Night Ice Climbing With Crazy Lights. Would You?

I love rock climbing. I’ve only recently begun it, but have sincerely loved the thrill of it. Looking up at a rock face and thinking “I’m never getting up that” and then that feeling when you’ve arrived at the summit and get to overlook your conquest. It truly is a great sport.

But this ice climbing business is really starting to get intriguing. This looks pretty fun, if you know what you’re doing. I think the problem with ice climbing is making sure you go with people who’ve been before, so you don’t find yourself lying on the snow with an icicle impaled through your heart.

Photo Credit:Sean Byland

And many thanks to Minnesota Climbers Association who made this picture possible. They farm the ice, build out the park and put on a lot of events so check them out: www.mnclimbers.org

The Cliff Story – Why My Family Doesn’t Go Snowmobiling Anymore

My family past time used to include going snowmobiling. We loved it, that indescribable feeling as you are floating along fresh perfect powder is hard to replicate anywhere, or with anything. Braving that hilltop that you were maybe 50-50 on making it up alive, but when you reached the summit and looked over your conquest amid the whiteness, it’s amazing. Again there are few things that compare and replicate it.

There’s also a certain comradery among the sport, among those who sled that if ever someones in a bind, YOU HELP THEM. Why? Because as we all know, it very well could be you next time.

Champagne Powder Snowmobiling In  Okanagan, BC Canada

Now before I get to the cliff story, I remember a time when I had jumped my sled into a bowl, not realizing the depth of it and getting terribly stuck. And when I say stuck, I mean buried beyond all recognition. Despite a couple hours of digging we were no where near getting it out. And that’s when the cavalry arrived. Word had gotten back that someone was stuck pretty bad, and no less than 4 additional snowmobiles had been dispatched to help us get out. Four different people who we didn’t know. But the funny part was it was kind of fun, all of us there trying to will this snowmobile out of it’s predicament.

After a little effort we were able to retrieve it, and thanks were offered and goodbye’s said. All of the thanks were responded to with similar answers like “that was me a couple of weeks ago” or “I’ve been there before” and “it’ll be me next time”. I truly do miss snowmobiling for a host of reasons, but the helpfulness of it’s participants is a big part of it.

Cliff Story

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Video Tribute to Daniel Moore Who Recently Lost His Life in Moab Utah

For those of you who don’t know, Daniel Moore recently lost his life base jumping in Moab Utah. This video is a short tribute to his life and is absolutely breathtaking. Despite it being somewhat sad as it’s a video to highlight a life lost, it’s also uplifting and stands as a stark reminder that our time is short and there’s so much to left to live for. Although we never knew him personally, he’s an inspiration to us all. RIP Daniel Moore.
Here’s a link to the story.



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Into the White Abyss

Alright we’ll come clean, that title was ours. Quite applicable though wouldn’t you say? There are few things better than a picture as pristine as this, that seem to begin a story and leave you wanting to know it’s conclusion.

This picture is courtesy of Geoff Holman. The skier picture is Adam Benson, and was done for Valhalla powdercats in BC Canada.

Photo Credit: Geoff Holman, on 500px

snowbird
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Avalanche Cliff Base Jump

Sometimes the trail you take to find a killer video like this one is the real journey. What started out as a click on “Epic Skiing Fail” led me to find this video that is truly awesome. I also regrettably realized that skiing down a mountain side, then base jumping off of a cliff with an avalanche behind me, is something that I will never experience. Oh well, for everything else there’s GoPro right?


 

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