Kyle V

Cookie Monster

2012-01-19T22:10:00.000-08:00

It has been a long while. I have been working way to much and not climbing enough. I stopped going to the gym. I don't train anymore. I started eating a lot of cookies. I feel like I need an overhaul and a restart. I need a good six weeks of insane training and then a trip or maybe two trips. In the meantime I have been mildly productive in the few times I have made it out. I also started playing with my little point and shoot camera. Here is a short video of a solo trip to the Montana Beef boulder resulting in an unexpected send. This is a great problem. Sharing the same start of this problem and then climbing left to finish on a V9 is still a great open project and a hard one to boot. I am coining it "Premium Cuts". If I wasn't so preoccupied with ice climbing, work, and eating cookies I would get out and try this. I also need to climb my long time nemesis project "Kung Fu Generator". I think I still have time this winter. First I have to stop eating cookies and get back on a program!

Recap of New Climbs

2011-10-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

Photo by Ben Herndon

It has been a long time, but I thought I would make a list of all the new boulder problems and routes I have climbed in the last two years. For the most part I have been in full work mode and in MT. Spending more time in MT I am happy to say I have come to the conclusion that there is always something fun and new to climb. It is not always as obvious or easy to find, but new lines always outnumber established ones. For me it is a matter of perspective. Even now I am amazed when we climb a new 5 star route or boulder that we have walked past or driven past for years. In addition, the local community finds a new wall or boulder cluster about every season of the year. We have what seems to me a never ending list of great climbs to do.

I would like to make a list of ALL the new routes in the greater Bozeman area, but for now these are the ones that I have put up.

Boulders

Vanilla Gorilla, V11, Yankee Jim

Shen Monster, V10, Whiskey Gulch

Vicious Delicious, V10, Yankee Jim

Gorilla Knife Fight, V10, Cascade Creek

Harmony in Ultraviolet, V10, Yankee Jim

Green Monster Sit, V10, Whiskey Gulch

Crocodilian, V9, Highlight Canyon

Loose Tuna, V9, Whiskey Gulch

Monkey Knife Fight, V9, Cascade Creek

Summer in Paradise, V9, Yankee Jim

DEL, V9, Whiskey Gulch

Capsule for One, V9, Whiskey Gulch

Crackodile, V8, Highlight Canyon

Mrs. Leslie, V8, Yankee Jim

Thunder Down Under, V8, Whiskey Gulch

Flush Sit, V8, Whiskey Gulch

Passage to Nagoya, V8, Whiskey Gulch

Haunted Mansion, V7, Cascade Creek

Get Lost, V5, Whiskey Gulch

Routes

Vincent, 13d/14a, Frog Rock

Occam's Razor, 13d, The Cube

Juice Box, 13b, Frog Rock

V Box, 13b, Frog Rock

Bi Winning, 13b, Squaw Creek

Active Desecration, 13a, Frog Rock

The Last Resort, 13a, Squaw Creek

ROUS, 12d, Squaw Creek

Kid Cowboy Sippin on Juice, 12c, Frog Rock

I am very excited that we have more people than ever out establishing new routes and boulder problems. I think the list of new routes in the greater Bozeman area is going to continue to grow fast in the years to come.

Thanks to everyone. Get out and have some fun on old classics, new lines, or your own find.

Joe's Valley

2010-11-28T09:27:00.000-08:00

My first time back to Joe's Valley in eight years. I remembered how good it was, but forgot about all the potential for new problems. This year it was fun to see all of the new lines and climb on some old classics. After a week and a half of bouldering all day long my body and fingers feel broken. I can't wait to return and try tons of amazing problems that we did not have enough skin or energy to try on this trip.

Camp fire, food, beer, and friends.

The claw taped back together.

Texas performing warm up squats. Jeff spotting.

Jeff's trickery includes the use of boot socks. I bet you never knew that!

Joe killing it on Chips. Eric spotting.

Jeff's feet are actually lighter than air. Another trick of his. "Chips"

Texas throwing a lap on Planet of the Apes. Jeff spotting.

So he doesn't break a collar bone or split his head open.

Jeff holding on to nothings and trying hard.

Texas holding on to nothings and smiling!? WTF

Party at Whiskey Gulch

2010-11-07T17:26:00.000-08:00

The day after Full Gravity Day X everyone gathered at Whiskey Gulch for fun in the sun and a little climbing. It was good to see everyone, but hard standing by and not partaking in the fun. I tweaked my finger in the competition and still don't know the extent of the damage. So I rested. NOT COOL!
Anyway, das pics.

