facebookFiled under: "Hot" Topics | Tags: "Hot" Topics, balancing climbing with being a parent, motherhood
OK Girls, it’s time for our first monthly “Hot Topic”: Balancing The Climbing Life with Motherhood. Entries coming soon and then it’s up to you to continue this conversation! What do YOU have to say about this subject?
Filed under: Chicks Sightings | Tags: Amy Hite, Anne Hughes, Chick Sightings, Chicks Alumni, Chicks Rock, Chicks with Picks, Vera Naputi
Chicks sighting! Devil’s Lake Wisconsin. Yikes, these Chicks are S-T-R-O-N-G! Anne, Amy and Vera have been to Chicks with Picks in Colorado and New Hampshire….MORE than once!
Anne Hughes, Amy Hite, Vera Naputi
Amy high steppin' and fully crankin'
Vera getting close to sending her project Peyote Blues 5.12b!!
Filed under: Alumni News | Tags: Alumni News, Chicks Alumni, Chicks with Picks, Chicks with Picks Alumni, Hillary Nitschke
Living on the front range of the Rockies, I am often treated to astounding views of these majestic peaks. They sneak into my field of vision at the strangest times… like when I’m looking in my rear view mirror on the interstate or some other surprising poke into my thoughts. Sometimes the farther away one is from the peaks, the better the vista. Ironic, isn’t it? You can lose the forest for the trees, or the mountain views for the rocks at hand (and under foot).
Arapaho Peaks
I look towards these mountains and count the moments until I am back within them- in the river valleys, on the ridges, gracing the summits. I look towards the mountains and bide my time as if I am waiting for a lover to return. I spend my time longing for the touch of the high mountain wind, sun, and, yes, even the storms. Even the unpleasant moments hold their own grace, and help to steel me to the other unpleasant moments that pass through the minutia of daily life.
Many of us do maintain this special intimacy with the mountains. For some, mountain activities truly do take the place of intimate love relationships on terra firma. I can see how this happens. Always forcing me to face myself, the mountains hold this incredible appeal. A most intimate relationship with oneself is implied in the back country. There is no room for anything other than the truest step, and the highest level of being in the moment in all its truth. The mountains answer back in their own way. They answer with gusting wind, hot sun, teeming hail, lovely babbling brooks, hidden rare flowers… they offer an entry into a world that, while so many people share it, each adventure is unique and expressly personal. The mountains force a level of personal intimacy that is unique to each individual and yet all of us drawn to it silently understand the singular connection of our mountain companions.
Hillary Nitschke
There is always an implied uncertainty which leads to a certainty of soulful expression. Sometimes adversity slides like water off a duck’s back, and other times when the shoulder is forced to the wheel, the moments of personal reckoning and enduring are excruciating. The memories, however, become exquisite regardless of the harrowing details. We remember the finest moments and their less exotic mates with the same fondness. With this hind sight, we are always ready to move forward with purpose.
Filed under: Girly Guides | Tags: Angela Hawse, Chicks Guides, Chicks with Picks, Girly Guides, Grand Tenon
Angela Hawse Guiding in the Tetons
The lantern going on is harsh for our 3:00 a.m. wake up call at 11,600 feet on the Lower Saddle of the Grand Teton. Bodies bumble about the Exum hut trying to choke down some food, get harnesses on and out the door by 4:00. We’ll scramble for an hour and a half on 3rd and 4th class terrain before the sun hits the Middle Teton and the rest of the world begins to wake up in the valley below.
It’s July 4th and Chicks with Picks alum, Caroline Doucett is about to get a dose of the Grand Teton in full alpine conditions; rare for this time of year and feared by most. I’m psyched and Caroline is seasoned and prepared for the mixed climbing we’ll encounter on the Owen Spalding route. With Chicks with Picks under her belt and ample time at altitude on snow in other ranges I know she’ll send it. The rock game is fairly new to her but she clearly demonstrated her prowess down in the valley the day before. She’s about to put all her skills together and take it to the top of this one.
Caroline Doucett on the summit of the Grand!
As we near the Upper Saddle the first light hits the Middle Teton and illuminates our little world. We’ve been moving for almost two hours, over rock and snow, kicking steps and plunging our axes up steep snowfields. The business begins on the first two pitches, as we traverse out over the vast West Face with nothing but cold air and exposure under our dairyaires as we tip toe across the Belly Roll and Crawl Pitches, avoiding verglass and snow. It’s bitter cold and the air is thin. We gain the Double Chimney Pitch and scratch our way up the crux Owen Chimney, which in dry conditions goes at 5.5. In mountain boots with crampons and an ice axe it feels at least 2 grades harder and full on. Caroline confidently climbs it in fine style, impressing the guide below. Some more steep snow, easy 5th class chimneys and scrambling, we reach the 13,770 ft. summit on a gorgeous day. A proud ascent for Caroline and my first of the season on my favorite mountain in the world. Thanks Caroline… you Rock!
Angela Hawse
AMGA Certified Alpine and Rock Guide
http://www.alpinist007.com
Filed under: Girly Guides | Tags: Anna Keeling, Chicks Guides, Girly Guides, New Zealand
After sadly missing guiding at the last few Chicks with Picks because of having a baby and family issues in New Zealand, I am still in New Zealand but am guiding again. Ski season here, apparently ice also, but it’s hard to find and a busy 2 year old doesn’t give much time for the 4 hour ice chase (and that’s just to the base!)
