Adventures in Space and Time

Some of the most exciting adventures I've experienced have been adventures in Space.  What I mean is that these experiences have been particularly adventuresome because of the location in which they took place.

Long backpacking trips in the big mountains, fishing in the deep blue sea, exploring the remains of ancient civilizations in the desert, packing loads of photography gear into glorious parts of Creation where it's impossible to take a bad picture - these are the adventures most of us remember for a lifetime.  

Seeing Nature

My sister sent me this video adaptation of Brian Doerksen's Creation Calls.  It makes me think about what people see, whether they live around the globe or down the hall, when they look at nature's beauty.

Some see the mighty hand of Allah.
Some see beautiful illusions that cloak the ultimate truth of Brahman or Nirvana.
Some see the glorious creations of Yahweh.
Some see the results of random chance.
And some just shrug their shoulders and see nothing at all.

I understand the many reasons why humans see nature differently, and I respect them all. Fact is, neither Muslims nor Hindus nor Buddhists nor Jews nor Christians nor Atheists nor Agnostics can prove that their beliefs are right, and all the others are not.

But as for me - well, I'm with Doerksen...

New Heights

Today I thought I'd take a rest from the deep end of the pool and spend some time up in the shallow water, so to speak.

Here's a video I recently ran across. Now I love to climb rocks and ice and mountains, anything really, in the outdoors. But I don't know - this is just plain CRAZY.

Nervous yet? :)

Beauty and the Beast

My family spent the last several days on a Kivu trip to a most inspiring place - the islands of El Nido in the Palawan province of the Philippines.

These islands are chunks of black limestone arranged quite closely, so that a wonderful adventure can be cobbled together visiting island after island.

Almost immediately I wanted to scope out climbing destinations, but upon close inspection of the limestone I found that Kevlar gloves might be necessary.

The heavy rains that come during the monsoon season have created sharp, serrated edges on the rock that would chew up ropes, shoes and human bodies in short order.  Click the picture to the left to check out the climbing horror fest!

We stayed at the El Nido Resort in the nature preserve.  It's first-class accommodations for sure, with excellent food, service and activities.

We snorkeled gorgeous coral reefs with multicolored fish of every variety.  We kayaked through crystal clear bays and hidden coves with towering ramparts surrounding us.

We climbed a few routes on smooth rock, we windsurfed, we hiked, we watched the monkeys, we avoided hordes of jellyfish, we detoured around the occasional poisonous sea snake, we sat in stillness on pristine beaches that looked like they came out of King Kong or Jurassic Park.

With the parents of the teenagers that came we talked theology and kids and worldviews and philosophy and business and accountability and book reviews.

We ate every sort of Asian dish for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and we snacked on mangoes 'till we sloshed inside.

Josh and Dylan received hats from the resort made from palm fronds.  They had no reservations about wearing these works of art through the giant Mall of Asia in Manila.  Oh the looks they got from the mystified locals! 


Yes, El Nido is truly a spectacular place.  It's beauty like no other spot on earth.

But like the rest of the fallen world in which we live, El Nido has a beastly aspect as well.  El Nido Town, a 45 minute boat trip from the resort, is yet another example of the effects of poverty.

So one of the large-scale goals of the trip was to help International Care Ministries in the Philippines with their projects in El Nido Town.

Specifically, we assisted in the construction of two homes for the poor, and we helped provide dental care in another part of the town.

I cut rebar for concrete floors and painted the exterior of one of the homes.  Josh painted, raked and shoveled.  Dylan had to be the cutest little concrete bucket carrier in southeast Asia!

The local pastors and the people were so happy to have the help and the time spent in conversation with them to understand the ongoing issues with the mission in El Nido Town was illuminating for me.

So yes we had a great, great time exploring and working among these precious people.  I hope the connections we made on the trip will bear fruit in the Kingdom for years to come.

The Spell of the Typical

One of my favorite songs is Typical by Mute Math.



Some folks close to me have wondered why a mild-mannered midwestern guy like me would pursue things that aren't Typical for people with my background.

Stuff like mountaineering - like climbing rock and ice - like skiing not just downhill, but uphill as well - like shooting things at unimaginable distances - like doing all this in the truly wild places of our land, and like a bunch of other odd things I pursue.   Mind you, I'm not saying I'm a pro at all of this.  But I continue to practice, practice, practice.

The question is, "Why?".

