I just wrapped up a climbing trip with friends in Indian Creek, Utah. South of Moab, the area is a classic for climbers and features some of the most stellar sandstone crack climbing imaginable. The continuous cracks are perfect for a blind climber, so my buddies decided to give me the lead—meaning they let me go up the wall […]
Goldmine I’d heard the name “Bugaboos” long before I ever set foot in the range, and even longer before I stood atop the incredible South Howser Tower. The story goes that early miners came here looking for gold, silver, maybe some rich mineral veins to strike it big. They found nothing. Frustrated, they called the […]
The Wyoming Ice Festival was the BESTIVAL – thanks, Aaron Mulkey (aka @coldfear)! Friends, if you love ice climbing, Wyoming Ice Festival is a great grassroots community event. Cody and the South Fork of the Shoshone River is such a unique, tight-knit kind of place, where frozen waterfalls in the mountains seem as common as the cattle […]
Like others who are blind, much of how I understand the physical world is literally shaped by touch. I recently sat down with Ability Magazine to talk about losing my eyesight and finding ways to “alchemize” it into meaningful achievements in my life. It’s also Braille Literacy Month, and so I wanted to highlight a […]
My friend George Basch was an extraordinary man. I admired him deeply. Sadly, he passed away this year (aged 86), and I know the world will continue to miss his big heart and immense impact, especially as the founder of The Himalayan Stove Project, where I was fortunate to serve on his advisory board for […]
It’s a dream of every NPR nerd to have the voice of Peter Sagal from Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! on their voicemail, and even luckier to join the show live! So you could imagine my delight when I was asked to be the headliner for the “Not My Job” segment on June 20. The […]
I recently returned from an epic annual gathering with a 15-year legacy. It’s organized by Dirk and Nancy Tyler and their families, with friends Malcom and Karen Daly, Mark Kroese, Matt Compton, Greg Mills, Josh Friedman, Jeff Buhl and others — an assemblage of dirtbags converging on this backcountry paradise for an unforgettable week of […]
I’m thrilled to share that Soundscape keeps winning awards at national and international film festivals, including the Creative Excellence Award at Banff Mountain Film Festival, Best Climbing Film at Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival, and Best Picture at Wild & Scenic Film Festival. Most recently, we even screened to a packed audience at the first Outside Festival in Denver, CO! This […]
Earlier this spring I was invited to speak at a beautiful business and community event in Santiago, Chile. The host was CMPC, a Chilean packaging and paper company, and the event was emceed by Rodrigo Jordan, the first Chilean to summit Everest and a friend of friends. It was a spectacular venue and a packed […]
Exploring a Maritime Land of Snow and Ice Alaska is the land of legends and I’ve always wanted to go ice climbing on the storied steeps of Valdez. I joined friends, Dr. Olga Dobranowski and Sarah Fritz, a practicing nurse, to explore this maritime land of snow and to our excitement, amazing ice climbing. Valdez […]