Anna Keeling
I’m teaching some avalanche classes, heli ski guiding and back country skiing in my first winter back in NZ in 9 years! Luckily it’s an awesome one with plenty of snow but also some nerve-wracking avalanche conditions to contend with.
Being a guide is not a career that matches well with motherhood, so far. Sometimes I feel like my career has slipped away on me but I’ve had to let go a bit – which is probably good for me!
As part of turning 40 this year, I sailed a passage to Tonga, right from outside the house I grew up in, on a 30 foot wooden boat with 2 guys. It was a good adventure – 1500 miles/15 days with a force 8 gale, man overboard, partial knockdown…. you name it, we had it. All for 15 hours in Tonga because I had to get back before my husband, Scott, left to work in Siberia.
We will be back in USA at the end of the year and look forward to seeing old and new faces at Chicks next season. Back-to-back winters -yeehah!
Filed under: Head Chick's Corner | Tags: Grenadier Mountains, Head Chick, Head Chick's Corner, Kim Reynolds, San Juan Mountains, Teddy Guest
There is a beauty in the simplicity (one of my current favorite phrases) of carrying what I need in my backpack and heading into the hills. In fact, it’s been a while since I’ve slung a heavy load into the remote regions of my own backyard …the Grenadier Range outside of Silverton Colorado.
Kim humping her load to Ruby Lake
It is truly an astounding group of peaks to feast your eyes upon and a bit of a hump to get to! During our morning workout, my girlfriend Teddy, suggested we head into the mountains for the weekend after hearing what a beautiful spot Ruby Lake is. I love spontaneity and two days later, we were on the train from Silverton heading to Needleton, our starting point.
It’s an amazing train system that heads deeper into the mountainous gorge along the Animus River, a class five kayak run I paddled many years ago, going deeper and deeper into the range. The trail to Ruby Lake is steep and a little obscure – it took 3 hours to climb 2600 ft (give or take) for about 4 miles. All up, up, up.
Home Sweet Home
Upon arrival – the sun was setting with an orange glow on the lake, the peaks rose 3000 ft out of the like towering above us, and best of all, no one was in sight. The next drainage over is Chicago basin where everyone and their brother goes to bag the 14ers and we heard that a small group of about 30 people shared that experience.
From the top of Turret Peak 13,800 ft
Instead of bagging one of those classics, I prefer the 13ers where there is less (no) traffic and more adventurous trails with route finding. The following day we climbed 3000 ft to the top of Turret Peak next to Pigeon with not a soul in site. I love that. I gazed out over the Weminuche Wilderness, an area I spent the summer of 1982 working for Outward Bound – I felt a touch of nostalgic for those carefree days of living out of my backpack, truck and base camps. Back then, I experienced a strong sense of purpose imparting my knowledge of climbing and the outdoors to the groups I traveled with.
It was always fascinating to watch the internal journey unfold for each participant as they faced fears, did something they never dreamed they’d do and generally pushed their personal limits.
Teddy & Kim
I think that is where I became intrigued with the depths a human can go in the midst of discovering their potential achieved through adventure. It has always true for me but it is even more of a privilege to witness it in others. I think that period of my life really shaped who I am today….still adventuring and leading people into those unexplored places of their soul, stretching and trying something new. It’s also true that my most meaningful friendships have been made through adventures and shared experiences living on the edge.
Filed under: Head Chick's Corner | Tags: Chicks with Picks, Kim Reynolds, Head Chick, climbing, meditation, Vipassana meditation
My Cushion
Upon my return from a 10-day silent retreat with 100 hours of “extreme meditation”, it dawned on me that the experience is reminiscent of coming off of a major alpine climb. Whenever I’ve come down from above, the world always looks different – or at least I am different. Colors appear more vibrant, odors are pungent, a feeling of accomplishment resonates throughout my tired body, I’m glad it’s over and best of all, I feel very alive, acutely aware and transformed in some way. Another handy side effect is I don’t take as much for granted, loved ones feel extra dear, simple moments are precious and my dog is more happy to see me than usual!
I let go of climbing big peaks and living a more vagabond lifestyle over ten years ago and with that, part of me has felt left behind and nostalgic. Last week while sitting on my cushion learning Vipassana meditation, I began to understand the restlessness climbers experience when they attempt to replace this passion with more “responsible” options such as family and/or professions. Sometimes we don’t have a choice and the path we’ve been on is altered forever.
Balance...
If the root cause of human suffering comes from keeping our attention on our cravings and aversions, it is easy to become miserable in the process of this obsession. Most of us have a sense that true happiness and contentment comes from living in the present moment where the law of nature/life exists. We can know this, say the words and even believe it, but it is a monumental leap to fully live it. This is why people climb and now I understand, this is why people meditate. Climbing is a delicate balance between mind and matter as the body experiences pain, fear and the assortment platter of suffering, the mind is constantly working to create equanimity and ease the discomfort. I use this strong mental determination when I step up to a difficult lead and it is this discipline that commits me to sitting perfectly still on my cushion for an hour at a time, moving through each sensation as they arise, trusting they will pass. This sharpness of my mind points me towards the moment and nowhere else.
Climbers keep going back for bigger and harder climbs with the addiction to recapture this delicate edge where life feels pure and harmonious. At the point we can’t or don’t want to venture to those heights, how do we fill that glass? I am grateful for meditation, an opportunity that is available in my simple, daily life – the highs, the concentration, the challenge, the insights and the fulfillment all survive on my cushion. I never knew it was so simple.
