“Is everything in order?” I ask the folks in the issue room. “Yeah, everything looks good, your students have all checked out” comes the reply. “Alrighty then, I am out of here” I say as I turn around and grab my pack from the concrete floor, tossing it over my shoulder and walking out of the bay. The moment comes slowly and I breathe easily. I slow down and enjoy the freedom. Tonight a graduation and dinner. Tomorrow a debrief. Right now, a walk. *** “So what are you going to do when you get back?” Charlie asks me, dangling his right arm over my shoulder and a big smile on his face. “Well, I have several weeks off…” I start to reply as we walk side by side in that fashion down the gravel road of the group site at Red Rock Canyon’s campground. “No, no, I mean, what … Continue reading →
April 19, 2012 Attentiveness mattered today. The friable, incut edges of desert varnish beckon for my out stretched hand. I reach cautiously upward, searching for the ones that look solid. Ones not plate like draw my attention and favor. I tap it and latch on, quickly shifting my gaze downward looking for the hidden footholds. The hidden ones, the ones in the rock are solid; the ones that look to be on the rock, they are suspect. A foothold breaking now would send me for a long fall. I slide my sticky rubber shoe onto the desired edge and give it a quick weight test. In this manner, searching, locating, tapping and weighting I slowly migrate upward, repeating the process for each appendage. The sticks and leaves jammed in the cracks tell the story of infrequent ascents. The noticeable lack of chalk adorning the varnished chicken heads and white, slabby … Continue reading →
November 2011– In Greek mythology as well astronomy, it is common knowledge that Orion the hunter, madly in love with an unrequiting Merope, chases her and her six sisters of Pleiades across the sky. Together with his dogs, Canus Major and Canus Minor, Orion also hunts other creatures of the night sky such as Taurus and Lepus. Pleiades will rise first, with Orion following, fervently chasing the ladies all night and never quite reaching them. In the northern hemisphere, Orion is often considered a “winter” constellation; it is most visible at this time, dominating the night sky. My first view of the uninterrupted night time desert sky came in the fall of 2000 when I first came to southern Utah. That winter was spent under the stars, with a uncompromised view, save perhaps a juniper tree. Soon enough Orion was up and over our heads. His yearly south north migrations … Continue reading →
The early morning sun catches the northeast face of Dihedral Rock. A prominent left facing corner flirts with the December sun until mid morning. The belay though, is securely anchored in the shade, tucked between a scrawny pine and large boulder. The temporary nature of the sunlight on this cold December morning made me decide to use this as my warm up. I trudge straight to the base seemingly oblivious of the sunlight mere meters away. Anna calls attention to my folly and I wander back and rack up in the sun. “You doing the direct start?” she asks, flaking the rope at the base. “Naw, I’ll go up left” I reply gesturing to a pedestal. I tie in and find the move easily protected by an orange TCU and well positioned double length sling. I stem out into the corner and look for the next piece. There are times … Continue reading →
Hey if any of you all are looking for recent blog posts, check out patagonia.jaredspaulding.com I have recently posted some stuff about my time down here. Also a bunch of photos have been posted there as well.
I generally try to stray from posting primarily photos of the happenings in my life in this venue , trying more to focus on the written word and its expression of my experiences. I am going to abandon that idea for this installment and post some pictures of the preparations I have been making for the migration south.
“Well it looks like it is your lead” Matt says with a motion up toward the crack. “Uhh, you won the rochambeau fair and square. We can just restack the rope” I respond quickly between breaths. “Besides I just climbed.” “Well your on top of the pile and have all the gear.” I look down at the half ropes stacked neatly at his feet on the small ledge. “That last pitch was pretty awesome, you should just go for it” he insists. I clove hitch into the anchor and look up at the soaring fist crack and roof. I feel the knot in my stomach tighten. For me there has always been an aura around Black Elk. “ First ascentionist Jeff Lowe described their June 1979 ascent of the route in the 1980 American Alpine Journal: ” It has a little of everything; face-climbing, laybacks, cracks of all sizes and … Continue reading →
Finishing a course is usually a mixed blessing for me. Life is decidedly simpler in the mountains or out at the crag. The simpleness of living and working is one of the reasons that I truly enjoy what I do. Sure re-rations might be late or students might get hurt or misbehave or weather might come in and lay its own plan on us, but the beauty of working in these often remote and harsh environments is that unlike in the front-country nothing distracts me from them. Finishing a course means the ability to distract. This little silver box that I sit in front of and endlessly stare at is one of the biggest. Conversations, work, relationships and projects, these are all things from which I distract myself. The color of the sky, the taste of a meal, the soreness after a workout, the taking care of someone, these things … Continue reading →
The large windows that make up the far end of the A Concourse at Denver International Airport afford a panoramic view. I sit at gate A52 en route to Lander and watch the setting sun splash red, orange, blue and purple hues across the sky, painting the taxiing airliners with its glow. Of course this is not where my plane boards. The dungeon below Concourse A is where one boards the flights to Riverton, WY. It is a white hallway with seats on the side. Usually not even a flight attendant is present to whom to ask questions. This stark, empty hallway is not just another stop on my journey across the west though, it is an indicator that I am almost home. Whether traveling from Tucson, Seattle, Manchester or Coyhaique the last stop on my journey is the Great Lakes Airlines gates on the ground level of Concourse A. … Continue reading →
“Hey Dane do you mind if Kyle and I climb a few pitches?” I ask as Dane descends from the Morning Glory Wall with a gaggle of students. The sun is quickly dipping behind the towers of the Smith Rock Group, casting castellated shadows across the golden tuff. “No not at all. You guys should go for it” he responds, pausing by the river before making the trek upstream and back to camp. “You need gear?” he asks. “Naw, we’re set” I answer quickly as Kyle and I set off back up the hill, intent on some sport routes. *** “I guess the vehicle situation makes it difficult to go climbing eh?” Dane asks as Mitch and I discuss the possibility. “Yeah, but I want to be prepared just in case” I respond, shoving a rope into my pack and tossing some draws to Mitch. We march down the hill, … Continue reading →
