I would rather not be buried by an avalanche

So yesterday and today I took the AIARE Level I avalanche course through Mountain Madness. It was pretty sweet because I got it for the low low price of free. I consider that a success in my career as a climbing bum.

It was a great course, filled with snow, snow, and some yellow snow. I do have enough experience to avoid this yellow snow, because contrary to popular opinion, it is not a lemon snowcone!

I am happy to have taken it, and am just a day away from Level I certification. That combined with my Wilderness First Responder course will make it two valuable certifications in the same month. Not too bad for a slacker living out of his car!

There was a guy in the course who was considering camping out for the night, but was a bit nervous about the cold and being in a tent. He also considered getting a hotel room, or crashing out in his car. As a public service I gave him the tips on how to comfortably spend a night in a car. I think he is going to try it. I'm curious to find out what happens!

So I am going to invite people who may be reading this blog to ask questions or to give suggestions on what you want to read about. We can tailor this to make it more interesting or helpful to you all. Also, it saves you from reading the narcissistic ramblings of me!

ZBL update: over 263,000 miles and running strong! What a champ.

Good night to all. Don't be afraid to push your limits, you don't know what you are capable of until you do.

Aspiring to great heights

So for those of you who are climbers, you are probably familiar with the movie "First Ascent". For those of you who are not, it is about climbers trying to climb something for the first time ever. As in no one has ever climbed it before them.

In this film, Timmy Oneil gives a "brief history of first ascents" as he poses as a teacher in a school with some seriously disturbed children of the corn kind of kids. I sure as hell wouldn't want to teach there. As he goes through his explanation, a girl sees a picture and exclaims "he's a hippie!" Timmy responds with "That's right. Some of our best climbers were outlaws, beatniks, and hippies living out of their vans. Maybe someday you can aspire to such great heights, with your personal first ascent."

Now, I haven't made a first ascent yet, but I am already aspiring to those great heights. In conversation with my girlfriend (who is still struggling with the concept of me living in my car) I explained to her that I am actually in a position of respect and envy within the climbing community. I have made the full commitment to climbing, trying to cut out everything that is non-essential to make more time and room for climbing.

I am a failure though. I obviously still have a computer, and I still have bills I racked up in Newark as a normal person. Despite this, however, I am on my way. Part of my reasoning for this lifestyle is that I can save money to buy more climbing gear, pay for gas, and buy supplies to take road trips with.

I am aspiring to great heights, living out of Zbl and just trying to climb as much as I can. In fact, this Friday and Saturday I have plans to chase some decent weather and rock climb. If that falls through, I am going to brave the elements and do an alpine climb. Either way, it should be fun, and it is something that I can do since I don't have to waste $500 a month on rent.

I will keep you all updated on the trips. Tomorrow, look out for a tutorial on how to grocery shop and cook while aspiring to greater heights.

Good night for now. I hope you all go for your own personal first ascent in life. Live the Dream!

Welcome one and all!

So this is my first attempt at blogging, something I thought was a bit ridiculous in the past. Now, however, I find myself with a fair amount of time, since my life is pretty simple. I guess I will start at the beginning.

I was a teacher, and a pretty horrible one. I would stay up all night trying to make lesson plans, which were promptly rejected by my vice-principal. I will admit that living in Newark, NJ didn't help my mental state much either. I had a bit of a mental breakdown, and decided to leave Newark and head to my safe haven, Seattle. Now, of course I had a full time job, a serious girlfriend, and a lease with about 10 more months on it. So I did the only logical thing.

I bailed.

I sold all of my furniture (which was only a couple of months old) for a loss, broke my lease (for a loss), and then packed up everything into my 1997 Honda Accord. I then decided to drive cross country. Now, I am a climber, and I love being on the rock, or in the mountains. So in my drive, I went to Joshua Tree National Park first, which is just a few hours east of San Diego. I climbed for a few days with a friend, then headed north to Seattle.

Now, as rash as my decisions were, I did have the forethought to contact an old employer, a sweet climbing shop called Second Ascent, to see if I could get a job. I am now fortunate enough to work 40 hours a week there.

Once in Seattle, I had put on almost 5,000 miles on my old car, and I am proud to say Zbl is still running strong! It's a good thing, since he is also my home at the moment, and will be until at least October.

It's crazy, but believe it or not, living in my car has been one of the least stressful situations in my life. I have been liberated. Thoreau was right, simplify! Now, I'm not a hippie who wants to get rid of everything and live in the woods. I love being in a city with restaurants, and toilets, and people. I just like being able to get away from it to be alone in the mountains. And then I am ready to return. I do want a house one day, and I do want luxuries like a kitchen and a tv. It's just that for now I am pretty content living this way.

I will be working for a mountain guiding company this summer, only working 20 hrs a week, along with some trips in the mountains with clients. If you need a company to climb with, look up Mountain Madness, we're awesome! With this schedule I will be able to climb several days a week, and still pay my bills. As long as Zbl is running strong, everything will be fine. You will all be able to follow along with the status of him as time goes on. I love this car, and you will also get to know and love him!

So this is my introduction to me, and what I'm doing Homeless in Seattle. In the climbing world I'm a climbing bum, which also means I'm living the dream. I hope to give you some insight into my world, and to let you have an escape into a fun life. I will share it with honesty and hopefully some humor. If nothing else, I will have some great pictures, and some decent stories. Let me know what you think!