Update and Raison d'être

Training continues apace. No margs tonight, just a few hours on the wall. I'm meeting up with a great friend and my first real climbing partner, whom I haven't seen in almost two years. Ironically, he is moving to Central China on May 4th, four days before I leave for Tibet/China.

This reunion has helped to me articulate something very important in how I chose to live my life now. Many years of moving around a great deal as a kid, compounded by spending the last seven years living in a transient city, many people have come and gone in my life who, at one point, have had a significant impact on me. In this case, my climbing buddy J and I spent many moons camped out in the back of his van, only to wake at the butt crack of dawn to climb other kinds of cracks along the side of a mountain.

J and I had a great time pursuing a common passion and I was greatful that he was patient with me while I was learning to climb - this was no small task given that I'm pretty terrified of heights. Climbing is a great sport in that it not only reveals your physical limitations, but also exposes your personal character and there is no one who becomes more aware of them than your climbing partner. I am who I am today partly because of all these trips we took together; I learned how to push myself beyond what I could see and was comfortable with.

Partly, this adventure to Tibet is a personal journey of adventure, learning, experience and pushing myself outside of what I'm normally comfortable with. However many people who are very important to me have found out about this trip and are follow me along through this blog or elsewhere. You folks know who you are and I can't tell you how wonderful it is getting back in touch and talking to you again. I want everyone to know that I'm taking each one of you with me on this journey; I wouldn't exist without the impact you have had on me.

So, I'll do my best not to get run over by a yak...or a Yeti.