Well, I've studied a few people that have made a big difference in the world.  Each of them have had the capacity to critically evaluate themselves and their surroundings.  They seem to be keenly aware of what they likely can do, and what they likely cannot do.

And when they're not sure - more often than not they decide in favor of the more adventurous route.

They can take risks.  They choose adventure over safety-at-any-cost.   They're not afraid.

This puts them in a class almost by themselves and they become our heroes.  When we see their exploits, we ask ourselves, "How can they do stuff like that?" or "Why didn't I think of that?".

So over the last several years I've been in training.  In business, in ministry and in life - I've been training myself to be more like these "difference-makers" and less like my old self.  It's a conscious effort to learn to make better decisions, to take appropriate risks and to live free from fear.

Some days and some decisions are better than others - but I'm gonna keep at it.  Not because I want to be cool (I quit worrying about that a long time ago).  Not because I want to climb better and faster than anyone else (I'm too old for that).  Not because I want to satisfy some extreme urge to dance on the edge and defy death (that's just silly).

I just want to live free - free from the limitations of my own preconceptions and free from the limitations others might enjoy placing on me.  And most of all I want to complete that part of the Great Project that I've been uniquely created for.

"Come on, can’t I dream for one day
There’s nothing that can’t be done
But how long should it take somebody
Before they can be someone?

‘Cause I know there’s got to be another level
Somewhere closer to the other side
And I’m feeling like it’s now or never
Can I break the spell of the typical?"

So this new year - why not consider joining me on this road?  You've got a significant chunk to complete of that same Great Project.  You've got a unique set of gifts and passions.  The Kingdom just won't be the same if you don't do and become what God has made you to do and to be.

Whaddya say?

What do you see?

Maybe these images will only appeal to those like me that love wandering through vast and wild places. If so, I apologize in advance!

I dropped a thousand feet off the Continental Divide the other day and shuffled precariously along this shifting shale slope on a serpentine trail cut by our trusty Expedition guides.

Though I'd seen (and posted!) pictures of this place taken by others - whatever breath I had left from the sketchy descent was abruptly taken away when I first spotted this little lake with my own eyes.

Yes, the sheer vastness and rugged beauty of this place is almost incomprehensible. The colors are so very vivid - it's a spectacle for sure.

The pictures simply do not do justice - but they're all I've got.

Now a certain friend of mine that loves such places would say, "Mike, you look at nature and see the hand of God. I look at nature and see Chance."

Then he'd add, "You know what your problem is? You just don't understand the law of large numbers."

Interesting.

We both seek such places - and love them - but for vastly different reasons. And I respect his right to hold on to that law of large numbers, I really do.

Of course, my worldview suggests:

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." - Romans 1:20

But I fully recognize the fact that there are about as many worldviews as there are people on the planet.

So I wonder, according to your view of the world - what do you see when you look at nature's awesome beauty?

Time to go...

It's time to go into this picture - to walk 10 miles or so back into those snowy peaks, then around to the right, then to spin south for 40 miles.

I'll be away from technology for the next week or thereabouts, so this'll be the last post for awhile.

I'm looking for cool Expedition destinations for next year. And like I said in my last post, I'm really looking for time alone with our Creator.

Father, thank you for the extravagant beauty you painted into your creation. Thank you for the opportunity to experience it firsthand. And most of all, thank you for the privilege of fresh meetings with you in the middle of it.

The Expedition

I LOVE the mountains and just about everything humans have dreamed up to do in them.

So in amongst all the other newness of this particular summer - Clayton Schultz and Jarod Sickler have been schooling me on the particulars of The Expedition.

What a cool deal - backpacking and climbing in the Weminuche Wilderness, Moab and other excellent destinations in and around southwest Colorado.

Over the last few years Clayton and Jarod (strong mountaineers, quality thinkers and all around good people) have built this incredible program - and we'll be expanding it over the next few years in some truly amazing ways.

If you're into high adventure, or think you want to be, check out www.the-expedition.com and stay tuned for more info here as we continue sculpting!

Speeding Up

The heel-healing (?!?) process has been excruciatingly slow over the last 4 months.

For those of you that don't know what I'm talking about - I mentioned my recent heel-breaking accident here and here. If I've said it once, I've now (literally) said it a thousand times.

"Break your head, break your heart, but whatever you do - don't break your heel!"

The good news is I'm now gaining back foot-function at a rapid rate. I'm psyched!

Last weekend I belayed some good friends at Sam's Throne in Arkansas. I couldn't stand it though - I just had to climb something. So just before we left I shoved my feet into my climbing shoes and did a lap on this simple 5.4.

