Started young

My father started me on the path to being some kind of outdoorsman at basically the earliest age a person could start their kid at; reading me a book about the Eskimos literally 5 minutes after I was born in the hospital. He had also just been fishing so he smelled like fish so it may have sent some kind message to my infant mind. As I grew up, my dad took expeditions to South America, Alaska, Europe, turned down a trip to Everest and some route-setting trip on the Matterhorn(I have not heard about much), owned a fly-fishing store, and paddled white-water avidly until I was about 5 when I went to school and he was “forced to settle down by your mother”. My dad has worked in the outdoor retail industry my entire life, so this has really had an effect on me.I can almost remember my dad coming home one time, but most accurately I remember the vivid stories of trips gone good and bad on mountains. One story being someone with altitude sickness convinced he was watching television, and more seriously the ideas of respect for mountains that will turn you back, or take your life. The stories of his adventures on mountains and others of paddling well in whitewater events will stay with me for the rest of my life. I have envied my dad for what he has done since I could grasp the ideas of mountain climbing as a 4 year old, and will always envy him until the day I die.

Until I was about 6 I really could not do many outdoor activities with my dad so I would usually just watch, or hitch a ride on the back of his bike in a seat as we rode(or slow him down on training wheels). When he offered to take me on a climbing trip to Mount Marcy in the Adirondacks, obviously I accepted, and it was the first real climb of my life. During the trip, dad would have me carry the sleeping bags, and pads so that it made me look good like I was carrying a lot of weight up the trail, even though I wasn’t. The trip was a success and I got my first real taste of mountains, and I loved it. Ever since that first trip I have wanted to be a mountaineer just like my dad. As I got older my dad continued to bring me on more challenging climbs and activities including the ascent of Mt Washington where upon reaching the top and seeing the road and train I yelled “This is a rip-off”!!! I have snowboarded, XC skied, snow-shoed, climbed 11 State high points, paddled(including the ADK 90 miler this past Fall)a ton, climbed some and many other things most people do not have the opportunity to do. Most people say that the trips I do are difficult, but because I am constantly comparing myself to my father and his achievements, I always strive to do more difficult things, and I always do not feel good enough until I look at what I have done compared to other people. I have continued to do fun trips with scouts and my dad and as I grow older I am starting to plan some of my own smaller trips that will hopefully prepare me for expeditions when I am older.

Outdoor retail has always been apart of my life because my dad has worked in outdoor retail since before I was born. Until I was twelve my dad owned his own fly-fishing shop and I would sit on the counter when I was little and work the cash register. This is where I learned to make change really fast so now I always race the cash registers to make change at the grocery store. I never had any mishaps except when A rich guy was buying a bunch of gear for a trip to Canada and I managed to charge everything he bought twice somehow, yet he did not even notice until my dad stepped in. After my dad closed the shop he started working at EMS where he was the old timer working with the college kids. I like EMS because dad could get all sorts of stuff on pro-deals and I am allowed to use all of it( as long as it fits me). While dad was working at EMS it is when I started learning all of the ins and outs of the different products and companies, to the point where I questioned why one athlete lost his sponsorship with some company that I cannot even remember right now. It is also the same time where for some reason I loved Mountain Hardwear’s products. Mostly it is because in the midst of most companies succumbing to the new outdoor clothing industry this new company emerged in 1996(I’m pretty sure) for the sole purpose of supplying outdoor athletes. I have a sleeping bag, jacket, pants, and pack from Mountain Hardwear right now that I absolutely love. It is also the same time when I started reading every book I could about mountaineering. Specifically I am fascinated by the effects of altitude on different people, and how everyone if effected differently. I do not mean to be an armchair mountaineer but other than my father the books are the only other influence I have.

In Conclusion I feel that the outdoors has been apart of my life, and will remain so for the rest of my life. As I progressively do more difficult trips I realize that my dad has been preparing me to do whatever I want in the outdoor world, and I hope that as I get older in this changing world that I have the time, energy(and money) to follow in my fathers footsteps. As of right now I plan to go to college for business and to my mother’s regrets work at an EMS or some guide service. My dad has agreed to take me to Ranier when I graduate high school, and hopefully to McKinley when I graduate College. He wants to go with a group this time though because he is too old and feeble to lead anything.

Trips I have done

- Sometime when I was younger I did… Marcy, Washington, Katahdin, Greylock, Mansfield and the other New England high peaks.

- Two years ago we went down to climb West Virginia,Maryland, Pennsylvania high peaks … easy right? Turned out the big rain storms down low had turned to snow in the hills, and it ended up snowing a couple feet in near blizzard conditions on the tops. Of course I had only a raincoat and work gloves found in the back of the truck. Quite an adventure, but it turned out all irhgt, and we summated the three peaks.

- On one scout backpacking trip we were going to hike 7 miles last fall in the Appalachian somewhere in Massachusetts, and the leaders who planned the trip did not know how to read a topographical map showing that certain sections were much to steep for some of the new 11 year old scouts. Then we managed to get off the trail on the steepest part of the trail, about 55 degrees at the most, and having it just rained it was incredibly steep. The only one with any experience on steep things I ended up having to climb with the young kids, and for about Ľ mile of the steepest section having to hook my pack around a tree reach down and drag the little ones up one by one until the steep section was over. Then, we were way behind schedule so I had to force them to go faster to catch up with the group, when our entire troops water was nearly out, so we boiled some stream water while waiting for a slow adult. Then of course it starts to pour rain the first with me unprepared… the first time I have ever not brought my rain suit and pack cover. When the whole group was together we discussed the options(it was already three o’clock with 4 miles to go), and it was decided that two leaders would get cars to drive, while my friend dave and I powered it to the campsite to reserve a spot. We made the journey, and got to the campground by about 7:00 and had to wait until 11:30 for the slowest leaders to come in to camp. This is a great story I may write a trip report later.

- My first winter trip was up Mount Saint-Regis in the upper Adirondacks. It was in January, so we were prepared, but we would have never imagined how hard the trip would get. First the trail ended up being 3 miles longer than expected, and the last two we had to bushwack in 4 foot deep snow, and ice. I had my crampons but they did not fit on the snowboard boots I brought. Smooth move on my part, so my dad had to kick, and cut steps during the last mile of trail that felt vertical to my aching legs. Then on the top it was so windy dad said I was getting a little frost bit/nip on my cheeks and freaked out so he made me put on a down vest and we high tailed it. That was really close to turning bad.

There is a lot of other trips, but these are the most memorable due to there unexpected results.

Now I am planning for my first real expedition. though it is not climbing, I am going to be building trails in Philmont NM with the Order of the Arrow this August. Best of all, I only have to pay for airfare and food because I am working building the trails.

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