Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Challenger and Kit Carson failed attempt

Here is a series of 2D representations of what would have been the first two mountains of the year - Challenger Point and Kit Carson.  I wasn't able to summit because of pretty bad fog.  I ran into another guy, Robby, just as I was getting into the thick fog.  Only 400 feet from the top the visibility was about 10 ft. and the conditions were only getting worse.  Robby, a much younger and more experienced climber than I, was becoming quite concerned. "Dude!  If we hear thunder we are so totally fucked!  This is not the mountain I want to die on."  The fog was getting darker meaning that a storm was coming in.  Because of the poor visibility it would take quite a lot of time to find a safe route down.  He finally decided that it wasn't worth his life, so I followed suit.  Took us about an hour to get back to tree-line.

So for now, I have been denied twice on Challenger and Kit.  When the route is visible, like on a sunny blue bird Colorado day, the mountain is strenuous but not that dangerous and I think for most hikers it is uneventful maybe not even memorable.  The second mountain, Kit Carson is a little more exciting and the main way to climb that is by going over Challenger.  So another day awaits.

Honestly, not summiting is actually pretty minor. I still got in one serious work out and kind of took myself to the limit as I usually do.  The other thing is the whole experience of camping out up there and just attempting to walk up a mountain is beyond description.  For me it is spiritual and it brings me closer to what really matters.  I met a complete stranger up there and we ended up working as a team to make the best decisions we could and ultimately had a really good time doing it. For an introvert such as myself this is nothing short of a miracle.  These experiences, which are many, are stunning and they stop me cold.

Just like every time I look at one of my boys, it's a challenge to believe that what I am seeing is real.

One can choose to stay and live in the negative.  I don't have much time left so I am staying on the positive side.

Thank you G-d. I really appreciate the mountains.  Fantastic work.

“Spinning around in circles
Living it day to day
And still twenty four hours, maybe sixty good years
It's still not that long a stay.”

- James William Buffett


















Thursday, June 14, 2018

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Challenger and Kit Carson Round Deux








Mechanical Design

And then the clouds clear in my head and the vision appears as to how I am going to solve the problem.  As I visualize how each part will interact with it's adjacent part, a mechanical assembly begins to appear in my minds eye.
Que Eminence Front: