If you have ever driven along Colorado’s Interstate 70 from Denver to Vail, you might have noticed all the dead pine trees along the highway. Some think it is due to pollution spewed by cars but is actually nature at work.
Mountain pine beetles have killed an estimated 3.6 million acres of trees in Colorado alone. Their favorite food is the lodgepole pine tree but they also enjoy the ponderosa, Scotch and limber pine. The beetles kill the trees by creating fungus under the bark, which slows growth and eventually kills it.
The root issue is that the beetles are enjoying run-away continue reading
I love to climb or more specifically to be out in nature. This past week, I took a long climb to almost 13,000′ on Longs Peak in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a rare winter day with mild temps in the high teens and virtually no wind – unheard of for Longs in January.
The scenery of the snow covered Continental Divide was stunning as was the lightly peppered Diamond on Longs’ East Face. I was completely alone for the majority of the day. I had started just before sunrise and enjoyed watching the sun light up the Colorado continue reading
Ever look at another climber’s pack and wonder? Come on admit it, I know you do!
Packs come in all sizes and shapes. Some are lean and mean while others are fat and dumpy. However most of this is not due to the pack; it is what’s inside that counts.
This is the first in the series “What’s in Your Pack?” where I will look at gear from simple day hikes to overnight trips to treks to Everest Base Camp then climbs to 8000m and above.
But first, lets take a look at packing for a simple day climb of a continue reading
Why do you climb? An age-old question first publicly asked in the 1920s of George Mallory during his attempts on Everest. His incredibly complex or dismissive answer was “Because it is there.” Similar to mine and no less understood by strangers, acquaintances, friends and some of my family.
To see the sun rise before it does. To understand fellow climbers in an accelerated environment. An alternative to the day-to-day world. To see if you can do it. To spend time with yourself and see if you are really whom you think you are. To discover your limits.
Climbing captures the allure continue reading
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