you know when you screw up and try to set the rocks free when she isn't looking. My wife got to climb this weekend and that is something that I miss with all of my heart. She has supported me and my climbing life for almost 15 years now. She was there to support me as my shoulder was trashed, and she has always been there for me in every other way. She is, by far, my favorite climbing partner and it was nice to have her there.

Finding our "climbing" life again is something that is truly beyond any description I could come up with. We are a climbing family and it is what brought us to Durango. We love to spend time together and we each love to climb for our own reasons. As long as we find some time to do it together, I think it will have a lasting impression on our kids. We continue to make new friends here and I finally feel like I have a couple of climbing partners that I can truly rely on.

Life is good !