Tammy lockin'em down on the Wave.

Jon bulldozing crimps on the Wave.

Teisha, SO AMPED FOR CLIMBING! (and after drinking a Red Bull)

Paparazzi "Show me magnum baby."

Mike floating Loose Tuna.

Jon using good foot work!? On Green Monster.

Molly crushing crimps on Green Monster.

Sam squeezing rock juice on Boogie Monster.

Round Two

2010-09-23T21:48:00.000-07:00

This last week I was back to Ten Sleep and Lander with Jon "Sup" Scott. We stopped for two days in Ten sleep and then headed to Lander for some steeper terrain. Both of us are in dire need of some overall climbing fitness. To overcome this gravity we decided to kick things up a notch by climbing all morning at the Wild Iris and then all afternoon at Sinks Canyon. The idea was to get our power on in the morning and then get pumped stupid in the afternoon. The plan seemed to work, but after a few days we are both ruined and in need of some rest. At the Iris I attempted Genetic Drifter and was super amped on the progress I was making this year. On the second to last day disaster struck in the form of a massive hole in my right middle finger. I am super excited to get a little more power endurance, heal up, and head back down to Lander to try this route some more.

Fall Colors

2010-09-13T11:11:00.000-07:00

Its fall again, and that means climbing. It is nice to be done with work and have some time to travel and climb with friends before I move on to my next working adventure. The last week and a half we visited Ten Sleep, Lander, and Logan Canyon for steep and not so steep pocketed limestone.
Lets just say I feel crushed from climbing. It is going to take some time to get back in shape. More to come.

Apparently we don't have to worry about finding happiness in our lives any more, it now comes in a bottle that you can get at the gas station. Fwwwwwwew makes me happy just thinking about it.

Summer in Paradise

2010-09-13T10:52:00.000-07:00

Well, summer came and went and I worked away as a chef at Mountain Sky Guest Ranch in the Paradise Valley, MT. It was fun, but it is time to move on to the next adventure. Below is a recipe for this spinach salad.

Spinach Salad with Balsamic Reduction, Sweet Walnuts, Blue Cheese, Marinated Red Onion, and Macerated Strawberries.

Reduction - Place two cups of Balsamic vinegar in a small pot and reduce it over medium low heat until you have 1/2 cup left in the pot. Keep warm.

Onions - Peel and slice a red onion and toss with enough balsamic vinegar to coat along with a pinch of salt and a large pinch of sugar. Let the onions marinate for at least 1/2 hour.

Walnuts - Place a cup of walnuts in a small pot and cover with water. Add a 1/2 cup of sugar, a pinch of salt, and a teaspoon of vanilla. Bring to a simmer for fifteen minutes and then strain. Spread the nuts out on a baking sheet and bake in a 300 degree oven until toasted. About 15 - 20 minutes.

Strawberries - Slice and toss with a light dusting of sugar. Let macerate for a half hour.

To Assemble - Place spinach in a large bowel and toss with a light drizzle of the balsamic reduction. Place strawberry slices in a circle on the plate. Pile some of the tossed spinach in the center of the strawberry circle. Top with some walnuts, onion slices, crumbled blue cheese, and drizzle more balsamic reduction over the salad.

Ten Sleep, Rain, and Lander

2010-05-31T07:50:00.000-07:00

I headed down to Ten Sleep for the weekend with some friends and arrived just in time for a whole night of rain. In the morning we woke up to more rain and in a fit of climbing desperation we drove to Lander in search of dry rock. BINGO! The weather and the climbing at Sinks Canyon was perfect. I am happy that we found some amazing climbs and good weather for my last weekend before work. Now I am off to the ranch to cook. Enjoy some Pics.

BJ on a project.

FA of "Taking The Pythons For A Walk"

"Pythons"

Me on the FA of "Taking The Pythons For A Walk"

The top of "Pythons"

BJ on a project.

The project...

Provolones

2010-05-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

When I was in Spain a month ago I came across an amazing cookie. It was called a provolones. A provolones is melt in your mouth goodness so to speak. So I have been planning on trying to make some of these cookies ever since Spain. As usual I found a few recipes and just picked the best looking one. I then did what I always do and that is to completely change the recipe. For these cookies you need flour, lard, sugar, almonds, and cinnamon. I of course decided to use flour, coconut oil, brown sugar, almonds, vanilla, and cinnamon.
They looked and smelled great, but I baked them at to high a temperature and I think the coconut oil behaved a little differently than lard. In other words, they did not end up as I wanted them to.
At some point I need to learn how to just fallow the normal recipe first, and then try to fiddle with it later.
The cookies still taste tasty, but the texture is not quite what I wanted.

