I was 23 when I first lost a friend to the mountains. His name was Paul. He was a school teacher in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, loved telemark skiing, his wife, Jess, and their dog, Mica. He wore a Hawaiian shirt to his wedding shortly before dying in an avalanche in the Tetons on March 10th, 2007, just before his 25th …
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“I travel across the skin of the earth, much like a blade of grass, held gently, travels across my skin. I imagine my hands and my feet moving over the ground in such a way that the earth finds sensuous. I feel her playful pinch in the sharp plants that I pass. I feel her desire in the heat of …
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I’ve been wandering the mountains for a good part of my life. In fact, I’ve built most of my life among the summits and the euphoric experiences they offer. I derive my livelihood by moving through the mountains, and there was a time when the argument could have been made that, simply put, this was the entire purpose of my …
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My heavy boot balances on a small ledge just below the crest of the knife-edge ridge. Before fully weighting each step, I check my footing by gently tapping the rock. A misplaced step or broken hold would send me tumbling down the cliff. With a 70-pound pack throwing off my balance, I strain to move without tipping sideways. Finally the …
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AdventuresNW