I'm thrilled to report that everything worked just fine. This weekend we'll go at it again and crank it up a notch. I'm not where I was, and certainly not where I plan to be - but I can see light at the end of the tunnel.

Father, thank you for your mercy towards me and for the healing of my body. I ask the same for my father and sister - and for all those we love that so desperately need your healing touch and a fresh revelation of the kingdom to come.

I'm In Heaven

Well, not yet of course. The word on the street is that a grizzly killed a woman last year about 1000 yards to my right as I took this picture.

So despite what you see here, the Kingdom has not yet fully come. It is both Now, and Not Yet.

Death still exists, even in this beautiful place. But when I think on that Kingdom, it looks in my mind something like this.

Bull elk jog across this marshy meadow all day bugling and chasing their cows. I watched a bull moose thrash the bushes about 200 yards from me.

This is Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I'm at the Jackson Lake Lodge for a conference on Wilderness Risk Management.

What an absolutely inspiring environment.

A Friend and Fellow Sufferer

Suffering is a big part of mountaineering. Most of it is low amplitude suffering - like eating trail food, sleeping in cramped quarters and carrying lots of weight on your back.

But some of it can be (much) higher amplitude. Here's a picture of a foot - a new friend of mine's foot - during his recent operation to correct damage like I recently did to mine.

His fall was similar to mine - he crushed the same bone I did . The difference is that his subtalar joint was "displaced", where mine was not.

Displaced. That's the nice word for "stinkin' extremely messed up".

He and I have discussed our love for mountaineering, climbing, skiing and in general all things related to the mountains and wild places. So I know how sick he's been - thinking that his future may not include these pursuits. I've been sick about it myself.

I'm hoping and praying that he'll make a full recovery and get back at it - as I intend to!

My Happy Place

I had originally planned to backpack through Yellowstone's backcountry on my first Rocky Mountain trip. This book cured me of that silly notion.

I recently returned to Mark of the Grizzly because, I think, it reminds me of the wild places and the hope that there is still something left untamed in this world - that adventure can still be found somewhere. That's my happy place.

Scott McMillion dissects 18 grizzly/human fights that are quite...grisly.

I use these stories to remind myself of just how serious a run-in with one of these bad boys (or girls) can be.

I know, I know. Thousands and thousands of people hang out in the grizzly country of Montana, Wyoming and Alaska every year without getting chewed on. The statistics are on our side.

But still...

Slowing Down

It's been over a year since I posted here. It's not a good excuse, but I have been busy. New opportunities have presented themselves and new responsibilities have come along with them.

But I took a 20' fall on lead while trad climbing on this rock a few weeks ago. That's not me in the picture, but you get the idea.

Much appreciation goes to my intrepid belayer - he did an excellent job. My BD Camalots were placed perfectly and did their jobs just as well.

Only one problem - a shallow ledge interrupted my otherwise pleasant trip down and a broken heel was the result.

So here's a tip. Whatever you do, wherever you go - do not under any circumstance break your heel.

The prognosis was unclear for awhile. Things are looking better today, but months of recovery and PT await. And it could've been a whole lot worse.

So it's all good. Now I've got time - time to slow down, time to think and time to write!

Father, help me learn everything I can from this and emerge more like the man you made me to be.

Getting Alone

Here's a vivid memory.

I'd driven halfway across the country to make a solo backpacking excursion in Wyoming's Wind River Range. After hiking 11 or so miles with a heavy pack on the first day, I ended up here.

I spent 6 days alone in the mountains on that trip, covering approximately 42 miles. I experienced thunder-snowstorms at 12,000 feet for the first time. I spent three days (shared only with a coyote as evidenced by tracks in the fresh snow) in a basin that is the equal of anything in The Lord of the Rings for sheer grandeur. I climbed a thousand feet in treacherous conditions to come within view of Gannett Peak, only to turn back because of the weather and the extreme risk it brought.

Being there alone was an incredibly powerful experience.

I can say for certain that I've never "felt" the tangible presence of God as I did during that time. Not in church, not in a worship service and not during a sermon. Of course, all those things are good in their proper place. But like anything, they can also impede our experiencing the magnitude of God's plan.

It seems I must get away - really away - in order to empty my consciousness of all the detritus, daily cares and temporal concerns that regularly harass me. It is then that perhaps I am able to see more clearly - maybe even come to "know" a few things.

Father, help me to remember today what by your Spirit I knew then.