Category Archives: People

Council

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Power for a new Montana.

This past weekend, one year ago, I drove out to Montana from Portland to attend the 2011 AERO Annual Meeting.  The drive felt familiar from ice climbing trips, and the landscaping was just as stunning as I had remembered it from previous trips.  If you’ve been following, you know that the trip in 2011 was different, because the only trip back to Portland was to collect my belongings and say goodbye.

Welcome.

This past weekend, I drove a little further east to Lewistown, Montana, to attend the 2012 AERO Annual Meeting.  Driving across the beautiful Montana landscape, I remembered AERO being introduced to me as “a tribe”, and the Annual Meeting, our highest council. Our tribe is that of sustainable living, and while we are far between on the vast landscape, our bonds are strong.

Senator Jon Tester opens the morning by video-conference. We had a nice little chat about energy conservation…

Measurement and verification data from regenerative grassland practices using cattle. Compelling.

I wish I could stick links in the photo captions, but I can’t.  Jim Howell from Grasslands LLC and The Savory Institute uses cows to heal land (and feed people).  I used to think that sustainable ranching was an oxymoron.  Now I think it might be the only thing that could actually fix our North American eco-system.

I love Jeff and Betsy Funk.  They might be two of the most influential people I’ve met in Montana.  I’ve got to figure out how to spend some time with them without making significant financial contributions to AERO (which I did, again…)

One of Jeff Funk’s amazing tools, up for the live auction. I’ll be headed back to make some more.

I’m not sure if people expected to see me again, but they welcomed me as if they did.  There was a certain sense of pride in connecting with people I had not seen since last year, and sharing that I had indeed found my place in Missoula, in Montana.  We shared successes and failures, and hopes and dreams- and more than anything, when this tribe gets together, we have a really, really good time.

Caption Unnecessary.

Blink

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It’s snowing in Missoula tonight- and while I am actually unreasonably excited about that, it feels like fall disappeared in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, rock climbing is never out of season.

I hit the farmer’s market on Saturday, then boogied to Mill Creek with Ky. The forecast wasn’t exactly inspiring.

Pre-snowstorm.

Things you don’t want to see while on route.

Climb faster Ky, it’s cold down here.

Ky took the first lead on his sexy new Sterling rope, and despite his freezing extremities, turned right around, pulled the rope, and handed me the sharp end. They were my draws, so up I went. It was blowing snow steadily as I rapped down, and we headed for home after one route.

I almost didn’t head out again Sunday, but the skies looked much nicer. I had hoped to get out with Steve again, but he was being a responsible adult (taking care of his house, spending time with his amazing son), so I met some other fine folks that I haven’t climbed with nearly enough. Mostly though, I almost backed out because these kids climb hard. Harder than me, and harder than most of the people I climb with. While I’ve been trying to push my grades on my own, there’s no better way to really step up than going out with a motley crew of folks that really expect quite a bit more from you. I was sincerely glad I went, because we had a perfect day on our own private crag at Bass Creek…

Cole gets up close and personal on an obscure trad line.

Mr. Sulock sorts out the sequence.

We made sure my new rope worked when I headed up the 11b, but the support of stronger climbers goes a long way, and after grabbing a draw (to avoid a really nasty fall into a horizontal knife), I pulled the rope and fired the moves on the second try.

Your’s truly on the classic thin traverse from arete to crack system… (photo by Michael Sulock)

We all wrapped up on a stupid fun arete climb and was home in time to cook for the week and do some non-profit work. As much as I will miss rock climbing season, it’s just about time to swing my tools…

 

 

Richer

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Waterworks birthday hike. Richer for sure.

Older, wiser… whatever.  Looking at my life on my 28th birthday, the most important thing that I can say is that my life is richer.  I have no doubts about the quality of people that I spent Friday night with, or the remainder of my weekend.  The over-committed state of my life hit hard on Monday morning, but frankly, that’s okay with me for now.

The Super Nova at Big Dipper Ice Cream. Feeds 9 easily.

