I've been on a unique road this past year. My decision to take a year's leave of absence from good ol' Mercyhurst has entailed moving a sizable chunk of my office at the college, packing up the entire household, moving everything into a newly built storage unit in my basement, renting out my condo, packing for the year and then packing for specific long-term trips, driving cross-country with all my gear and toys strapped to my car, setting up a base of operations in Colorado at my brother's house, and so on. No wonder my head is still in the spin cycle. But all is well.
I've been hiking, biking, and training here in Colorado and in the Cascades in preparation for the first big trip of the year. Got in a couple of 14ers--Mt. Yale (14,202 ft) and La Plata Peak (14,336 ft)--in Colorado and also did some glacier work and ice climbing on Mt. Baker (10,781 ft) in the North Cascades of Washington.
And now in just two days time I will be flying to Kathmandu, Nepal, by way of lovely Newark and then Delhi. The primary goal is to climb Ama Dablam (22,494 ft), the Eiger of the Himalayas. It is a classic mountain in every way imaginable. It's shape, prominence, beauty, and technicalities all call out to be admired and, hopefully by some, climbed.
I will be climbing with Eric Larson, a guide from Telluride, CO, who has summited Ama four previous times. I climbed the Grand Teton with him last year. Our group consists of just the two of us, but there will be larger teams and up to 100 other climbers heading up and up and up to make the same attempt.
Not sure about how able I'll be to add additional posts and pics while in Nepal. And this is my first go doing a blog...so stay tuned.
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