Blanca Peak in August!

We've decided on the mountain, the tickets have been booked and the training has started. Chad Cross and I are headed back to Colorado to climb a group of 14,000-ft peaks called the Blanca Group. Our main objective will be Blanca Peak. At 14,345 ft, it's the 6th tallest mountain in the US outside of Alaska.

Here are a couple of pictures of Blanca from 14ers.com:



There are four other peaks in the area. We'd like to do a traverse across a connecting ridge between a couple of these peaks. Any traverse in this area is really exposed (meaning if you lose your step, you fall a long, long way), so may be a little out of our comfort zone. We'll see.

The Blanca group is straight south of Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo, so sorta south central Colorado. It's not too far north of the New Mexico state border near the town of Alamosa.

This will be my 8th summit attempt on a 14,000-ft mountain in the US. I'm 6-1 right now (see my mountaineering resume on a previous post).

Chad was with me on my first 14er summit back in 2003. He led the way on a semi-technical route up the north face (cable route) of Longs Peak. He's the only person I would completely trust on the other end of a rope.

Chad and I on the Summit of Longs Peak (Chad on the right):


After climbing Longs, Chad and I back at the car and feeling pretty sweet:


More details to follow.

Kailey is 8 months old!

See recent pictures of her here

Mountaineering Resume

This website exists to chronicle my “mountaineering” adventures. I was going to call it Atlanta Mountaineer, but Atlanta Climber sounded better.

It has become more of a general adventure travel/photo album website. It's mostly looked at by my extended family, but occasionally I'll get a hit from someone searching for info on one of the places I've visited. I’m planning a trip to Colorado this summer so thought it would be a good time to get the site back to its roots. Here goes…

So what's the difference between "climbing" and "mountaineering," you ask? Well, mountaineering may contain an element of climbing, but climbing isn't necessarily mountaineering. You can climb on some rocks in the hills near your house or on a wall at your gym. You can't mountaineer on a wall at your gym.

Mountaineering (as I define it) is the experience of pursing a goal on a mountain, like the summit, which cannot be achieved by just walking up a worn path. Technical skills and a rope may or may not be required, depending on the route. Classic routes, however, usually do have section of true, roped rock climbing.

Mountaineering does require route finding. It is usually an overnight endeavor that requires technical equipment. Depending on the length of the trip, knowledge of local weather patterns may be necessary. It requires a basic understanding of human physiology as it relates to extreme weather conditions, altitude, nutrition and exhaustion. Basic survival skills are important...what would you do if you lost a key piece of equipment, if there was a sudden change in weather, if you broke your leg in a fall?

Climbing Everest is the classic example of mountaineering. You need to understand the weather in the Khumbu Himal to know when to attempt the climb. You need to understand what altitude sickness looks so you'll know when to rest or return to a lower camp. You need really technical gear like crampons for boots, ropes and ice axes. You need to know route finding so you make it to the next camp and not the bottom of a crevasse.

I'm headed back to Colorado this summer to do a little sudo-mountaineering. I'm going after a couple more of its 54 14,000-ft peaks. Most don't require true mountaineering, there is usually some semblance of a path and most can be completed in a day. But on most peaks, there are also a couple of true mountaineering routes, a path to the top that does require some advanced skills...an overnight camp, route finding, a rope…some balls. I’m looking for a couple of these climbs.

I thought it would be cool to put some info about the decision-making process leading up to a climb on the site.

I'll start with my mountaineering resume...

Click here to see my climbing resume
(Me rappelling off of Longs Peak in Colorado)

Alabama Football get's nations #1 recruiting class

Kailey says Roll Tide, Roll! (while playing with her Big Al (Alabama's mascot) stuffed animal).

Here's a quick summary from www.tidefans.com's Jess Nicholas:
Alabama fans expected Nick Saban’s first full recruiting class since his hiring in January 2007 to be good. But even the most diehard fans probably didn’t expect this.

Alabama signed 32 players during the 2007-2008 recruiting cycle, 30 on Signing Day and two beforehand as midterm enrollees. Those 32 players formed what we at TideFans, through our NARCAS rating system, believe to be the best class ever signed at Alabama under modern scholarship-limit rules.

Alabama’s signees included 10 players ranked a perfect 10.0, and the class carried a total average ranking of 9.76. Both numbers are significantly higher than recent years and also reflect complete domination of in-state foe Auburn and Alabama’s other traditional rival, Tennessee.

