SPRING 2019 CLIMBING PLANS: A Tale of Two Mountains...

Mountains. Looking back on journeys to these wild places and looking ahead to those to come, I wonder why I'm drawn to their rocky, snowy slopes and why I consciously succumb into their folds. Is it the unharnessed, unpredictable wildness of these places in a world that feels increasingly 'pre-meditated, staged and controlled'? Is it the people I meet along the way – their hardy, weather-beaten faces etched with signs of a life lived raw and...

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The People You Meet Along The Way: Biscuits and Tea in Thame

The magic of Nepal isn’t just about the Himalayas. There’s also magic to be found in the hillsides of the soaring mountain peaks. I was reminded of this today as I started down a rabbit warren of photographs looking for ‘epic climbing pictures’ from my adventures in the mountains for an upcoming presentation.  The more I looked for ‘epic pictures’ the less I felt connected. And I began to wonder why. Why was it that an exercise that...

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The People You Meet: "Where are you 'at'?

A friend recently reached out and asked where I was ‘at’. His use of quotation marks meant he wasn’t looking to hear that I was at Starbucks ordering a double-shot latte. The question made me pause, self-check and think - the reaction which met the questions intended purpose. Where was I ‘at’, really? The question was timely and insightful. I’d slowly fallen into a cycle of chasing opportunities and experiences without much thought....

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