Sometimes, birthdays entail more than one dessert, and sometimes I’m okay with that.

The roommates did not miss the occasion.

I had lined up plans to chase one more long alpine line on Saturday with Ky, but the weather did not cooperate.  Intermittent drizzle and dark skies meant that Ky and I were out to rescue some gear he had left on a route in Blodgett Canyon earlier this week.  That said, it was a perfect use of the day, and we came back with all the gear he lost, plus some.

Maybe grey skies make the fall colors stand out even more?

We hiked to the top of Shoshone, found significantly colder, windier conditions on the valley floor, and rapped into get the gear.  Unlike the last time Amanda let me steal Ky for the day, I got him home in time for dinner.

Just playing with the rock toys.

I finally got to the birthday workout on Sunday morning, and then headed out to share my love of the vertical with several close friends that were new to the ropes.  Jake tied in for the very first time ever, Emily ticked her second lead ever, and Tabby was just all good energy all afternoon.  I should probably pay attention to how much I enjoy teaching climbing to other people…

We are slowly introducing Jake to all the dark backcountry arts.

Clark Fork at Alberton, October 14, 2012. Perfect.

No, I didn’t send anything hard, but the day was a beautiful reminder that it is often the climbers more than the climbing, that make this facet of my life just so rich.

Everything

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It is my favorite season.

“I like your life here Skander.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Margaret and I were driving back from a perfect day of rock climbing in Mill Creek, and her observation, like her visit, helped flush away some of the chaos that I’ve been keeping at bay lately.  How do you describe a weekend that encompasses every conversation, every part of yourself, all of your past, all of your future?  Well, it was Friday noon through Tuesday morning, but everything is a lot.

Home grown tomatoes at the PEAS Farm

Margaret and I met at Northwestern while working to push sustainability into the engineering school agenda.  Her intelligence, tenacity, and unlimited joy were obvious from the start, but I never suspected how our friendship would grow.  After Northwestern, Margaret moved to Alaska and my subsequent expeditions were always bookended with homemade bread, midnight sunsets, and time with her and her amazing boyfriend in their cabin in Palmer.  We share common dreams for sustainable business, social services, and food systems.  We pursue common goals for introspection, self-enrichment, and service to others.  She was the last of my summer visitors this year, and early October celebrated her visit with clear skies and perfect temperatures to enjoy the best of Missoula.

Topping out one of Margaret’s first real rock climbs.

First Friday, climbing at Mill Creek, hiking on Mt. Jumbo, visits with farmers, were a perfect introduction to Missoula, but under all of it, the real highlight was in the conversation that never seemed to stop.  Margaret doesn’t mince words, pull punches, or let questions go unasked- and neither do I.  More than anything else, our friendship is rooted in a clear deep openness, and we didn’t waste the short time we had together.  The questions she is able to ask helped me verbalize some emotions that I haven’t been able to express, and to admit some feelings that I haven’t been able to face.  Some visitors I’ve had have made me wonder why I’m making life happen here, but showing Margaret around Missoula made me realize how well this place fits my life- or perhaps, how well my life fits my life, here.

Boulder, Colorado

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My mind is not on getting this posted tonight, but more on that towards the bottom.  Participating in the PassiveHouse conference last week left no time for writing.  My trip was sponsored by the fine folks at Zola European Windows, and I had a very good time both at the conference (in downtown Denver), and romping around more colorful places, like Boulder.

Zola- the only folks I know that can make a R-10, triple pane, 19′ wide sliding glass door (thanks to my boss for modeling).

Surprisingly, I’ve never spent much time there, but Boulder is kinda hilarious.  The outskirts feel more like most little western mountain towns- copious outdoor recreation, lots of very fit people and fancy bicycles, and a Walmart here and there.   But downtown is more unique- trust fund hippies play guitar next to the Gucci storefront, and the smell of gourmet, organic, fresh ground coffee is overwhelming.  There is public bike sharing, and an amazing vintage theater.  Half of me wants to move there, and the rest of me knows to stay away- but probably just because I wouldn’t feel unique anymore.

