....climb to live.                   The suspicion is that such an adage is an apt description of the passion that drives many climbers to forego relationships, financial security, the luxury of nice fuurnishings and real food, all to pull some desperate ballet move on unyielding stone above the mawe of limitless air. You will not understand until you have tried it. Because that is what it is: the pursuit of Truth through movement. "Can I lead this pitch?"means"Who am I really?". Share a rope and a belay with a woman and you will know whether there is a bond between your souls ( I should have begged my first partner to marry me.).
     Only the birth of Lily, my daughter, has ever eclipsed, much less come close to equalling, the profound change in my life that climbing has wrought. Like her it brought peace and joy unknown and made precious  every breath and resource I could muster. They both inspire a love fierce and serene in equal measure that calls you to be better than your were. And to jettison all the bullshit in your life.
At the descent anchors, South Face of Looking Glass
Second pitch of The Nose, Looking Glass
Josh Dawson leading the first pitch of the Original Route, Whitesides. 5.7 slab, NO PRO
Ryan Vahle toproping ice for the first time at Winding Stair Gap, NC, just before he nearly nailed me with a 20lb chunk from 80 feet up. LUV U 2, Bro!
Ryan Vahle cleaning the second pitch of The Nose, Looking Glass
A recent trip to Yellow Creek Falls................
Yellow Creek Falls
   Perhaps the most beautiful crag in Alabama. And yet another one of Alabama's climbing areas threatened by access problems- yes, it's CLOSED. Look forward to a more extensive page devoted to Yellow Creek Falls with a full listing of routes and their history.
The illustrious S.G., easily the most accomplished and widely traveled climber I've ever tied in with. She pulled Moonlight Buttress in Zion last year.
S.G. jamming the first forty feet of Land of Cotton.
Chimney, place some gear, stem, stuff another cam, apologize to the belayer for taking so long, commit to the crux layback out the roof, throw a toe, sidepull, find the stance, breathe deeply. The reward? 40 more feet of perfect 5.7 handcrack. The second pitch of Land of Cotton.
                        Hi Mom!                                      We rapped off a tree, a #13 Stopper, and three ovals. Please leave it for the next folks.
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