My First AA Meeting

(The climb is the tower on the left)

My mother told me to be careful and she expressed her concerns. I told her I didn't think I was doing it that much and that when I did I was always in control, safe, and with others. Finally though it caught up with me and I decided to take some action. In the Moab desert Andre Wille and I went to our first AA meeting....

Ancient Art is a small tower of mud and cobble cemented together and standing with a prayer among other frozen columns of rock and grit. It's about 200ft of climbing broken into 4 pitches due to anchors, rope drag, etc...The last pitch is one of the most unique ascents I have ever partaken. After climbing a small wall you top out on what is known as the sidewalk. This is a strip of stone 2-3ft wide with about 300ft or so dropping off on each side. The sidewalk is about 12ft long and leads to the diving board. This is a beak of stone about stomach level that you must belly flop onto in order to make the next moves which lead to the summit. After an awkward high step and lounge you then have about 15ft of "noodle" to scramble and climb which leads to the summit point. This is a small pillar step about 2ft wide. Just enough stone to stand upon and feel the spook of the summit as the wind and swallows rush about your head.

Now Testify

Music with a message...please listen

Rage Against the Machine

Manu Chao

Anti-Flag

Desert River Rats: San Juan 2008

San Juan River
South East Utah

5 adults and 19 high schoolers
3 Rafts
6 kayaks

It was the annual Experiential Education week at Aspen High. Another teacher and I run a course called Desert River Rats, Raft Guide training. Our trip was 4 nights and 5 days on the River teaching kids how to raft and kayak. They learn how to read water, guide boats, rig boats, set up camp, cook, clean, and everything else their Mom usually does for them. Cara was a chaperone as well as Megan and Jared. It was great to have some family on the trip to help heard the students and relieve some of the stress. All the kids came home alive and not too emotionally wounded from Megan..ha! Until next year....

In Search of Sun

Late March and we had feet of snow still in the yard. The sun is what we needed to lighten the darkness of winter and so we headed South. Arizona was the solution to the March gloom and we packed the truck, loaded Finn, and we were off in search of some thing new...The places we visited were first Scottsdale to see a friend of Cara's. Then we drove to Prescott which is an awesome town with ample climbing, culture, and sun. After that was a drive through Sedona and Jerome; too much new age trustafarian vortex energy limited our stay to just a few hours. After that was BFE desert romping south of Winslow (yes like the Eagles song) to a climbing area called Jacks Canyon. We spent two days there and then headed off to Flagstaff. In Flagstaff we found the sweetest coffee shop and chilled around town like the good dirtbags we are. That night we slept in the woods outside of town. Flagstaff was cold and we had a hell of a windstorm that night. Next day we zipped it back to Basalt, back to the cold, and back to the routine of valley life.

Easter

Easter was different for us this year. We were with no family or friends. It was just us in our bunny suits dying eggs and breakfasting on jelly beans and Cadbeary Eggs. We took a long hike up the Persham Creek, a tributary to the Crystal. The valley has been on the verge of spring for a few weeks now, but winter will not release his grasp and snow showers have been frequent. Yet this easter day, Spring had the upper hand and delivered a beautiful day for a hike.

The Babe Bristle in action