Classic (damn street lamp ruins my photo).

The theater architecture was nice, but the line-up was unbelievable…

There is something about being in an unfamiliar place that allows me to step away from myself.  My view of things around me becomes more detached, and more objective- my normal introspective investments drop away in pursuit of new-ness.  Seeing new people in new places, reminds me that we are just people- doing whatever it is that we do.  Our individual heartbreak or triumph becomes far less important in a crowd of strangers.  Part of this blog is about the search for the most authentic version of ourselves, and when no one around you knows (or particularly cares) who you are- its fun to take the opportunity to be exactly who you want.

In between professional responsibilities, I enjoyed a session with some like minded outdoor folk at the Alpine Training Center, and caught dinner with my friend Jen, who drove all the way from Greeley just to make it happen.

Home away from home.

The conference was certainly valuable- lots of practice talking about what I do, seeing some really cool projects (the Marshall project), learning new stuff, and making new connections.  It was also hilarious to realize my own cousin was also presenting- we had a very good time catching up on the past 5 or 6 years since I’ve seen him, and I really appreciated his presentation on the Thousand Homes Challenge.  It always takes a while to see what shakes out of these sort of things, but the vibes were good, and some of the interactions were… unique.

5 people debating the merits of a window detail. Only at a PassiveHouse conference.

Stand and deliver. My cousin gets it done.

By Sunday afternoon I had as much PassiveHouse as I could actively take-on and was grateful to meet a good friend and former co-worker from Portland for dinner and a local jazz jam.  It’s been a while since I put my name on a list and sat in on bebop tunes, but it’s amazing how the changes still come back.

The previous commentary about feeling detached is at odds with my mood tonight.  I went to invite some friends together for this weekend on facebook, only to notice that one of them seemed to evaporate.  Just like anything else, the social utility is just as good at taking people apart as putting them back together.  With all the traveling and dedication to task at hand, it’s pretty obvious I’ve got a fair amount of work to do at home as well.

Love

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It’s a topic that I’ve kept off of this blog, but this post has been under my skin all week.  Perhaps I’ve avoided it here by choice, or out of respect for the theme, but if the purpose of the space is to offer the opportunity to examine my life- then it’s only fair to admit that the topic has been on my mind lately.

I won’t pretend to have a good handle on love, in fact, my brother probably puts it best – “romantic relationships seem to have a particularly strong negative effect on your normally sound judgement and careful decision making.”  He’s right, romance tends to bend me out of shape worse than any alpine sufferfest.  Maybe that’s why I’ve found myself rolling solo much more than a duo- but this is not really about romance, it’s about love.

Love is what you share when you are more excited about what you have to give someone than what you might receive from them.  Love is what you accept when being around someone compels you to be the very best version of yourself and no one else.

Thank you to those of you who have recently asked me to be more discerning about what this word really means.

“Love is not sincere until every vestige of feeling that somebody owes us something is surrendered.” (Michael Booth)

Pack It In

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I’m catching up on my adventure stories tonight, because frankly I’ve been packing it in this summer.  Per my previous post, my good friend Dustin was in Missoula from August 16-22, and per our usual style, we packed it in.  Highlights included rock climbing at Kootenai, floating the Clark Fork, and rad 3 day backpacking trip between Kootenai canyon and Big Creek Canyon- covering ~37 miles in ~48 hours, with a 6 mile technical ridge scramble in the middle.  Dustin has a way of compelling me to step up and be a better version of myself in a way that few other people do- and he usually does it just by being himself.  I’ll let the photos tell the story:

It’s been a while since Dustin’s been on the ropes, but his knots still look good.

Clear views of some sweet faces on night 1.

Psyched to be in the Bitterroot high country- just such a fun place to play.  We spent most of the day scrambling the ridge on the left.

Yes, we have matching visors. My old one went missing, and Dustin wanted a piece of Montana… (photo by Dustin).

