Wednesday, June 17, 2009

To the Waddington

Students come in the morning, the endless list are getting smaller and smaller and transitioning to field lists of things to do. Generally much more enjoyable than the precourse lists such as: Pull and check: fuel bottles, library, tents, stoves, ropes, rock climbing gear, ice screws, snow pro, and on and on...decide how much food to take, look at the students medicals, the route, pull the maps,...The whole process reminds me of high school musicals. A week to go, it always seemed like we were never going to be ready but we always were. And now we're ready, oddly enough. though there are many details to take care of after the students get here tomorrow morning at 7:20am. It'll be non-stop activity until 3:30 when we are scheduled to leave.

A day and a half of driving to the interior of B.C. then a week of heavy bushwacking and then days and days in the snow and in the mountains. We probably won't see anyone except Mike, who will resupply us via helicopter! We'll be out for a month and hopefully in the process make some mountaineers, as well as better communicators, leaders and environmentally conscious people. Generally, my aim is to make better people. i'll do my best. That's it for now! To Infinity and Beyond!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Update

Yes, it's been a while, except for the Mozambique post, but the trip to Mozambique was almost a year ago. Since then:
Soccer coaching of The Learning Center for the Deaf's Varsity Boys team,
A NOLS sailing course in Baja with co-instructor, and member of the Crazy Horse Team, Rob Lloyd. This trip involved much spear fishing and free diving - we caught about 300 lbs of fish during the month.
A few weeks with brother Will in Venice, CA riding the waves...
Then NOLS Avalanche Training followed by split snowboard training, followed by rock climbing training. Then some personal trips, a Crazy Horse reunion in Moab Utah, involving lots of desert golf (9 irons, tennis balls, and holes such as: "around that tree, off the rock and into the fire pit.")
Teaching a NOLS instructor course - quite fun to have some influence on a small group of instructors. Some will be working this summer - I feel like a father having taught my kids what they need to know, now they have to figure out the rest for themselves. Dealing with an empty nest now, but the nest is about to be refilled in a few days.

Briefing for a month long mountaineering course starts tomorrow. Two other instructors and I will be taking 12 students into the mountains of British Columbia in order to school them in the ways of mountaineering, leadership, and living in tune with the planet. (They'll also learn a bit about State Radio, Sign Language and moon rockets - but those things aren't on the NOLS curriculum...yet.)

Excuse the speedy catch up, but the prospect of writing everything was so daunting, it was not happening. Now I will try to stay up with things. I will try to get pics up later. Into the Waddington Range of B.C.!

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