Never Stop Climbing
Mountaineering, Technology, Coffee, and Other Essentials

Reinhold Messner is probably the greatest climber ever – definitely one of the toughest. It’s a must watch if you wonder why accomplished climbers do what they do.

Found over at Alan’s blog.

Climbing is difficult. My friend Alan Arnette reminds us that so is staying behind:

Climbers know what each day is like. They share the cold, the hunger, the pain in their lungs; and their hearts with teammates. They know the unknown.

Back home, the unknown is a mystery. Days go by with no information. No news is good news, they were told. But no news creates demons.

Then the phone rings, the computer beeps and all is well. Contact again. Smiles, a laugh, a tear of happiness. The team is together, focused on one goal.

A moment of clarity. The unknown is known. A deep breath. Then the silence returns as the connection ends.

As climbers we owe those who support us “back home” a great deal of gratitude.

Jason D. Martin weighs in on the American Alpine Institute blog:

It’s hard for me to universally condemn soloing because for some the reward is worth the risk. Most soloists don’t see what they’re doing as being that risky because they’re on terrain where they feel extremely comfortable. Does that mean I’m going to solo 5.10 or even 5.5, at this point in my life, probably not. Each of us has to make our own decisions about the risks that we take while climbing. And it is not really our jobs to dictate what’s right and what’s not right to those outside our parties who are unlikely to impact anyone else.

At altitude even a solo class 1 hike exposes you to risk – not class 5 risk obviously – but the risks are there. Going solo isn’t on my agenda any time in the near future and when and if I do go solo it will probably be on class 1-3 terrain. That said, I admire people who have the physical (and mental) skills that allow them to go solo with reasonable safety.

Philosophically, I believe in personal freedom. I also believe that pushing ourselves and taking calculated risks is beneficial. However, we live in a world where personal freedom is slowly slipping away and risk, no matter how slight, is seen as the enemy.

By the way, the climber featured in the above video is still with us. Her impressive climbing resume can be found at destivelle.com.

If I attempt Wetterhorn this summer it will be my first class 3 climbing. It looks challenging – mentally and physically – but if training continues to go well this summer I think it’s within reach.

It’s been sort of quiet around here since the Mt. Belford climb but training and planning for future climbs continues. However, some things have changed.

First, my former climbing partner Jermaine doesn’t have plans for any attempts in the near future. A new job and other issues require most of his attention. So the story of two out of shape guys getting fit and climbing mountains is now the story of one guy getting fit and climbing mountains.

Some of you will also notice that I’ve also merged a lot of my blog and social media channels. This site is still about climbing, and learning to climb, but it will also serve as my personal blog. You may see non-climbing content from time to time.

Twitter updates will continue but @TeamNSC will be phased out in favor of @johnwlittle. My tweets are not public but I approve most requests to follow – especially from fellow climbers.

Hopefully, these changes will free up some of my time and allow me to post regular updates. I definitely have more to say about training and the mountains ahead.

SummitPost is nice starting point for research and routes – not to mention some amazing photos of the mountain.

A nice view from Wetterhorn Peak in Colorado – possibly my next summit attempt later this summer.