Several weeks ago I got ready to climb. I set out my crampons, poles, gaitors, boots, headlamps, pack and gear. I put on my climbing clothes and was ready to go. Then Laura reminded me of an important appointment early that morning. I didn't have time to climb. Then for three weeks or so, there were many mornings when I COULD have climbed, I just lacked motivation. Yesterday I finally did it- my f...  Read More

It was a sunny morning in the middle of August- the kind of morning sheep hunters remember. Of course, hunting is when you go where the animals live and try to get one. It's more accurate to say that I was 'hunting for a place to hunt.' I hadn't seen any sheep, didn't know if there were any in this stretch of mountains, but it was too beautiful a morning not to climb. Besides, I only had two days ...  Read More

I'd only been to this mountain one time before. It had involved side-hilling through heavy brush right at treeline. I had to 'walk' the machine down several steep cuts and then winch it back up the other side. It was extremely slow, extremely difficult, and very dangerous. Not only that, but it didn't get me 'to' the mountain, it only got me close. Now, years later, I found myself on an old trail ...  Read More

Cold and dark. That's our Alaskan morning. We all know that 'cold' is a word we use to describe the absence of heat, and 'dark' is the word we use to describe the absence of light. Our God is a Consuming Fire and The Light of the World. Heat and Light.But more than that, God is GOOD. Thus, the ABSENCE of GOD is the ABSENCE of GOOD. This is what makes hell so terrible. If you want nothing to do wit...  Read More

As I walked into the empty church in the early morning darkness, I was overwhelmed by the beautiful Christmas scene. Trees are lit and covered with ornaments, garland and lights decorate the stairwell, and somehow the combination blankets me with a feeling of peace.... and joy... and gratitude... For me, there is something holy about Christmas lights shining in the darkness that makes me want to w...  Read More

I spent much of yesterday in the wilderness. Although the sun was not yet up at 10 AM, the temperature was a balmy 10°. The only problem is that there's so little snow that I have to ride an ATV. In fact the freezing rain last week settled the snow down to about 8 inches off the trail. What we need is at least 2 feet- 3 feet is better. The moose population in my area is at a historic low. In over ...  Read More

I laid awake that night with my foot throbbing in pain. When I got up in the morning my foot was so stiff and swollen that I could barely make it down the stairs. I allowed things to 'settle' for 2 or 3 days and then I climbed again. Each climb was not quite as slow as the one before and my recovery time got better. As the first few months went by, I continued to climb- continued to get stronger. ...  Read More

A normal, good pace for me coming down Bear Mountain (which is faster than going up) is about 40 minutes from the summit to my house. I was still near the top and 40 minutes were already behind me. The first hour stretched slowly and painfully into the second, and I was still a long way from home. With my damaged and swollen foot, coming down the mountain was far more difficult than climbing up. I...  Read More

By the time I reached the summit, the other climbers had long passed me by, yet I was so overwhelmed with thanksgiving that I had tears in my eyes as I  was pouring out praise to God. The others were standing around a blazing fire as I hobbled into to the circle. I didn't stay long. I was cold and knew that I was going to have a hard time of it going down. Much of the descent was near vertical, an...  Read More

The night finally came- New Year's Eve. When I walked downstairs wearing my climbing gear, Laura's first question was, "What are you doing?" I hadn't shared my plan with anyone until that moment. When I stated nonchalantly, "I'm going climbing," I was met with a chorus of, "You CAN'T do it, you're not ready!" "You're NOT doing it!" "PLEASE don't do it!" But I was determined. A group of local climb...  Read More

Many times each day I forced my swollen foot into my climbing boot. I timed how long I could stand the pain before pulling the boot off. Soon I could endure a minute and then two minutes and then five minutes. By the end of two weeks, I could leave my foot in the boot for an hour and was able to hobble around the house with both boots on. My goal was to climb Bear Mountain on New Year's Eve- exact...  Read More

I spent several days looking at my climbing boots and gathering up my nerve. My plan was to shove my foot (thick and swollen and full of stitches) into my climbing boot so that the rigid boot would force my foot to heal into the shape of the inside of the boot. That way I would be able to continue mountain climbing. I had my son, David, bring me my boots. He saw what I was thinking and said, "Don'...  Read More