Wait how does this work again?

*Disclaimer: I do not condone doing stupid things and so if you do anything stupid that you can't handle it's your own fault and I take no responsibility for it.




Okay well seeing as I started this blog about two months ago and all it's done since then is gather cyber dust I decided today was the day to dust it off and give this whole blogging thing a whirl. While I do have an excuse for this lack of lack of activity, namely an endless supply of administrative crap that comes as part of the package when moving to a new country to start graduate school, I will go into more detail about that later (wait for the post titled "Everything you need to know about moving to Canada...on a 30 day notice"). For now I think I'll just give some background on myself and give you an idea of what to expect from this blog (not that I have any idea myself).

      Jake Sahl and Nick Sullens prepping gear
on Washington Column, Yosemite.

I've always been keen on a good adventure. Whether that was finding a sweet new set of stairs in San Jose that I could huck myself down on a skateboard when I was twelve years old or a three day trip up the Regular NW Face of Half Dome, I've always been drawn to those scenarios where you don't necessarily know what's going to happen (and sometimes all you know is that it's not going to be that much fun) but you want to do it all the more for that specific reason. It's these adventures that I look back on as some of my fondest memories, and it's these adventures that I look forward to the most because there's always a greater one to be had somewhere in the world.

Since meeting my good buddies Nick Sullens and Jake Sahl about five years ago back in that famous slum of Isla Vista while attending UC Santa Barbara, the adventures have been plentiful and usually not without excitement. These adventures usually involve climbing some sort of tall, steep rock that most likely we have no business of being on, but the adventures are all the better because of that. Now, after five years and many solid ascents including The Nose of El Cap, NW face of Half Dome, The Rostrum, Astroman, Positive Vibrations and Moonlight Buttress to name a few, you'd think we'd be getting smarter and better at this whole climbing thing. However, it seems like we'll just never learn as we still regularly find ourselves in sticky situations that could easily have been avoided if we only possessed the power of forethought and self discipline...C'est la vie.

In this blog I will be recounting such adventures that, while they always end up okay, could certainly have been more comfortable had something been done a little differently (but it's just not our style to think ahead). Maybe you can learn something, if only what not to do, but hopefully it might inspire you to have more of a sense of adventure because these adventures keep life fun and exciting.

The dudes after 4 days on the nose. Not too shabby

Also due to my short attention span, I will likely be including information from my experience on training for climbing, building your own camper van, soil science, cooking, and anything else that I find interesting. Hope you enjoy!

Barnes