Why are the outdoors and so many of its brands so white? In this essay I ask those questions, and try to provide a couple of answers. (This is a repost from 2019)
Tag: Climbing
To Be, or Not to Be… Prepared
I had prepared for everything: food, snacks, extra clothing (layers), the elements, hydration. Everything but the terrain.
Level II Fun (Part 2): Out of the Pain Cave, Into the Light
If you’re new to this blog and haven’t yet read Level II Fun, Part I, you might want to go back and do so. This post picks up where the last one left off. For those returning to the blog, recall that I had had a very bad day on Mt. Tom, was sunburnt, dehydrated,…
In Through the Out Door: How Going Out Into Nature Leads Us In to Our Truest Selves
Why do people go outside? I mean, besides the obvious, like having to go to work or move from the house to some other point in the world. What draws those of us inspired by nature out? Why do some people choose to suffer through freezing rain, sleet, sub-zero temperatures: or risk injuries that range…
Mountain Madness: The Limits of Human Endurance and Lessons the Mountains Teach
I was running down the mountain as fast as I could, while still being safe, trying to quickly return to the car to retrieve water so that I could hike back up the mountain to deliver some much-needed hydration to Logan. Then, I heard it. A shrieking howl piercing the wilderness, tearing through the trees…
John Salathé: A Brief History of Yosemite’s First Climbing Legend: The Early Years
For anyone who becomes interested in the history of climbing in America, it won’t be long before they come across the name John Salathé. Certainly, anyone who considers themselves a serious climber or an armchair student of climbing history will have heard the name, even if it’s only from the namesake wall making up the…
A Monster Hike: Arethusa Falls and Frankenstein Cliffs
I had to stop to breathe; this mountain was kicking my ass. The slopes at the base of the cliffs were talused, debris-filled, and more resembled sand than soil. Trees and rocks tenuously clung to the side of the mountain and every step was an effort not to tumble down the side of it. Grasping…
Dirtbag Dreams: Fantasy vs Reality
(Cover Image: Fred Beckey) Virtually anyone who climbs, has ever picked up a climbing magazine, seen Reel Rock, or any YouTube video on climbing, knows the term “dirtbag”. The general public uses this term as one of derision to describe someone who might otherwise be a lowlife, good-for-nothing bum; but in the climbing community one…
Who the Fuck is Brad Gobright?
UPDATE: I am saddened to learn of the death of Brad Gobright on Wednesday, 27 June, 2019. Gobright fell to his death climbing in El Potrero Chico, Mexico. The following piece was posted on June 18, 2018. Rock and Ice Magazine has the details of the accident here. The following essay appears as it did…
Mountain Buddha: The Origin Story
I never pictured myself as a blogger. After graduate school, most of the writing I did, when I did it, revolved around literary criticism. That was the original plan: get an MA, work as an adjunct for one, maybe two years, then apply to a Ph.D. program somewhere to finish up my education and get…
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