After my return from Patagonia, I drove across the country promptly to land in Bend, Oregon for a 2 month off-season of skiing and climbing. Off-season is a tough time for me, mainly because of my need for rest, coupled with finally having the time to get after my own pursuits at a high level. I came into this off-season with a fitness focused intention. I know myself, and being fit and enjoying my sports is pretty central to feeling refreshed and motivated. Obviously, though, overuse injuries have been nagging me since I started training really, at the ripe age of 15. These days, I battle elbow (mainly left) and knee (either one, they like to alternate) tendinitis. Part of my fitness focused intention was to get shredded, but also stretch a lot and take care of myself so that I am physically prepped for the next year (and many more) of high impact life. After all of the travel, I was itching to get back on rock or in the gym and get even stronger in my climbing. The climbing at Bend Rock Gym as well as Smith Rock State Park did not disappoint. I also joined a yoga studio and started practicing there about 3-5 days per week. Additionally, obviously, I have enjoyed some skiing as well. Mostly resort, but a nice sampling of backcountry and nordic kept it well rounded and interesting. In fact, well rounded and interesting is a great way to generally describe my time in Bend. Every day, I would sleep in (rest quota = achieved), then choose 1, 2, or even 3 of my activities and go get after it. I have no major achievements to note, and that's just fine. Truly the achievement is that I healthily kept myself occupied for this long. Thanks to the pandemic for that skill set. And to my mother, who would patiently tell me "you need to learn to occupy yourself" when I would kneel at her office chair and cry out "I'm bored" for hours as a child. Well, anyway, free time isn't the death sentence that it used to be for me, so here's a bit more detail on the activities that I've chosen to fill my time this winter... climbing First major life update here is that I got a new job within the North Carolina Outward Bound School. This upcoming summer, instead of full time instructing, I will be taking on the Resident Climbing Specialist role at the Table Rock base camp. As a Climbing Specialist, my job typically involves me hiking out from base and setting up then facilitating a climbing day (or multi-day block) for a crew. The key difference from the instructing gig is that I sleep on base for climbing work. With the Resident Climber role, I will be getting paid this summer to (almost) exclusively do climbing work (I will also instruct one 22 day). Additionally this role involves some level of training instructors as well as gear organization and management. All of this updating and verbal processing is to say... climbing has really become my full time thing. After 3 fruitful and oh-so-wonderful ski bum seasons out west, I decided that for my 4th the real goal here isn't just to bum out and let the ski conditions dictate my happiness. The real goal here is to continue to progress, and to gain experiences, skill, and strength in areas relevant to my passions, and also my career. Convenient with this new job, passions and career are kind-of colliding. So, anyway, yes, climbing this winter in Oregon! One of the main reasons I picked Bend for the winter. What a trip! WOW Smith Rock is quite the place!! So I got up to both single and multi pitch climbing at Smith. Mostly sport, a trad here or there. Like I said, I wanted to build my climbing fitness this winter and, like I said, I don't have any notable sends to prove that I've done that. But I feel strong. And I won't be rusty when the season comes around. Climbing season for me will be long. It will last from now until the new year, with one 22 day break in July. Smith Rock was great for its ease of access, casual and accessible cragging, and bolts of course! I really enjoyed sport climbing, and taking falls, and just getting mileage under me. Perfect off-season vibes. The majority of my climbing mileage this winter was in a gym though. Bend Rock gym met the fix with a great lead wall, plenty of bouldering, and of course auto belays. Climbing in the gym always makes me feel like a kid. I feel the same as the first time that I pulled on plastic- probably age 9 or so. I'm not as light or fearless as I used to be, but the joy of movement is still there. Skiing Ah yes the original passion! Before the tidal wave of climbing consumed me I was once a skier and a skier pure! But now, alas, times are a changing and skiing is merely a side hobby. I intentionally cared a little less about skiing this year and it has really freed me from the obligation. This way, I'm more open to skiing casually and letting skiing be a fun thing, rather than yet another arena where I need to progress and prove something. If you couldn't tell by the 4 years of consistent blogging, I do feel a need to be proving myself worthy. From wherever that comes, I thank and curse. Anyway, this winter I skied at Mt. Bachelor with a weekday pass. I also did a few "thrifty Thursdays" at Hoodoo. I skied and snowboarded. There was a few nice storms especially in February, and there was plenty of mellow trees. Good times. Spring is upon us... Off-season was short, but dare I say, not too short. I'm just about getting to that point where I'm ready to do something that contributes to the world again. On March 7th, I will leave Bend and make the journey back east to North Carolina for the NCOBS season. Life is just fine. That's all I've got for this update!
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