Bouldering Next to a Railroad Track in Pittsburg

So I had a choice to either climb at a local rock gym or go bouldering next to railroad tracks...the decision wasy easy...the railroad of course! While visiting one of my best friends in Pittsburg, her climbing friend suggest a local spot where he trains. We walked maybe 200 feet on the railroad track and then next to it was a 25ft wall of stone. I can best describe it as one of those walls they set up to mitigate the noise levels of traffic or in this case an oncoming train.

When I asked how he found the place, he stated that a climbing buddy of his had been riding his bike around town and saw it as a fun thing to climb. He spent a few weekends cutting away all the weeds and overgrowth surrounding the wall. Then made it into a secret spot for him and his friends to use as practice near their homes. They were only stopped a few times by police questioning what they were doing on the tracks....oh and they mentioned something about government property. Oh wellz...

While we were there, only one train passed by us and the conducter tooted his horn and waved. The climb was pretty technically difficult due to the few and far apart holds in the wall as well has minimal grooves to put your feet on. By the end of the climb, all our fingers were raw from crimping.

I guess this experience goes to show that you can literally climb ANYTHING.

Climbing the Rockies

My trip to Calgary was a two part mission. I went to see my awesome friend Danni and to experience climbing outside on some real rocks. Calgary was beautiful and warm. The people reminded me why I love Canada...every one is so friendly here. On Saturday morning, I went with Danni and her friends to Heart Mountain in Kananaskis Park (K-Country). The first climb was a 5.7 on the smoothest friggin thing I've ever climbed. Many a times I just wanted to give up because my legs were shaking and I couldn't find a single thing to hold onto. Looking down would remind me of my life being dependent on a lil piece of rope. Thank god Kat is an awesome belayer. Eventually I made it up. I can say that this was definitely not my favorite climb. Next, we ventured to another area of the mountain to climb but unfortunately only Ranjit (one of the experienced climbers) could actually do it and sad part of it is that it was only a 5.6. Weird. The last climb of the day was the best! It was a 5.6 with interesting grips and some cragging. The route was roughly 100+ ft up and by the time you reached the top...you looked like an ant. Now just imaging climbing 29,000 feet. I guess this is my first step to climbing up Everest. 28,900 ft more to go! Woo hoo!

The Start of a Journey

What kind of person risks frostbite, hypothermia, cerebral edema, hypoxia, and even death? What kind of person spends tens of thousands of dollars to expose themselves to -100° F temperature, hurricane winds, and less than 2/3 oxygen in the air. Who would do all that? Well, the kind of person that believes in the extraordinary. Someone who believes they have the guts, soul, and determination to make it past the death zone and stand up on the summit with their arms raised high knowing they achieved the extraordinary.
Doing the extraordinary is not just about personal achievement, more importantly is about how the act itself can create change in the world. The goal of my Everest climb in 2010 is to bring awareness and the funds to clean up Everest. I will be joining an eco-expedition to the Nepal side of Everest. The media often reports of the triumphs and the sad deaths, but they rarely talk about how such a beautiful place is becoming a dump.

Nepalese consider the mountain a holy place called Sagarmatha, but their land has been desecrated. Droves of foreigners come each year to climb Everest but they leave their wrappers, O2 bottles, and human waste behind. On the south col, there is about 10 tons of trash. The once pristine mountain has became the "world's highest garbage site". Even above the clouds on earth, we have contaminated with trash. It is unthinkable to throw our trash on the ground in our national parks but why does the same "pack in, pack out" concept not apply in another country. This eco-expedition will offset the carbon from flights, eat only local organic produce, use solar power and wind turbine for energy, and pack out all trash and human waste from the mountain. After the expedition is completed, I want to spend two weeks clean up the camp sites and educating tourists on how to better preserve the land for the future generations. Because that’s the bigger picture…sharing the beauty we have today with those we have yet to experience it.