Outlets

A friend asked a few months ago why I hadn't written on my blog in a year. I replied confidently via text "not sad." This was not a full truth. Rather, I forgot the blog was a tool to help me manage sadness by connecting to the world.

2012 wasn't easy. It was full of the normals: feelings of stress at work, relationship challenges, life transitions, and general wanting (wanting to be happier, funnier, better, smarter, stronger, kinder...). All the good stuff that makes my heart ache at times. And although I didn't post here, the good news is that I was embracing other ways of coping and moving through most of the time. :)

In 2007 when we first moved to La Grande and I was having trouble adjusting (e.g., meeting friends, getting in an exercise routine, finding my center at work) my dissertation advisor wisely stated: "sounds like a great opportunity to throw yourself into your work." It worked then (I finished my PhD because of this), so I applied it again in Portland. I dug in at work and put in long hours. I ran with friends weekly in Forest Park and attended my favorite yoga classes (Thursday night and Sunday mornings). I spent time on Facebook catching up with old friends (read: stalking their profiles). I diaried...I saw a counselor...I got acupuncture...I spent time with family and friends...

Yet, since this question I've been thinking about my blog and why I've stayed away. I've been asking myself: What is this space for? What do I want to create here? The blog has always felt like a private diary with a small, small, small chance that someone else will discover it - but just enough of a chance that it makes me behave better, be more honest, be more kind. The blog [generally] provides an opportunity for me to share, process and grow by documenting about my life and experiences.

2013 is a year of discovery. It is a year for making space and accepting what is. It is a chance for me to learn about and embody compassion, to practice embracing both masculine and feminine energies within, and to come back to my center and to live in line with my values. Manifesting these opportunites requires identifying what I'm feeling, asking for what I want, listening without expectation, and making choices based on the reality at hand.

What better time then now to be right here.

I don't promise consistency with my posts - but there will be some.

Welcome back friend, welcome back.

Matt Gives A Cybercast...or two...or three

Matt has been giving the past few cybercasts from Aconcagua. Sounds like they've been eating well and climbing strongly! Check it out here: http://www.alpineascents.com/aconcagua-cybercast.asp

They are team 10. My vote was for team "plasma shield" but apparently that never caught on. Plasma shield is the 4th option in paper-rock-scissors as told to Dave Heinbach (sp??) by a 5th grader. Dave is the lead guide for this trip who I got to meet during the 2011 summer/fall when I joined Matt for a few days in Yosemite (then a few more in Red Rocks). I thought it was cold in the valley....not sure how I'd fare on a 22K foot mountain.....!

On top of the highest peak in the America's

Matt's team made the summit today! I must have played the cybercast for 6 different people at work (basically anyone who came in my office). It gave 3 people shivers. :)

Secret: I won't know for 3 days if Matt was actually at the summit (when he's back in Mendoza and can make a phone call). Two of the team members had to turn back annd...since there are 3 guides at least one would have to go back......and he didn't speak on the cybercast shout out soooooo...The good news is that if he didn't make it he'll get another shot in a few more days with trip II up the mountain.

I'm so proud of him. :) It's fun to know someone doing something so cool, so adventurous, so liberating. What an amazing moment for those 6 clients. It makes my heart swell just to think about their excitement and pride at what they accomplished.

Earplugs and Oxygen

Judging by the cybercasts for the past two days (go to http://www.alpineascents.com/aconcagua-cybercast.asp) --- Matt's team has been getting quite a bit of wind. Winds are steady at about about 40 mph with gusts as high as 50-60 mph. The lead guide, Mark, said these are called the "vientos blancos" or white winds. Apparently they nestled in today at camp III (coming out of their tents for about 30 minutes to eat eggs for breakfast) but they're hopeful the winds will calm down and they'll make it to high camp tomorrow (20600 feet) and have a good summit day following. Matt brought the book "For Whom The Bell Tolls" to read on these kinds of days.......I'm imagining the day passed very slowly for him.

Carol (Matt's mom) alterted me to a website where you can see the forcast all the way up the mountain...highs of 14 degrees Fahrenheit today at 19,686 feet!
http://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Aconcagua/forecasts/6000

She also has potentially deciphered their team name as something related to an Argentinian boxer named "Pepe" Raul Horatio Balbi, a light weight boxing champion from Buenos Aires. I googled and found a ladies store in Buenos Aires named "Pipi cucu" which I also think is a close contendor. :) I also found some interesting videos on you tube that use similar terminology....

They are 5 hours ahead of us in Oregon (only 2 hours ahead for those of you in crazy places like Vermont and Florida) - so send some calming wind thoughts when you wake tomorrow morning!

Following Matt on Aconcagua

So....as many of you may know Matt has been in Argentina for just about a month....and he'll be there until mid February. He's guiding two trips on Aconcagua for Alpine Ascents International (AAI). He flew to Mendoza on December 14th to take a spanish immersion course, prepped food for the 20 day trip with the lead guide Mark over the Christmas Holiday, then met the clients and started for the mountain on 12/27.

