Free weekend between Mississippi & Miami marathons – kick back & rest? That would be a NO. Winter time in Colorado is prime time for outdoor activities. Purchased a Groupon for Ash & Tom at Christmas for ice climbing, couldn’t help but tag along.
Was told it’s harder to climb in Colorado because our ice is river water, not glacier ice like in Alaska. Axe & crampons stick easier in glacier ice – river ice chips so important to stay on belay (rope) should you pop off.
2 hour drive to Colorado Springs (love the Springs), then a short quarter mile hike to Cheyenne Canyon with our guide Andrew (a scrawny rock climber – weighed maybe a buck ten). Had to compete for wall space with a local climbing group – so actually started off on the intermediate wall. Roped up, kicked in my crampons & struck a few blows before I found rhythm (muscle memory – hadn’t climbed since Matanuska, day before my Alaska marathon).
Forgot how much I LOVE ice climbing – it’s a thinking man’s sport. Yeah, there’s physical involved but LOVE picking my route – it’s unique to each climber. Do I use an existing hit (to place my axe)? Go right, go left – where is the better/thicker ice? How far can I reach? Strike high, using that arm (& forward motion) to propel the body UP, kick in again with your crampon.
Struggled up the ice lip but ultimately, SUCCESS! LOVE LOVE LOVE ice climbing!
Ash & Tom took their try at the wall. Not fair their first climb would be on an intermediate wall – no training, little instruction. Luckily, an easier tie soon opened – more ice, less vertical. Lot more fun – both summited, good memories 🙂
We paid for a half day so I took in 2 more verticals before Ash & Tom worked belay and let Andrew climb.
Felt good to be in the mountains. Perfect conditions – sunshine, no wind. Crazy addictive sport. Can see myself hitting it regularly once my running schedule frees next year. So much competition for time – cross country skiing, snow shoeing, another 14er winter summit, ice climbing…& only December to April to get it all in. LOVE LOVE my Colorado life!
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- short hike with Andrew, our guide
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- intermediate wall climb
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- SUCCESS!
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- far right on the wall – more ice, less vertical
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- speed climbing
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- high in the Rockies – awesome view!
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- roped up & ready
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- Killin’ it!
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- “This is really hard. My arms are so tired.”
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- Ash on top of the world
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- Tom rocking his sexy look
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- 3rd to Summit – FAAAANNNTASTIC day!
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- belaying Andrew, our guide
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- fearless ice woman: “every girl should have a pair of spiky shoes”
Was invited to attend a Christmas candle lighting service at flatironschurch on Saturday in Lafayette. A stranger a row in front turned and lit my candle. I stood like a goof for 10 seconds ‘til I spread my light to 2 strangers a row behind me. What seemed only moments later, more than a thousand candles lit this building. The church leader asked us to lift our candles, look around & remember ‘you are not alone’. It was a simple, yet very moving expression of faith.
Holiday season can be a tough time. If not surrounded by family, young children & significant others during the holidays – easy to feel out-of-step with the rest of the Christmas crowd.
Luckily I’m insulated with a tight friend base. Friends are family we choose for ourselves.
That said, family – blood relatives we clan with as youngsters are vital to how we’re wired. No matter your faith, you gotta think ‘what connects us by clan’ is omnipotently directed…that it’s more than random procreation.
None of my siblings climb mountains or live in my time zone – however, when together we share a unique connection.
During this holiday season, reach out & connect with family. It’s not always easy – family members say & do hurtful things we would never allow friends.
I sincerely believe we are part of a bigger plan. Focus on this day, on tomorrow, on the day following tomorrow — leave yesterday in the past. This holiday season don’t just give, for-give.
Merry Christmas & God Bless.
(favourite clip from The Color Purple)
Thursday night many of us gathered at PS Audio (my Boulder-based employer) & in lieu of a holiday dinner, gave back to local families in need – an initiative endorsed by our CEO Paul McGowan.
I’m really not a shopper – even for my own family – but when it was all said & done…gifts gathered, wrapped & stacked on the conference room table, felt a sense of pride being involved.
Easy to get caught up in the day-to-day.
Many thanks to PS’ General Manager, Jim who organized this year’s event.
An idea worth spreading by Paul McGowan
Christmas is fast approaching and we are reminded this is a time of giving. There are many in our community that haven’t as much as we do. There are families that struggle to make ends meet, to heat their homes, to put healthy food on the table. For some in our community Christmas doesn’t mean opening presents under the tree. Each year we try and fix that for as many as we can. It’s an idea worth spreading.
My wife Terri came up with a plan that puts smiles on family’s faces and builds teamwork at the company. That’s a winning combination by anyone’s standards.
There are 25 employees at PS Audio and they, along with their family members, gather one evening after work. The group is divided into four teams and each team is assigned a family in need. Armed with a list of the family’s ages, their wishes for gifts and an envelope filled with cash, each team is sent out for one hour to buy everything on the list. As we scatter through the stores of Boulder, it’s a bit of a frenzy but fun. We meet back with bags of goods and set them up on four tables piled high with the presents. The best sales person on the team has to then present the lot of presents to everyone else and we vote for who did the best job. After the winning team is selected we share pizza, cider and cookies and wrap all the presents.
What we do is simple and can be repeated in your community. We’ve found the families in a number of different ways over the years such as community food bank programs or the local church. The first year PS Audio contributed $50 cash for each family member. This year we upped it to $100 per person. It’s not a lot of money but it brings a lot of joy to families in the community and, perhaps as important, to our team. It’s an event we look forward to each year.
It’s an idea worth spreading in your company, your community, or even your family. It’s an idea that needs to be considered this year, not put off to next.
Send us a picture when you do. And thank you. It matters.