Alabama Football vs. Rivals

Click here to see statistics I've compiled to show how Alabama compares to its two biggest rivals, Tennessee and Auburn (there's no comparison)
(photo from TideSports.com - Matt Caddell catching the game winning pass against Arkansas with 8 seconds left. Alabama 41, Arkansas 38)

Kailey meets Santa (and doesn't cry :))

Follow along here

Peas in a Pod

Gina's nephew, Jacob, and our dog, Copper. Too cute not to post.

Kailey Elizabeth

Kailey is here! Mom and baby are doing great!

Follow along here

t-minus 14 days

Mom and baby are doing great!

Follow along here

Bosnia 2007

In June 2007, I was part of a short-term mission trip to a partner church in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We taught English and helped with projects around the church. For info on our church and global partners, visit North Point Ministries Global Partners.

Select the picture below to see photos from our trip...

San Francisco

Check out pictures from our trip to San Francisco and Yosemite National Park

Alabama Football Statistics - 2006 Season Update

Click here to see statistics I've compiled to show how Alabama compares to its two biggest rivals, Tennessee and Auburn (there's no comparison)
(photo from TideSports.com)

Saban hire means Alabama is back

For the last few years, and especially the last few weeks, the national media has questioned Alabama's relevance. Getting Nick Saban, a much sought after coach from the NFL, proves Alabama is still Alabama. I couldn't be happier with this hire. I haven't been this optimistic about the direction of the Alabama football program since the 1992 national championship.


(photo from TideSports.com's Robert Sutton)

Here's an article from TideFans.com's Editor-in-Chief, Jess Nicholas, that sums up how I feel:

It is difficult to put into precise terms just what the hiring of Nick Saban as head football coach of The University of Alabama means.

On the surface, a coach was hired. Go down to the next layer, and it’s a football coach with a solid, perhaps spectacular SEC resume that includes multiple conference titles and a national championship. Another layer down, Alabama – for the second time in its history – took a sitting head coach away from a NFL franchise.

At the core of this issue, though, Alabama did much more than hire a football coach.

Alabama walked into the batter’s box, looked 10 years or more of horribly bad luck in the eye, and using a bat that has been cracked, torn and otherwise left for scrap, hit a homerun that has yet to land...read the rest of the article here

The Wall

- Six sheets of pressure treated plywood - $180
- Increase in home insurance liability coverage - $100
- Having your own climbing wall - Priceless

For some people there are backyard patios. For Jason, there's a climbing wall.

Check out pictures of my climbing wall

Pictures from India are now online

See pictures from my trip...enjoy :)! Shoot me an email if you have questions about any of them: jason@atlantaclimber.com

Check out this photo - it show's you just how safety-conscience India is:
"The art of scaffolding" or "Why do we need to be roped in?"

See all the pictures here

A family from a herding village near Nagpur, India

Me at the Taj

While I'm working on the photo albums, here are a couple more pictures...

Me in front of the the Taj Mahal

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Students at Prakash


Bronze statues of Hindu Gods

The school - Prakash Institute

I can't believe I haven't already posted this, but please check out the website for the school I visited in India. There's a lot of great info. If you would like to get involved, at any level, I'd love to talk to you. Prakash Institute: www.prakash4india.org

Another couple of photos

This is one of the kids taught goat herding. He's been able to grow from 2 goats to over 30! A year ago his family was hungry. Now they have enough to take in extended family. A great story.

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A common sight on the roads of India

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Loren talking with potential students at an orphange

A quick photo from India

It's going to be a couple of days before I get photos from the trip on the web (depending on how quickly I recuperate). This one caught my eye as I started downloading. These kids were playing cards on a sidewalk in Delhi.

I'm Home!

Hi All,

After 30 something hours of traveling, I'm home. I've got a bad respiratory track infection, but other than that I'm fine (ok, I'm pretty sick :)). I'll post another couple of blogs/trip summaries this weekend.

Jason

Headed home

Hi All,

It's Thursday night here. I'm on my way to the airport. See in you in a couple of days!!!

Jason

Thoughts on the bombings in Bombay and a quick update on today

Hi Everyone,

It's Wednesday night here. First of all, don’t worry about my safety here. Nagpur is far removed from India’s major cities and likely targets. Also, for the next few days, security will be extremely high. I will be flying out of Bombay, but my time there will be confined to the airport (I’m flying in from Nagpur and out to Moscow). Of all the places in India, the airport is probably going to be the safest.

