This post is funny. Only because I read something from Asshole Climbers, sighed deeply, and said to myself, “that’s what I’m about to do.” I violated every single one of their rules for starting and continuing a blog. Oh well. I think I have a valid excuse. (I’ll get to that in a second.) Besides, my Twitter name, domain address, and main header has been different since November, if I remember correctly. I’m not good at keeping secrets so if you really loved me, you knew this was already happening. I just want to make it official. So here we go!

What’s In a Name?

Prior to the 2-month hiatus, you may have realized my blog was starting to head in a different direction. It no longer felt like “Dudes With Tents”. The original “dudes” didn’t last much longer than a month after it launched anyways. Rather than posting about everything under the sun that could be interpreted as outdoor enthusiasm, I was starting to post only things that involve “going up”.

I started to think of ultra-gnar climbing terms, but I still wanted this to be somewhat professional. Somewhat. I remembered something in the YouTube video, Shit Climbers Say, and it seemed to make sense. The character described having a really good climbing day as being “low gravity”. I liked that. For many reasons. When I climb, I want it to be effortless. I want to be able to make it to the top (of whatever I’m climbing, however), and say, “damn, that was easy.” If there were such a thing as “low gravity” (outside of space travel), it would definitely help in that regard.

“Niche it Down”

That’s the advice I’ve received across multiple industries, from multiple experts, and I hated it. However, this time, it just makes sense. Those same people would probably tell me that I need to be even more specific this time around, but I think I’m just too ADHD to commit to one micro-facet of one topic of one industry. Yuck! I get bored with every type of climbing if I write or participate in any one of them too long. I’ll also post somewhat sparingly about my other interests in life as well.

Here’s a list of what you can expect to see in the near future:

  • Climbing (duh!!) – Sport, Trad, Bouldering, Alpine, Non-technical day hike peak bagging – maybe – (is there a term for that?), and industry news – maybe – (there’s plenty of other sites for that)
  • Interviews – from hopefully the lesser known names in the industry. A search for Sharma, Honnold, or DiGiulian will render more interviews then you’ll know what to do with. Who cares about those guys? (I kid! I kid!)
  • Climbing for Beginners – Again, plenty of scattered information, but since I’ve only been at this for less than 2 years and haven’t tried my hand at Alpine or Glacier travel yet, I’d like to capture the things I’m learning along the way.
  • Training and Nutrition– I once wrote a semi-successful blog about training and nutrition. I’m a certified strength and conditioning specialist through NSCA. And I pretty much go AGAINST everything mainstream. Typically, the more mainstream it is, the more I dislike it. This won’t be the same advice every other outlet spews out daily.
  • Beer– Gosh, I love craft beer. I’m beginning to amass quite a collection, and I must say, it’s delicious.
  • Gear Reviews and/or Stories – Yup, still going to do those, hopefully every Monday. Why? Because a lot of the gear I have and am lucky enough to test out for manufacturers also help me go up. Whether it’s a hydration system, a tent, crampons, or a new model of shoes, they’re all required to help me get up the mountain or rock. Ya dig?

I shouldn’t tell you this because I’m HORRIBLE at committing to a schedule, but here’s what I’d like to try: a gear review on Mondays and a regular post on Wednesdays (from one of the other topics listed above).

What I’ve Been Up to Lately

Getting fat.

No, for real. Skinny fat is the new look.

I haven’t been super active for the past 2 months thanks to the Holidays, deer hunting season, and….

The view on my drive into work doesn't suck.

The view on my drive into work doesn’t suck.

MOVING TO COLORADO!

Yup, that’s right. I got a new engineering job in Boulder, CO. That process started at the end of October, and I start in 3 days (Jan. 7, 2013)! It was mostly self-imposed stress but stressful nonetheless. When that happens, I tend to shut down and just “wait out the storm”.

I’m not too concerned however. I vowed to get back on track as soon as I got to CO and so far it’s going ok. I’ve been here for 2 days and I did a light session in the weight room yesterday (both, in terms of weight and duration…yikes) and had a 5 mile hike in the mountains today to scope out our first mountain. Baby steps…

As I type this, all of my belongings are in a moving van heading to CO. Once it’s all unpacked, you better bet your buttons I’ll be incredibly busy outside. Hiking in work boots and jeans was none too fun at the end of the day.

What I’ll be Up to in the Future

Indian PeaksAnh went ahead and bought me some pretty awesome ski goggles and a helmet for Christmas. Looks like I’ll be diving face first into snowboarding. As we were hiking today, we ran into a cross-country skier (not literally), and it reminded me how much I enjoyed that, all 3 times I’ve done it. We were hiking along a trail that leads to our first mountain climb so I can’t even guess how many we’ll do this winter, hopefully a handful or more. I’ve been told you can climb 12 months out of the year, outside. Can’t wait to try that. In the spring, I’m really looking forward to getting back on two wheels. I’m too much of a wuss for downhill biking, but I loves me some technical cross-country biking.

All of that adds up quickly, and it means a lot of inspiration for a lot of posts. So excited.

Yadda, yadda, yadda, I was invited to become a member of Evolv Climbing’s Grassroots Climbing Team, blah, blah, blah, blah.

New Outlets

A re-brand wouldn’t be complete without revamped ways to connect. I’ve been using Instagram (sparingly) for a couple of months, and I have a Facebook Fan Page created (just waiting on some finishing touches before I open it). I will be posting more of the industry news, links to climbing stuff I read around the web, and some random videos on the Facebook page more so than on here (unless I’m super lazy one week…or 3).

As always, feel free to connect on Twitter and/or subscribe to the blog (on the top, right of the page) to be notified as soon as something new is posted!

Hold on to your helmets because it’s about to get busy around here!



Don’t Miss Your Chance

I was stuck in Corporate America for 9 years. I was miserable.

Then I took control.

You can too, and it starts right here.