how i've missed the mountains

i may be biased.

sometimes i just like to start with the truth. but, there are somethings in my life that i am totally positive are the greatest things ever. one such thing (or many such things) are the mountains of northern utah. they are huge, and glorious, and inviting. they were built by earth quakes and a giant lake, and they are what makes this area feel so much like home. i think no other mountain range can compare. other than the lake clark pass in alaska, but those are uninhabitable mountains, and bring danger with their beauty.

as of late these mountains of mine have been totally enveloped by the inversion. ick. the other night it blew, and the temperature dropped down in the negatives. it cleared the inversion. suddenly i again live at the base of mountains. the sun is shining, the mountains are beckoning, but, the temperature remains in the negatives. as a small person, i can handle cold weather, but this isn't just cold, this is freeze the lungs, stop the heart kind of cold. so, i here i sit, in the square of sun coming through the window, unable to go outside and play.

my climbing has also cooled.

winter is a difficult time for climbers. it is too cold to shove our poor feet into tiny shoes. too cold to hold onto frozen rock. too cold to be outside doing that we most love. k and i try our little hearts out to remain entertained during these months. we snowboard, we climb in the gym, we do yoga. but it seems nothing compares to climbing out of doors. the gym is great, but climbing on plastic holds is nothing like touching rock, nothing like sticking my hand into a crack, nothing like outside. there are those who love the gym, who train as if climbing in the gym is indicative of climbing outside. i am not one of those. i never have been.

last year we may have been better. taking trips in the middle of the winter. hiking through the snow. climbing while flakes peppered our hats. i'm not sure why we've grown soft this year. why we haven't pushed the limits of cold and climbed anyway. maybe it was because we spoiled ourselves this summer, and as spoiled children we won't settle for less. maybe we've grown lazy. refusing to bundle up and go. or maybe it is a different year, and as the years change so do people.

i'm not sure what it is. what i do know, is that it is time to go again. time to brave the weather and spend the day doing what i love.

and finally, to end this long post, i wish happy anniversary to my blog. i started you one year ago, and, i think, we've done a wonderful job together.

i may be biased.