I was four years old when I first slept in a tent. My dad dragged his old, bright-green two-man out of our basement, carefully unfolded it, and spent about 30 minutes pushing enormous plastic stakes into the ground to hold it up. I doubt I helped beyond maybe holding a stake or two, but that night…
Category: Essays
First Impressions of Colorado
After more car repairs than I thought possible for having owned a car for less than two weeks, I finally arrived in Carbondale, Colorado, on Memorial Day. The last four hours of driving, from Denver to Carbondale, were the most beautiful I have seen to date. Denver itself didn’t impress me. Granted, I didn’t exactly take…
Making Time to Play on Rocks
I didn’t have time to climb. I needed to run to Walmart, CVS, and buy bulk pasta from BJ’s before picking up my sister from school. I needed to start packing to move back to UNH for my summer research internship that would start in a few days. I didn’t have time to drive an hour…
Scared of Being Scared
Fear is a familiar feeling for climbers. It’s natural. Your instincts are telling you that you’ve greatly increased your chances of dying by hanging yourself 20 to hundreds of feet above the ground and relying on a few nuts and cams or bolts, a rope, a belay device, and another person to keep you from hitting…
A Letter to Spring
Dear Spring, According to my very colorful assignment book, it is April, and it has been for almost a week. This means that we should be solidly in spring. Easter has come and past, and I’m ready for sunshine, no snow, and more sunshine. So Spring, I’m wondering where you are. I’ve seen a few…
Peaking Sending
My friends like to joke that they have tons of time till peak sending age: 33. I don’t know where they got this number from, but it got me thinking: When will I peak? And, perhaps more concerning: At what grade? Climbing is one of those sports that seems to have endless possibilities. Depending on…
Sometimes You Just Don’t Climb
This past Sunday I visited Pawtuckaway State Park. It had been a week since my last excursion there, but it felt much longer. My friends intended to go bouldering, braving the inch of ice and foot of snow covering every rock in the park. Normally I’d be psyched, but the idea of not being able…
Leading…Trad
My first time leading sport was memorable, a long 5.8 at Rumney with plenty of jugs and rope drag. There were solid hand and foot holds, something I rarely encountered bouldering at P-way, so I really was more focused on not back-clipping than being scared of falling. Leading trad for the first time was not…
Fall 2014 Season Recap
It’s officially winter according to the calendar (and has been since before Thanksgiving according to the number of layers I’ve been wearing), so I figured I’d give a fall season recap before kicking off the winter season with a two-week trip south. First off, here are some notable sends by (every-man) people that are not me…
Why “Coffee. Tape. Climb.”?
You may have been wondering why I named this blog “Coffee. Tape. Climb.” The last word is self-explanatory, but the other two may appear a bit random. They are not. They are the added ingredients that allow one to climb longer, harder, and for many days in a row. The idea was originally born out…
Many Thanks for Climbing
First there’s the obvious: I am thankful I started climbing. I’m thankful that my friends brought me to our local gym a few times the summer I started college; I’m thankful the UNH climbing team doesn’t cut kids who project V0; I’m thankful to have met some of the right, and best, people to help foster my love…
Dear Future Crag Puppy,
We are going to be great friends. You are going be an adorable, irresistible, soft, wiggly puppy. You will have the opportunity to join in on some lengthy approaches, non-climbing day hikes, mid-day naps, evening swims, and midnight snacks. We will have loads of fun, get super strong, and enjoy a life of adventure. By…
Coffee. Tape. Climb. 