So...I finally did my due dilligance today and found out just how tall Aconcagua is, what it looks like, and just what Matt is in for. :) (see image below)

First, Aconcagua is the tallest summit outside Asia at 22,841 feet (in comparison Mt. Everest is 29,029 feet and Mt. Hood is somewhere around 11,240 feet). It is one of the seven summits and is located in the Andes Mountain range (between Argentina and Chili). A map is provided below.



Second, the standard trip itinerary for and AAI trip up Aconcagua can be found here: http://www.alpineascents.com/aconcagua-dtd.asp
They climb Aconcagua via the nontechnical Vacas Valley Route (Polish Variation). If you go to the following link and scroll down until you see the Google Maps image, they are taking the route marked with blue flags.
http://www.purebound.com/aconcagua/

Third, AAI gives about 17 days to get to high camp and 2 days to get back (I'm going to have to ask Matt about the math on that one). There is actually a pretty cool webcam of the basecamp that you can see here (disclaimer: I'm not sure this is the basecamp that Matt's team used): http://www.aconcaguanow.com/indice.php

This is the 3rd highest webcam in the world. The image is updated ever 3 minutes during daylight hours....and there's even a timelapse option. Watch out on this site because there are links to other webcams ALL OVER THE WORLD. If you start exploring you won't get to read the rest of my post. :)

Fourth, each AAI group does an update via satellite phone approximately every evening (it's about 23 seconds on average..........and depending on wind conditions you may or may not hear it). According to the most recent update Matt's team (Team 5 or "pee pee....coo coo", although honestly I can't understand the last words and I'm not sure I want to given they're using "blue bags" for this 20 day treck) made it to camp III at 19,200 feet today. There has been snow for the past few days and they were breaking trail through 5-9 inches. I wonder if Matt wishes he would have hiked up to Council Crest a few more times right about now....

Fifth, judging by the standard AAI itinerary Matt and his team should get opportunities to summit between Wednesday (1/11) to Friday (1/13) of next week. According to local guides - there's approximately a 30% success rate for summitting the mountain. One reason for this is that Aconcagua is only 80 miles from the Pacific Ocean, so it can get hit with extremely high winds and storms like Denali in Alaska. [can you tell I just stole that from another website?] A few other reasons might include: altitude related illnesses causing climbers to descend before the summit and poor fitness. However, the really good news is that there are few fatalities on Aconcagua each year (by few I really mean "few"...the annual average is 3 according to internet sources).

So...it's been fun to gain some insight into Matt's reality today. I'm got a little listful as I watched the sun rise and set on the basecamp timelapse video today. There's also a nice YouTube video someone posted of the hike in to Plaza Argentina (the 30 mile trek in to base camp). The images remind me of hiking in the Wallowas...except we didn't write in spanish. :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAzDNj_4SyY

I'll keep you posted as I learn more! Until then, enjoy exploring these links and living vicariously through Matt's adventure (i.e., work). :)

Movement

I have been in Portland for just under a month - and it's been wonderful. I'm living at the house of my brother and his wife, which is perfectly located in SE. I bike to work, take weekend yoga classes, and enjoy the peace/connection of neighborhood life. I have yet to take many photos of this new place - but I wanted to honor our time in Eastern Oregon with a few recent photos of our great adventures over the last year....

Photos of the family from Mark & Manpreet's wedding.

Dad...at (and in) the Blue Banana.

Barn in Joseph, OR.

Photos from the La Grande Triathlon...

I won in my age & gender division (out of 3 competitors).

Karina and Mark chalked the road for me and made signs!

Friends at the Farm's Market during a November visit to Burlington, VT.

I'm holding a bag with a cookie - not Brian's hand....

Matt getting ready to set the duck traps at Ladd Marsh.

Hay bales in Joseph, OR. I waited and waited for the sun to come through.

So did Johanna patiently - thank goodness for kind friends!

Sandy & Karl looking down over the Canyon in Imnaha...

their friend is busy finding rocks to roll. :)

Some pictures from my PhD Graduation in May 2010!

Matt on the sand summit at Pacific City (and a shot of the dune).


"Stepping Out"...a 5.11a Spring Mountain climb that destroyed me and now haunts my dreams...That and "The Project" (a 5.11d) are my favorites!

Beautiful shots from Matt & my hike to Mirror Lake and Eagle Cap.

We did about 20 miles in under 24 hours...

The Scientist

Another favorite, I'd forgotten.

The Scientist - by Coldplay.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7OQSl4FdJE

My dad is actually giving a talk on moths to the Lepodoptera Society as I write....but that's a totally different type of science.

Okay, and then for some humor check out "Where the Hell is Matt (2008)" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY . My brother Mark shared this with me over Thanksgiving...it's not a bad way to see the world and to meet interesting new people....dance people dance!