Big Creek Lakes may hold some first ascent possibilities- if you want to haul your gear 14 miles…

Dinner was just that good.

On the way out (photo by Dustin).

A huge thank you to my dear friend for making the trip out here, and continuing to be a driving force for many good things in my life.

Nothing

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I called my grandmother tonight to celebrate her birthday.  She’s the sharpest, and most gracious 92 year old woman I know, and I look forward to knowing her for many more years.
Later tonight, my friend Dustin reminded me of something my grandfather (my grandmother’s late husband) used to say:

“Nothing, is going to spoil this day.” (C. Raymond Carlson)

It’s funny how things get screwed up in your head sometimes, and this was a welcome perspective.  More to follow on the most recent adventures…

Dustin, deep in the Selway-Bitterroot…

Wafflestompers

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It was the first thing out of my mouth. I don’t know why- but the guy on the dock asked us for a team name and it just tumbled out. I’m not even sure I really know what a wafflestomper is, but one thing for sure, we were all ready to stomp some waffles at the end of this adventure.

Idaho baby- where dew freezes to ice on the outside of your sleeping bag in August…

I got to share a rope with two incredible people at one of the most incredible alpine crags anywhere this weekend. Ky and I have been trying to line up for weeks so this felt a little overdue- and I’ve been looking forward to sharing a rope with my friend Linda since we first met in May while she was in Missoula for work. We headed south to Stanley, Idaho on Friday afternoon with visions of pink granite on our minds, and forest fire smoke in our eyes. A little road construction meant we didn’t catch a boat across Redfish Lake until Saturday morning, but we didn’t mind the extra time to admire Linda’s sprinter van and pack far too much rock gear for the weekend.

Keep your puffy coat handy…

I had been to the Elephant’s Perch once before and was eager to try some of the more interesting lines- especially with two other solid trad climbers. I wasn’t exactly sure how climbing as a team of 3 would work, but I was certain that I had the right people and we were headed for fun. By the time we finished the burly approach, and given that Linda had driven 1,200 miles to make the trip happen, she was happy to hold down camp while Ky and I wandered out for a few pitches on Saturday afternoon- “scouting” for Sunday.

We set off for the bottom of the “Astro Elephant” route with maximum enthusiasm and minimum intelligence. I hadn’t read the route description nearly well enough- but after 1hr 15min of wandering in the wrong direction, a nice couple with the guidebook set us on the right course, and we boogied to the base of the route. We made short work of getting off route on some of the stoutest 5.10 trad climbing I’ve ever experienced.

That’s Ky, following me off-route and off-width. Classic.

So it’s less than vertical in one direction, but more than vertical in the other…

At least I found a pretty belay?

We had started with the intention to do the first 4 pitches, and then come back to fire the whole route Sunday. It didn’t quite work that way. As this was Ky’s first experience with real multi-pitch alpine climbing, he learned an important lesson “respect old school ratings.” We were thoroughly worked when we got back to camp, and quickly modified our plans, deciding to climb The Mountaineers Route as a team of 3.

I didn’t get many photos of the beginning of the route (cause I was leading it), but I had done the route two years ago so I felt a little more confident about what we were headed into Sunday. I enjoyed handing over the sharp end to Ky and Linda to enjoy the solid splitters and featured faces of fine pink granite that became our playground for the day. We knew we needed to catch the boat back across the lake at 7pm, but we put the focus on having fun and enjoying the route. The mission of having fun at least, was accomplished in full.

Linda styles the “Triple Roofs traverse” on Pitch 4.

Ky finds his groove on the upper slabs of Pitch 5.

We climbed steadily, but swapping leads in a team of 3 demands careful rope management, and Ky was starting to deal with some unexpected intestinal problems, and our pace slowed. I was starting to bite my teeth as Linda worked her way through the pitch 7 crux:

Charging the crux off-width means so much more when you are 5’1″… respect.