Last year I spent two days in the part of Bombay impacted by the bombs. It’s a very suburban part of town, if there is such a thing in India. It’s made up of regular folks. It hurt to see images of the dead and injured. What cowards these people are - to get onto a train, drop off a bomb and then walk away. It’s difficult to understand how anything (anger, revenge, religion) could motivate a person to do such a thing.

Is there really any way to fight this kind of war? My fear is that terrorism on this scale is here to stay.

As you can imagine, India is in shock, much as the US was after 9-11.

I was on a train last week – first class coach (the coach targeted by the bombers). It gives you pause.

I’ve hit a bit of a wall today. I woke up this morning with a sore throat and have gone down hill since. I’m dreading the trip home. I leave here for the airport tomorrow morning at 7:00am Atlanta time and won’t arrive at our house until sometime after midnight on Saturday. That’s around 30 hours!!! I hope I’m not sick the whole way. Loren is doing his best to get me healthy and ready for the trip.

We visited an orphanage today. Conditions were good – considering. Loren talked to the staff and a group of girls at the right age for the school here. All in all it was a good day, but my feeling bad dampened things for me.

I don’t think Loren would mind me saying this, but he’s around twice my age...and he’s absolutely running circles around me. I really hope I’m doing what he’s doing when I’m his age. Wow! I’ve had a great time watching him interact with the staff and with the people. I’ve learned a ton. I don’t know where my interests in India will lead, if I’ll keep visiting, etc. If I do stay involved, I know I'll look back on these few days with Loren as being a great starting point for understanding what it looks like to be an American working with the poor and helping Christians in India.

I’ll try to give another update before I head to the airport tomorrow.

See you soon!
Jason

Nagpur - Tuesday night update

Hi All,

It’s Tuesday night in Nagpur. All is well.

There’s an old saying with rope knots that if you can’t tie a knot, tie a lot. I carry the same philosophy into photography. I just passed the 1,000-picture mark. A few of them have to be good, right? I’ve seen some amazing things. I just hope the camera saw them also. One of my tasks for the trip was to capture photos that will tell the story of Prakash. Hopefully I’ve done that.

The trip to the village this morning was quite an experience. Riding on the back of a motorcycle was both exhilarating and scary. We spent almost 6 hours riding. It’s a great way to see the countryside and I can see the attraction of owning one. Along with taking a train, maybe riding a motorcycle should be an India must. I think I’d have to up my life insurance policy if I was going to ride one frequently.

The kids in the villages are so attracted to cameras. Take their picture and show it to them and you’ve totally made their day. I wish I had brought a Polaroid so I could leave a print with them. I’ve found that the kids like to see pictures of each other as much as of themselves. If I take a group of kids together, they’ll point at each other and laugh. It’s cool.

The villages were just what you would imagine. The people have little to nothing, but they do survive and they do smile. More than anything, these kinds of experiences make me think about my own life and I wonder if I could be a better steward with the time, talents and resources God has given me. Actually, there’s no wondering about it. I know I could. The question is whether I will do something about it. I also wonder if I would be so willing to smile in such difficult circumstances (given past experience, the answer is probably no).

I have a knack for getting laughs..at my expense. I was trying to take pictures of water buffaloes crossing the road. They were moving, so I was moving with them. My mind was on the photo and not on where I was walking. First, let me say that anytime a westerner pulls out a camera in India, a crowd grows. There was a crowd of motorists (stopped for the crossing buffaloes), herders, kids, etc. watching this crazy American with a camera walking along side the buffaloes. Squish...I stepped right on a pile of very recent “dung,” as they call it. Everyone had a good laugh, and I had the only pair of tennis shoes I brought soiled (thank goodness I wasn’t wearing sandals!!!).

Later one of the men from Prakash asked my why I was taking photos of a buffalo, as if it was a silly thing to do. I told him there were none where I lived and I wanted to be able to show pictures to my friends. I’m not sure he thought that was a good reason. I guess I’d feel the same way about someone taking photos of a cow.

As most of you know, I have a small rock collection. This morning I took a walk around the grounds here and gathered up a few. I was walking back to the building as a group of students came out. I knew this was going to lead to an awkward conversation, and for a moment I thought about casually dropping them. In broken English, one student pointed and asked what I was doing with the stones. Given the language barrier, I wasn’t able to explain why I had a perfectly good reason for carrying a pile of rocks into the building. Between the photos of buffaloes and the rocks, I may be looked at as somewhat “eccentric.”

