The Lure Of Expeditions

Someone asked me why I would choose to spend two months on a frigid glacier when I could be spending a beautiful summer in Boise. I can only say look at this:
A few years ago I wrote this to someone trying to explain why big trips excite me. I think it attempts to explain why I left the coolest dog (Saga)

and my house for 2 months in the middle of the summer. In short, I love expeditions. Absolutely love them. From the time the group starts the process of planning and getting to know one another to the time we send our photos around and thank each other for a fabulous time. The whole experience is an exercise that engages all of the important parts of life.

Each day brings a new challenge in both the human and the physical aspects of living a life that is based in subsistence, basic human support and survival. That is not so say I won’t have my iPod filled with Lady Gaga, but that is neither here nor there. I don’t know how to explain the positive feelings I get when I sit on the ridge at 16000ft after having carried a load to the cache, watch our clients work hard in an attempt to do something they have not done before, or after successfully moving with clients over difficult and scary terrain. Yet, it is why I love life.

Human factors are abound on expeditions. People make the trip. The beauty, grandeur, and location play second fiddle to the group of people. Whether a summit is in the cards or not, it is not nearly as exciting as the group that I am about to spend the next 21 days with. Denali will be there for me to see again, but the people that create this group dynamic will not.

If you are interested in following our progress, please click on the American Alpine Institute Blog Page. Watch for our check-ins and we are team 3 (May 14-June 4).

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