Projects Galore and Bad Weather

2010-05-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

I start work for the summer one week from now and I am excited to do so, but now that I have the free time to climb I really want to be climbing. The weather has been as bad as it can possibly be for projecting and getting things done. I have been out to the "Cave" area a few days during bad weather bouts and I managed to climb a few new things. I also managed to complete the long standing arete project on the cube the other day. (no thanks to the weather) We woke up at 5am to get out before the rain. By 10am we where driving home and it was dumping. I am amped a few of my climbing friends are motivated to make things happen even if the conditions and circumstances are not ideal. Next up on the project list is a extension I bolted a few years ago and thought would be super hard. At the time I had other things to keep me busy, but now it is one of the last hard lines left for me to do. Yesterday I chalked it up, scrubbed the lichen off the crimps, and hung my draws. After looking it over I don't think it is going to be nearly as hard as I once thought. When I bolted it I didn't think I would be able to climb it. Now that I have motivation it seems very doable. So I am excited I have a hard project to work on and the whole weekend to go out and crush.
This morning I woke up to this.... crap.

Exploring

2010-05-22T10:20:00.000-07:00

I admit, I am surly not the first person the get excited about the bouldering potential In the greater Whiskey/Pipestone area. In the eight years I have lived in Bozeman I had only been out to boulder in this area once. I don't really know why I didn't get it that first time, but I guess I just didn't have the vision or the motivation the first time around. Since then, a couple groups of dedicated climbers have been out exploring and bouldering with every free day they have. When I returned to Bozeman after my two year absence my good friend Ryan was amped to show me some of his new finds at Whiskey. I have now been out to the mountain at least a dozen times. Every time I find new things and get more excited for the endless potential of hard bouldering. In the interest of finding hard new lines I have now found my motivation to make this area one of my main destinations. So far I have found or been shown around seven lines I am sure are V10 or harder. My guess is that we will continue to find lines like this every time we go out and with the help of others more familiar with the mountain this pool of hard projects will become massive. Now that summer is approaching it is a great time to explore, clean, and get some problems ready for this next fall/winter's temps. I have a feeling this next bouldering season is going to be a big one for new hard problems in MT. Time will tell.
Here are some pictures of interesting things I have stumbled across, some I have tried and some I have not.

Two holds on the face, a start jug, and and finish jug???

A 20 foot overhanging prow with perfect rock and two aretes. This is the coolest thing I have seen so far.

18 foot overhanging arete with holds!!!

The Kung Fu Generator project. I have put in five days and still no dice. This will be the hardest thing I have ever climbed if I can ever climb it.

Two holds on the face and the blunt arete??? (very tall)

For the ride home...

The Cube Arete Project

2010-05-16T23:01:00.000-07:00

I went up to the Cube today with Jon Scott and tried the Arete project some. This was my third day on it in the last month. It is a frustrating route to say the least. It is steep, exposed, technical, committing, and condition dependent. As if all this was not enough, every time it rains or snows every speck of chalk is washed off of the route. Being a very hard arete climb, you need to know where on the blunt arete you are going to be slapping. Trying to send it sans chalk is a big fat negative. It is never going to happen. So every time you have to make a trial run to re-chalk the whole thing. Then it is ready for climbing. As with every route on the Cube, the climbing feels at least a grade or two harder if the air temperature is above 50-60 degrees. I am not normally one to grip about conditions, but if you have ever tried to climb on the Cube when it is hot out then you know what I mean.
The route itself is technical power endurance climbing. From the second bolt to the top you have nowhere to shake or chalk and the crux is the last ten moves or so.
Today I fell off above the last bolt and only three moves from the top. Bummer, but I guess it is progress. I really hope it stays cool for a little while longer, and that it does not rain or snow this next week.
This will be one of the hardest lines around town when someone finally gets to the chains.

Two weeks ago I got a new pair of the new Five Ten Team shoes and so far I can't believe the difference they are making for me. I have climbed a couple bouldering projects almost right away with these new shoes, and today was my fist day climbing on the Arete project with them. Not only did I get a high point, the bottom of the route felt way easier and in part because my feet where bomber. This route has some very tenuous heel hooks, toe hooks, and toeing down on micro edges. All of the above felt rock solid with these new Five Ten shoes. If you think you are going to be doing any of those three things while climbing, then I really think you should check these out. They are quickly becoming my favorite shoe of all time for really hard and technical climbing.

