Throwin' it Back to "Living the Dream" Last Summer

Last summer my good friend Phil and I went on a climbing trip to the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming. You can revisit that post if you'd like, or you can just enjoy some of the photos set to music in the video below.

Living The Dream

Summary

In the weeks (almost months now) since Phil and I returned from the trip to the Bighorn Mountains for which we were awarded an American Alpine Club/The North Face - Live Your Dream (AAC/TNF - LYD) grant, I have been hemming and hawing about how to write a trip report without making it sound as though I am attempting to make something out of nothing. It is true that by the standards of summits reached, or routes climbed, we had little success...but judged by, at least what I consider, the more important standards of adventures shared, knowledge gained of self, partner and place, and the strengthening of an old friendship - we accomplished much. For those that are only interested in summits and routes completed here is the list:

• In the Bighorns, we reached the summit of Buffalo Back (ca. 12,300') via the West Face Route (II 3rd)
• Outside of the Bighorns, we  reached the summit of Devil's Tower (5,114') via the Durrance Route (II 5.7)

For the rest of you that are psyched to hear about the adventure and the knowledge we gained...read on!

Psyched!

I'm heading out to the Lake today to meet some visiting climbers from CT. Whenever people from out of the area post on MountainProject.com that they're looking for a partner in the area I try to meet up with them and show them around. So far my policy has paid off pretty well and I've met a bunch of cool new folks, and I think those folks have gotten a good look at the Lake and had a good time as well. It's nice to climb with people from outside the DL bubble, and extending some hospitality is usually met with an offer to do the same - building the network I guess.

I'm extra psyched today because it's been a couple of weeks since I've been climbing. I decided I needed a little break after the Live Your Dream (thanks for the grant American Alpine Club and The North Face!) trip, but I'm chomping at the bit to get back on the stone. I'll get a summary and some more photos of that trip up soon, but I want to get my trip report in to the AAC before I post some long-winded account of the trip here. Here's a few photos from the trip to hold you over:

Independence Training

Phil and I are leaving for the Bighorns in a couple of weeks, so we decided to have a "dress rehearsal" over the long Independence Day weekend. On Friday we decided to do an ascent of Turk's Head Ridge (5.6 variation) in the gear we planned on climbing in out west. It was fun, and we made pretty quick work of it.

Phil on the third-to-last pitch of Turk's Head Ridge

American Alpine Club/The North Face Live Your Dream Grant

Some of you may know that I spent the last nine days on a climbing trip to Joshua Tree National Park - an overwhelmingly awesome experience that I cannot wait to write about as soon as I collect all of the pictures. In the meantime I want to talk about one of the most exciting things to happen during the my time there despite it being only loosely connected to the J-Tree trip.

Last Wednesday, after three straight days of climbing, my climbing partner Jay and I headed into town for a rest day. Aside from showers and flush toilets, this meant access to cellular service and all its attendant modern-day e-goodies. Missed calls, missed texts, and full inboxes lit up our individual smart phones. Aside from the chance to talk with my wife and son, I was most excited about a waiting e-mail from the American Alpine Club (AAC) and a voice-mail from a Denver number.