As mentioned in my June post, I wasn't going to post in July because I would be on a month-long course. Well I'm back now and it has been an exciting and very busy two months. This update will come in 4 categories, as that organization will work best for my brain here. UNC 28 day outward bound course This summer I got staffed on my dream course, a 28 day course with UNC Chapel Hill students. All of these students were on this course as a part of their scholarship to school. They all applied for the course, and were really motivated to be there. That is what sets this course apart from all other courses that I've worked; a full crew of high achieving adults, who really are bought into and stoked about the experience. This course was backpacking based, as usual. We had a 3 day climbing block that culminated in a successful multi pitch climb for every student. We had a 4 day whitewater canoe block where we paddled the Chattooga River for 3 days, then the Nantahala River for 1 day. We did a day of trail service with the organization Wild South, the students did a Wilderness First Aid & CPR course, and they also did a 48 hour solo. It was a packed 28 days, and went as good as an Outward Bound course can. The self reliance, leadership, and care for each other that these students displayed impressed me from day 1 until the end. They had the opportunity to go on an unaccompanied final backpacking expedition, which they thoroughly earned throughout the course. They did a 3 day, 3 night backpacking trip without me and my co, which was a culminating show of their self reliance. Start to end, this course was a dream. My co, Caleb, and I worked so well together and we made a lot of fun for ourselves. All of the courses I've ever worked before with middle schoolers and/or students that did not want to be there just made this course even sweeter. Dream student population, dream co-instructor, dream length. This course spoiled me! Here are just a few photos from that course... Climbing work Less exciting than the previous section, but what I've always wanted, so worth mentioning nonetheless. Pretty immediately following my 28 day, I headed over to the other base camp, Cedar Rock for a little bit of climbing work. I shadowed my boss/friend/mentor, Spencer, on a full 3 day block that culminated in a multi pitch climb. This shadow block is important so that I can "shine" on my next 3 day block, and then be checked off to run them on my own. I also facilitated a 1 day block with a veterans crew, and a ropes course day with an OB Professional group. I loved this work, as it was solely climbing and related activities, but also because it is more residential than instructing. I got to come back to base, shower, and see my friends every night. In the future, I am hoping to phase more into this type of work rather than full time instructing. I don't have any photos from this work, but I have one photo from a day off in between workdays... Pictured is my partner, Daniel, tying in for a climb. The rock pictured is at Cathey's Creek Crag, near Brevard, NC. It was nice to spend some time with Daniel after a month away, and to get out and climb personally again. We actually got our butts kicked on this climb, but that's what climbing is all about anyway, right? American alpine institute moutaineering course With barely a single day off after climbing work, I packed up and left for Bellingham, Washington with best friend Max and partner Daniel. We had applied for professional development funding from NCOBS last year, and got some money to do this Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue course with the American Alpine Institute. The purpose of us doing this course was largely in preparation for us being staffed on NCOBS' courses in Patagonia, Argentina. The NCOBS semester course is a 3 phase course, one in the NC mountains (I worked this phase last year), one in the FL Everglades, and one in Patagonia, Argentina. This year, the international programming is coming back for the first time since covid, and NCOBS is investing in us to get some mountaineering training so that we can safely be a part of the instructional teams. So off to Washington we went! The course was 3 days long, located on the Glaciers of Mt Baker. On day one we learned how to walk on snow, self arrest, and a little bit about glaciology. On day two we talked about knots, how to set up a rope team, how to build snow anchors, and how to rescue someone from a crevasse fall using a technical hauling system. On the third day, we actually roped up as a team and went for a little walk on the glacier. We set up for the final lesson at a huge crevasse, and each person got the chance to be lowered into the crevasse as the team practiced a team haul to rescue them. All in all, this was an amazing course and a terrific life experience. It gave me skills for not just course work in Patagonia, but for personal mountaineering experiences in the future. We had a blast and I am so thankful that we got this opportunity. Some pics... Climbing trip Immediately following the mountaineering course we were all scheduled to work a 6 day course with NCOBS, just a shortie for a big school group that we get every year. The night we returned to base though, Max and Daniel both tested positive for covid. We had all tested negative the night before the AAI course, but we think that we got it from Max who got it from a student on his last course, not in the travel process. Either way, surely enough, the next day I also tested positive. So we couldn't work this short course, and we weren't very sick, so we went climbing. We spent one day climbing at Hidden Valley, in Virginia, and two days climbing at Breaks Interstate Park, in VA/KY. While I felt bad to miss the course and let the program down in that way, it was my first chunk of days off all season long where me and the boys actually got to just go climbing for fun. It was a great trip, Daniel and I both sent 5.11 climbs on lead for the first time, and I felt surprisingly strong for not having climbed much since the spring. All in all, things worked out just fine. Just a few pics... What's next? Well that brings us up to the present day. Hopefully, with a negative covid test in the next 3 days, I will fly to Chicago soon for a weekend with my friends from high school. Then, I have 4 weeks off in September to rest up for the mountains phase of the fall semester for the second year in a row. Not sure yet what September will fully look like, but at least it will include more rest days than the past two months did! That's what I've got for this update. It's been one heck of a summer season.
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