Five Ten Shoes at Spire

2010-05-16T22:25:00.000-07:00

Brett and I ran a little shoe demo at Spire climbing center last Thursday and we had fun showing off some of the amazing shoes Five Ten offers.
Here are some pictures of the goods. Stay tuned for more opportunities to try on and climb in great shoes before you buy them.

Almost back to the Kitchen

2010-05-15T21:03:00.000-07:00

I only have a few more weeks until I will be back in a kitchen and cooking for the summer. I am looking forward to it and decided to take advantage of the great weather we are now having by grilling some lamb chops and vegetables.
I tried a new marinade and a new herb dressing. It all turned out great.

Project List for this Summer - IT IS TIME TO CLIMB!

2010-05-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

This is the list of some projects I am interested in for the summer. It is probably not complete. Every time I go out I climb one project and then find something new to add to the list.

"The Canyon"

The Fugitive, Songline, Der Fru Lowe, Rusty Nail, and any other cool lines I have not climbed.

"The Cube/Tower"

Parsimony Arete project 13c/d?, Tree of Life project 13+/14-?, and Top Heavy 13a/b

"Natural Bridge"

Luke's new project, my variation, and his alternate finish..... all three are sure to be at LEAST 13d to mid 5.14

Also establishing 20-30 new routes for this fall, I am amped on this and have already spied all of the lines. SO MUCH WORK TO BE DONE!

"Whiskey Gulch"

Chuck Norris project V11/12?, Kung Fu Hustle project V12?, Molecular Gastronomy project V11?, Hypercubic Body project V11?, and the Mean Green Boogie Machine V11?

Note: every time I go to Whiskey I find a new project........ so I am sure this list will keep growing.

"Beartooth Mountains"

I have been thinking about trying to establish a very hard multi-pitch alpine route this summer. I am planning on going out into the mountains on a couple weekends to see if anything catches my interest and to look around for new bouldering potential.

It is time to start getting it done......... that is a long list and it is only getting longer.

My batteries are charged and my motivation for MT climbing is higher than it has ever been.

Lets do this!

Graduation

2009-12-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

Chef it is...

Last days at L'Ecole

2009-12-18T13:13:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more dishes we dished up at L'Ecole.
Venison with white beans, sauteed apples, mache, and a lemon jam/ginger veal stock reduction.

Hickory smoked salmon on baguette with a lemon herb and caper cream cheese spread, red onions, pickle, arugula, and tomato. Served with onion fried green beans and home made ranch.

Fishy Fish

2009-10-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

A couple dishes I have been making at L'Ecole.

Branzino with ratatouille, tapanade, aioli, and fried tomato skin.

Cod, with a salt cod potato cake, smoky bacon tomato sauce, and a salad with roasted fingerling potatoes.

Pan seared salmon, arctic char, and scallops with clams, cucumber, watercress, and potato gratin. All swimming in a clam consomme.

Good day to be at L'Ecole

2009-10-15T18:29:00.000-07:00

Today I think we put out some great food.
I had a good time as well.
Our special dish for Thursday:
Herb ricotta gnocchi, wilted spinach, and sauteed oyster mushrooms, with a roasted macadamia nut cream sauce. Garnished with ground macadamia nuts, olive oil, fried tomato skin, and chopped herbs.

We also put out a chicken fricassee dish:
Chicken, roasted tomatoes, yellow and green squash, and radish. Garnished with fried sage.

Chef Mark showing us how its done.

Old school French..........he has crazy skills.

More Veggies

2009-10-14T13:37:00.000-07:00

Our dish for Tuesday.

Grilled eggplant with herb goat cheese, warm olive tapenade, rosemary oil, mixed greens with radish and carrot.

The pictures show two different plating variations.

Special Veggies

2009-10-12T16:31:00.000-07:00

This week my group of three has to come up with a special vegetarian plate each day to serve at L'Ecole. This is what we came up with today.

Zucchini tart with herb goat cheese, a toasted pine nut parmesan cream sauce, and a small salad with lemon vinaigrette.

Saucier

2009-10-05T18:59:00.000-07:00

This is what I do right now and where I do it. L'Ecole Restaurant.