We topped out with the sinking realization there was no way we would make the 7pm boat back to the car, nor the 5 hour drive back to Missoula for work in the morning. We finished off some wild boar sausage (so good you should bother to click the link) and enjoyed the colors.

Enough said.

Last looks.

We moved as best we could. Ky continued to battle some serious health issues, Linda and I loaded up with weight, and we boogied down the valley in the dark. After being on the move for 13.5 hours, walking another 6 miles back to the car with our climbing packs was out of the question. We crashed on the beach and wondered what our apologies would sound like in the morning.

Homeward.

A shuttle boat showed up promptly at 8am, and we were in cell phone service by 830am, which was about 8 hours after Ky’s loved ones had called the local sheriff…

Significant others, bosses, clients were quickly phoned from Stanley and things worked out shortly. Ky and I quickly pointed north and Linda continued south- all of us with professional commitments on our minds.

So we spent an extra night out. No one got hurt, went hungry, or was ever in any real danger. We all missed a few hours of work, nothing else. I made some bad judgement calls, and perhaps volunteered our team for more than we could chew. We learned some stuff. That said, I don’t regret any of it, and am so grateful and so psyched to have shared such an beautiful weekend out with such beautiful people.

Jamming

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A number of rare circumstances were in alignment the past few weeks, and while the time has been brimming with awesome, it’s kept me away from writing.  Maybe that’s a good thing?  It started almost two weeks ago.

I don’t really care how you feel about Obamacare (or the Affordable Care Act of 2010).  Healthcare in this country has a lot of issues, and I don’t pretend to understand them.  Check out Keith’s blog for far more insight than I can muster.  One issue I do understand is accountability, and the fact that healthcare is a unique product and in a unique market- and because of that, I believe it needs some very careful regulation and standards for accountability.  One fun fact of ACA is that if your insurance company doesn’t spend 80% of the premiums they take from individuals on actual patient care, they have to refund you  the difference.  Time Insurance Company, with whom I had insurance last year while traveling, only spent 71.8% of premiums on patient care.  So, I came home from a day of insulating attics and got a check for 8.8% of the premiums that I paid them.  This is corporate accountability.  This is a good thing.

Who likes getting their money back?  Me and a check from Time Insurance.

So that was cool…

Then my friend Maggie from Portland stopped in for a few days.  I knew it was about to be hectic, but Maggie is one of the most easy going people I know, and after many nights crashed on her couch last year, I was grateful to return the favor.  Suffice to say we had too much fun to take any photos, and part of that was because the Strangled Darlings also arrived a day later from Portland.  They are some of my favorite people to make music with.

Wednesday night we jammed until Thursday.  Thursday we ate and drank until Friday.  Friday we jammed on the street in the afternoon, ate in the evening, and played music until Saturday.  Poor Maggie finally got fed up with it and finished making her way to Bozeman, where I look forward to visiting her this winter ;D

Two local tango instructors turned more than a few heads tearing it up on the patio…

Saturday we started playing music at 4pm- and one way or another, between myself, my friends with Border Affair (a little music ensemble I play with here in Missoula), and the Darlings, we didn’t stop making music until Sunday.  A huge thanks to Draughtworks Brewing for having us out and letting us make some noise.  Somehow we got free tacos from the taco truck out on the street, otherwise we might have perished.  The staff mentioned that in 8 months of hosting live music, no one had gotten people dancing like we did.  It was a very good time.

A huge thank you to everyone who came out to Draughtworks.  Huge thanks to Jess for hosting the after-party.  And, somewhat sheepishly, huge thanks to Steve for waiting until 11am on Sunday morning to go rock climbing…

Photo courtesy of Steve Cundy + Instagram.

Steve yet again showed me another Bitterroot rock climbing gem at Big Creek.  You have to rally up a gnarly Forest Service road to get there, but there’s a perfect old school 5.10a stembox and a bunch of fun bolts to crank.  My hand is finally starting to feel good again, and plans are brewing for an excellent weekend.