I'm Back Baby

I have been off the climbing grid for a while, but it certainly hasn't been off of my mind. When I was laid off in December, one of my first thoughts was, "cool, now I can climb". The problem is that one can't decide to go climb and be climbing the next day. One must be in climbing shape first.

So, fast forward 4 months. I have made some significant headway on the job front and have some solid prospects. In addition to looking for work, I have been getting in to shape. Because I feel that if I don't, this time off was really a waste. I have been going to the gym a lot, working with a trainer, and found some killer vertical hiking in the area and wear my 40 pound pack when I do it. I am definitely now in better shape.

So, the trip to Ecuador that we have been eyeing (http://alpineascents.com/ecuador9-dtd.asp) is quickly approaching with a departure date of 6/20. The helpful people there have told me I would have to commit by 5/20. So, the combination of me being in shape, and 5/20 being 3 weeks away, and a job probably a month or two away, lead me to the exciting conclusion that I might go climb some volcanoes in Ecuador. And with training, come blog posts. So, look for my blogging activities to be stepped up!

Work, Work, Work and TRAINING

So, all work and no play makes Burt a dull boy. I have been working a ton lately trying to keep up with all that is going on. That being said, its only 27 days until i start the climb on Rainier. ARGH!!!!!!!!

So, I am training in my free time. The pack is up to about 47 pounds with weights and a full camel back. I went out for two hours yesterday around Hemlock Hills near my house, as its the hilliest area around with some steep sections. I played hockey friday night, hiked for 2 hours on saturday, and hiked the treadmill for an hour today.

While hiking the treadmill, I played Grand Theft Auto IV. Anyone played it? Pretty wild. I opted not to kick the guy off the roof, although I have certainly gunned down and driven over my fare share of pedestrians! Pretty wild game, the graphics are great. I also just finished Call of Duty 4, which might have been my favorite video game that I have ever played. The multi player is awesome also even though I tend to survive for only a few minutes.

Getting There

So, I think I have mentioned before that I work in Interactive and Call Center Marketing for Starwood Hotels. This week, I was at the Phoenician (Beautiful, and not saying that as a company man) and the shower was incredible! Thats not really on topic, but you have to like huge drenching showers in the middle of a 120 degree desert.

So, it was the usual bevy of blah blah, but the night time activities and the social pieces were great. But, you ask, being that this is a blog about my middle age crisis and dream of becoming the next Edmund Hilary, what does Phoenix have to do with anything????

Luckily, the Phoenician (with the great showers) abuts (now there's a word that should be used more often) CamelBack Mountain, a 2500 foot mountain in scottsdale az. So, being that I am in training for the September Baker adventure, I thought to myself "self, there is a mountain in walking distance just daring me to climb it". So I did. The first time was the warm up, the "get a feel for it" hike. But day 2, with a climbing interactive marketing partner, we summitted. Its an awesome hike. Trail for a while, but a lot of scrambling to get to the top. Very good feeling when you hit the top, until you hear the story about the 70 year old who does it 3 times every day!!!!

The best part, we didn't see one rattlesnake!