Salty, Spicy, Sweet

2009-10-04T08:19:00.000-07:00

This is old hat, but I thought I should include it. A while back I made flounder three ways. The idea was to have three bites of flounder each in there own sauce. Each sauce representing salty, spicy, and sweet. In each case I made the sauce, poached the flounder in the sauce, finished the sauce, and garnished the dish.
It would be very cool to have a special tasting plate with three separate areas for the three bites.
The dishes are as fallows.

Simmered Flounder with Soy, Star Anise, and Poached Ginger (Salty) Red Curry Lon with Coconut Cream and Flounder (Spicy) Poached Flounder with Carrot Apricot Cardamom Puree and Basil Oil (Sweet)

Picture is of the Carrot Apricot Cardamom dish.

Cured Meat

2009-10-03T18:16:00.000-07:00

I love fermented foods. All of them. This is a Italian dry cured sausage I made at FCI. We cured it in a temperature and humidity controlled box for three weeks. It was made with pork butt, fat back, fennel, black pepper, red wine, curing salts, and fermentation culture. Next time, French Saucisson.

Idiot Check

2009-10-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

Last time I checked, (today) I am an idiot. These are the flowers I got for my ex-girlfriend. Obviously she wouldn't be my ex-girlfriend if flowers had anything to do with it. They didn't. I am a idiot and so she left me. To anyone who has been in a long term relationship and then been dumped, I am welcoming myself to the group. The last two weeks have been a blur. I am without inspiration, motivation, direction, or just good old "give a shit".

Now that the dust is settling from the demolition of my life I step forward.

The wind is blowing and there is a fork in the road.

Onward I go.

Yep

2008-07-28T10:40:00.000-07:00

Waiting for Fall

2008-07-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

The Temperature keeps rising and the days are long. All good things unless you want to climb local projects and are waiting for your super massive climbing trip in the fall. So I just keep crankin away, climbing when I can and training for the fall. Joe and I went back to Lander a week or two ago and had another great trip. The conditions where not great, but we both dispatched of some cool routes. I was able to put up a new link-up on the Rodeo Wave. It came to me in a fit of desperation and inspiration. One of the routes on the wall is not climbable because holds have broken off the first couple of moves. (Crux) At first I was confident that I would be able to figure out a sequence through the blankness, but after trying it on two separate days I gave in to the fact that it wasn't going to happen. It is a bummer, because the rest of the route is great. So in a fit of desperation I started to look to the left to see if you could boulder in to this route from the route to the left. This sounds obvious, but we are talking about a blank 45 degree steep limestone wall. Anyway I was able to clean off a FOOTHOLD!!! and use it to boulder out right and meet up with the second bolt of the route to the right.
Vwoooooola............new route. It ended up climbing really well. The sequence involves a new and HARD four move boulder problem to meet up with the rest of the route. So that was fun.
Back here in Bozeman I have tried my project at Natural Bridge one more day with no success. I was able to get a couple moves further in the crux sequence, but thats still a couple from being through the hard stuff. Lets just say the conditions are not good at all..........really. Its hot, humid, and there are millions of mosquitoes eating you alive in the canyon. It was a miserable day other than the fact that Joe and I put up a very cool new route. Its short, steep, burly, and on perfect blue rock. We threw up some bolts, worked it out, and I was able to climb it in a few tries. It is kind of a novelty route, but a good one none the less. As for the rest of the month and the beginning of Aug. I will just be packing up my stuff, climbing when I can, and training for the big trip. I can’t wait!!!

Summer Heat and Projects

2008-07-03T10:45:00.000-07:00

It is hot......to hot for hard climbing. At the same time, I have to climb a project of mine before I leave town in August. Not only is it good, it is probably the hardest climb in MT. The last time I went out to Natural Bridge it was way too hot and humid for climbing. I think an early morning session will be mandatory. Also, the river was crazy huge. Right now we are in high runoff season and the river is flowing over the top of the natural bridge. It is scary big. Note, the picture is of the water when it is just flowing under the natural bridge. Right now it is going over the top of the 100 foot cliff above that hole. Some kayaker just set a new world record by dropping the whole thing. Crazy!

Ahhhh Lander

2008-07-02T20:55:00.000-07:00

So I love Lander. Well, I love the climbing around Lander. It’s good........but don't tell anyone. The last two weekends I make the 6.5 hour drive from Bozeman to do some pocket yankin. Both weekends turned out to be great weather and great climbing. BJ got me excited to try a route I have always been hesitant to try. (Rodeo Free Europe 5.14a/b) I have seen him on it and it always looked sick hard. Never the less, I tried it out of curiosity and somehow was able to do all of the moves. The next day I was somehow able to redpoint it!(Lots of try hard) So that was a rad weekend. Then this last weekend I went back to the Erratic and tried Ghost Moon 5.13d and Heart full of Ghosts 5.14a I sent both on my second try without much sweat. This fall I am going back to Lander for a while and I am amped to try to dispatch of some of the really hard routes. Time will tell.

