Years ago- when all 5 of our kids were teenagers, we bought them an old SUV for driving to school. One day I got an interesting phone call. It was one of my sons saying, "Dad, the car's on fire!" After making sure everyone was safe I told him to run to a house to see if there was a fire extinguisher to put it out. He said, "We can't put it out, it's too big." This is the kind of fire that you and ...  Read More

I am active in winter, but nearly everything is harder in the cold. I can't drive with my winter gear on, yet when I park my truck and step out to gear up my fingers typically freeze before I'm finished putting everything on. Climbing generates a lot of body heat. If I dress so that I'm warm at the beginning I will be overheated when the mountains go vertical.We layer, yes, but no one wants to cli...  Read More

Yesterday I spent much of my day sawing wood with a hand saw and moving deadfalls in temperatures that were well below 0°. The strong winds the past 2 weeks (70 - 100 mph) blew over many trees across my trails. When I finally reached my cabin, the largest tree of all had fallen perfectly in such a way as to completely block my access. But there was a big difference- at my cabin I had to chainsaw. ...  Read More

Psalm 119:105- "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." When I am climbing in the early morning darkness, I use a very bright headlamp. This gives me enough light to stay on the path- enough light to take the next right step. Several times over the years my battery has died mid-climb. When this happens I will twist my ankles or lose my balance dozens of times from taking a wrong...  Read More

As a boy I shot thousands of rounds through my .22 rifle, but I never shot at anything that was moving. I had never shot clay pigeons with a shotgun, and only had a few 'misses' to my credit on flying pheasants. After college, when I moved to Montana, I found myself in country full of fish and game beyond anything I could have imagined.A rancher invited me to hunt deer with his family, but the onl...  Read More

At lower elevations, I climb through timber. I see very little other than the trail and the trees surrounding me. As a boy I never understood when adults would say of someone, "He can't see the forest for the trees." They were speaking of someone who loses sight of the 'big picture' because of all of the concerns and details of life surrounding them. It would be like my losing sight of my goal (th...  Read More

As we draw near to Christmas, to "God with Us," to the miraculous birth of our Savior here on Earth, I find myself continuously amazed at the thought. Young Mary was very pregnant at this point. Young Joseph had taken her home to be his wife, and yet had honored his commitment to stay separate until after the baby was born. They've had nearly nine months to talk about what all of this means- how t...  Read More

The wind was roaring as I climbed. Blowing snow was freezing to my eyelashes, causing my eyes to stick shut. I usually stop to pray, but the wind drove me off the top of the mountain. For over an hour, my eyes had been focused on the trail in front of me. Now that I was descending I got my first look at 'the view.' The night sky was so beautiful that it reminded me of a Christmas card. I was stand...  Read More

A week of gale force winds often exceeding 80 miles per hour, a 7.0 earthquake, bitter cold- Alaska has had an interesting start to December... but we don't have snakes. I smile as I write that because my wife grew up in Alaska, and while there are a number of things she sometimes lists that she doesn't like about our state, whenever she does this she adds at the end, "But we don't have snakes." E...  Read More

I'd forgotten the stillness. Climbing a mountain in the early morning darkness- the white of the snow touching a sky lit by stars and moon- the only sound is my soft breathing and the rythmic crunch of my boots on the snow. It's been cold, true, but the air is crisp and clean and somehow exhilarating. From high on this mountain, 'Peace on Earth' actually seems possible. Luke 5:16 says, "Jesus ofte...  Read More

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