We had another focus group this afternoon. The students asked questions about marriage and how we determined God’s will for our lives (how did Loren get involved with Prakash and why was I here). Great questions. Loren did an excellent job with them.

Tomorrow we’re going to an orphanage. Prakash is currently an all boys’ school, but they are opening a girl’s school in the fall. They hope to be able to pull some girls from this orphanage. The orphanage is two hours away, so it will be a long day.

The monsoon is definitely here. It’s much cooler (80s), which is nice, but humidity is high. It comes heavy rain showers several times a day. Things are turning green.

Had another incredible Indian meal this evening in the home of the school’s director in India. The dinner included he and his wife, their daughter and son-in-law and their two girls, Loren and myself. They made me feel like part of the family and the meal was delicious.

Can’t wait to see you all soon (Gina more than the rest of you :)).

Later,
Jason

Nagpur - Tuesday morning update

Hi All!

Hope you are all well.

We’re headed to a village on the outskirts of Nagpur this morning. We’re visiting a ministry and looking for photo opportunities to document the conditions some of the school’s students come from. The roads aren’t great, so we’re taking motorcycles. This should be interesting.

The villages are extremely poor. The people are just surviving so there’s little to no education. Some of the students here come from these villages. They are really starting from square one. A couple of teachers told me that the biggest challenge they have with the students when they first arrive has to do with simple things like hygiene and manors.

In one year, they are able to teach them enough English to take the government exams (written) for their trades. All exams are in English, since there are so many different languages in India...English serves as the common language. Most are able to pass! Their conversational English is not very good (I’ve had a hard time communicating with them), but they can understand some of what I say (just not respond) and write enough to answer test questions - Indians are very sharp. I can’t imagine learning a trade and enough Hindi to pass a written exam in only one year.

Loren and I had a question and answer session with 9 students yesterday afternoon. It was awesome. For 30 minutes they asked any question they wanted. Then we spent 30 minutes asking them questions. The answers were extremely enlightening. When asked what they thought their biggest challenge would be when leaving Prakash (the school), one student said he didn’t know how he would be able to get enough money to pay the bribes required to get a job (I’m learning that a lot in this part of India revolves around bribes). Another student asked how he would be able to continue being a Christian when he went back to his village where there were no Christians.

There are so many hurdles for these kids. Some have no family. Despite being against the law, the caste system is still an issue (all the students are lower caste). Christians are often ostracized in rural areas. Some don’t speak Hindi, English or even the local dialect (they speak tribal languages).

But there are plenty of success stories here. One of the teachers told me about students he as kept in touch with who now make more money then he does (he said that with great pride).

The people are all so friendly. Just as I experienced during last year’s trip to India, everyone is willing to say hello and smile. And if given a chance, they love to ask you where you are from. If they can speak any English, they want to talk. They ask how you like India, if you have ever been here before, where is your family :). It’s easy to feel at home here.

My health is great. I do have some allergy issues, but that’s pretty normal for me. I had an amazing Indian meal last night...one of those meals that Loren said we shouldn’t tell the folks at home about...it would make it sound like we were living the good life here (which we actually are :)).

Loren (and the rest of the staff) is taking exceptional care of me.

Talk to you soon.

Jason

Nagpur - Monday afternoon update

Hi All,

It's Monday afternoon here. I've spent the day visiting the four different programs offered here: welding, electrical, ac repair, and computer. The classes remind me of the shop programs that were just before my time in high school. For these kids, it's an amazing education. I sat with the computer teacher, Anil, this afternoon and he showed me a book with notes on the jobs former students have. It was really neat to see that the school works.

I'm headed to the city to meet with a man who has helped the school with local politics. I'm learning a lot about the government bureaucracy here. He's a non-Christian and it's pretty amazing that he's helping so much...a really cool story.

I'll try to write another message later.

It's much cooler here than in Delhi, and the air quality is infinitely better (there was practically a sandstorm when I left - literally). It's still really humid though.

The students are so funny. When I walk into the room, the all stand and say, "Good morning sir." Unfortunately, many don't speak English, so I can't communicate to tell them they don't have to stand everytime they see me.

Talk to you soon. Hope everyone is well.

Jason