How have I escaped death this summer While I’ve been delighting in clear blue skies and purple wildflowers and crispy cold lakes And the taste of amber beer and 11o’clock pizzas and the look of short shorts… You’ve been walking along lantern-lit streets And talking amongst cafe goers Who speak of death and their attempts … More Walking different directions around a clock
When you move cities, it can be hard to make new friends. When I was a kid in the school system, making new friends after a move was not too tricky because I was placed immediately into a classroom of 30 other kids my age. I met my best friend the day after my family’s … More 3 Tips for Making New Friends!
Driving alone on the highway for the first time, my worldly possessions in the backseat, I felt a rich wave of courage release within me. Some cap inside me popped, unleashing a sturdy surge of defiance I didn’t know I possessed. And my courage steamed over the ridge between the mental and the physical like the froth of a freshly poured beer, burbling out across the landscape. … More I am the hero of my own story
So I’ve finished my first year of university and I’m about to head to the mountains for the summer! This will be my first experience living alone (and my first 4 month summer!!) I can’t wait for what’s to come… Today I took a two hour walk around my city, just to soak it all … More Hello/goodbye to my city
My (forced) evolution from climber to coach. Over the past year I’ve gone from climbing 10+ hours a week to coaching from the ground. Climbing was a huge part of growing up for me as a kid, and I’m so happy to be coaching a youth team now and spreading the love. However, it’s been … More From climber to coach
Today I see the wet brick streets And red lamppost shops Of Montreal I smell the green grass of Vancouver I taste the sweet coconut of that sticky bun You bought me from the supermarket behind the climbing gym And the tang of the blood that encircled my calf as I cried happily at the … More I remember!
Christmas spread a bright, peaceful blanket all across the city. The bouncy snow and fluffy pines rang with joyful silence that seemed to wash all things heavy from the city. I hope everyone felt this blissful presence. I’m finding it hard to write of Christmas because it seemed to arrive so abruptly. I was simply … More Bright Christmas
When you experience loss, you can run dry of things to say to the world. Nothing to say, because you’ve lost the part of you that was interesting. Nothing to talk about, so it gets way easier to slowly drift away from everyone, ripple-lines softer and wider, floating down the Land of the Long White … More The Land of the Long White Clouds
Shitty shale. That’s what lay, hundreds of metres steep, between the summit of Morro Peak and our pallid figures across the valley. We summited a mountain that day, just not the one we had planned. “The wrong side of the valley “ This is a conundrum that we end up facing on basically every day-trip summit attempt with … More Not Morro Peak
HermitCrab 