Rain On Me

2008-06-10T20:32:00.000-07:00

So it has been raining every day for the last month. (What a bummer)
I got out to Natural Bridge once and everything was wet, including my project. So, i hung some draws on it and climbed through the dry sections to check it out. It is super cool and super hard. I can’t stop thinking about getting back out there to try it, but everyday I wake up to more rain.
I have made it out to a few closer crags when the clouds clear out for a few hours. I climbed a project on the Cube a week ago, and I also climbed the last open project at the Bozeman Pass. This last Saturday I made it out to the Gallatin Tower and put up a new route. At first I didn't think it would be to bad, and then I tried it. It’s WAY HARD!!! Like 5.11 to a V9 boulder problem right at the end. (Just what I need, another project) The Photo's are of me in the upper crux.
Right now I have five projects I have bolted that need to be climbed. Please stop raining!!!

The Flow

2008-05-07T10:42:00.000-07:00

"To express yourself in freedom, you must die to everything of yesterday. From the "old", you derive security; from the "new" you gain the flow." - Bruce Lee

Monsters of the Deep

2008-05-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

This last Monday I made it back out to Natural Bridge to do some climbing with my friend Brandon. The objective was to climb my project on the Coral Reef Wall. The wall itself starts in a dry riverbed, but it is only dry in the fall/winter/spring. As soon as the mountain "run off" happens, the riverbed starts flowing. Considering its May and we have had a ton of snow this winter, I would say my days are numbered. I am surprised it isn't already under water. Conditions where good and I was able to climb the route on my second try of the day. The Coral Reef Wall overhangs by 15-20 feet and is perfect blue limestone. The route itself is superb! It is about 45 feet long and it consists of very sustained climbing on very small crimps. The crux deadpoint is near the top and it is hard to have enough left after bouldering through the lower sections. I think it might be in the 5.13c range and it is defiantly the best route i have ever put up. Since the base of the wall will soon be under water, i think i am finished with it for the summer. The routes on the wall are as fallows from left to right. Iricongi 5.12c, The Kraken 5.12c, Monsters of the Deep 5.13c, and Phytoplankton 5.12c.
Now I am moving on to my super project on the Antiquities wall. (90 feet of madness) I can't wait to get on it and see if it is even possible.

The right side of the Coral Reef Wall at Natural Bridge.

Orion Nebula

2008-05-07T10:01:00.001-07:00

Spring/Summer Projects

2008-05-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

The FA of Phytoplankton, 5.12c at Natural Bridge, in February

Last fall in a fit of "stuck in Montana desperation", I drove out to the Boulder River Valley to look for some rock to climb on. Unlike all of my other ventures to find rock, this one proved to be successful. So, I have been spending a good deal of time asphyxiating my kidney’s while hanging off the side of a cliff establishing new routes. The area could hold many very hard routes. Currently I have two projects. The first seems to be in the 5.13+ range and the second.......mmmmmm hard. Time and in this case the weather will tell. It is hard to be out climbing projects when you wake up to fresh snow every other day.

Odyssey of an Old Soul

2008-05-01T08:26:00.000-07:00

The old soul wandered the length and breadth of the spiritual universe. The soul was wise, for it had lived in the minds of the great thinkers of the world. The soul was deep, for its wealth of human experience could fill a bottomless lake. The soul had great power, born of knowing itself through countless lives of introspection. In the realm of no-time, there are many new souls; they leave often to live in the human world. But the old soul lingered in the ethereal nothingness, awaiting the call of a special corporeal host. It happened that the heart and mind of a young boy cried out for the attention of the old soul. The immortal guest would once again grace mankind with his wisdom and compassion. For a mere thirty-two earthly years the soul burned with a passionate, mysterious power. Energizing the young man's search for truth, liberating an unparalleled creative and spiritual force. The twin captains of knowledge and wisdom were well served by the old soul's mortal tenure, for The soul of an artist dwelt among us for an imperceptible moment in the span of time. Never in vain, for, in the wake of this old soul's odyssey, a legacy of insights was recorded To enrich the heart and mind, and perhaps to age the soul, of one who dares to gaze into the mirror of real life.
By Linda Lee Cadwell