And so castles made of sand Fall into the sea eventually —Jimi Hendrix, “Castles Made of Sand” “Did you hear the Crooked Arrow Spire fell down?” my buddy, Ben Kiessel, asked me. Another one bites the dust, I thought. I used to be surprised when I heard a climb or a major section of a…
“If Jesus can’t save you, life starts when the church ends.” Empire State of Mind by Jay Z Some call him Two Tent Timmy, some Gold Tooth Timmy, while others may know him by his comedic, pseudo, weatherman name T-Drizzle. I call him all these, as well as my best friend. But, before he was…
“Hey, wake up. Wake up!” Brian whispered harshly. “There’s someone out there.” I half opened an eye and begrudgingly listened to the deafening silence. “I don’t hear anything man, I’m sure it’s nothing.” “SHHHHH!!!!” Brian’s face was pressed against the mesh fabric of the tent, as he peered out into the darkness. I thought of…
For Sara Rosecrans, banner photo of Sara by Meg LaHatte Give me the words to describe the blue I see when my eyes are barely cracked. Give me the tools to plaster my body to the desert wall and watch for centuries as the world is eroded into new meaning. Give me…
Living on the road feels like traveling through space in a spaceship. You are in your car spaceship, flying in your little capsule alongside your fellow space travelers, zooming along the interstates and through infinite emptiness in a martian land. Banner art and story by Marina Hansen, published in Volume 20, now available …
“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” Goerte I grew up in the traditions of western science and puritan pragmatism. Success is earned through work, luck is the sum of preparation, a penny saved is a penny earned. Claims that the universe provides if…
Don’t you put any more stress on yourself It’s one day at a time —Mac Miller, “Circles” Part of me always thought I’d die young. I had this feeling even before I was a climber, long before I took the risks with our lives that we climbers take. It was probably related to the depression…
When life looks like Easy Street There is danger at your door —Grateful Dead, “Uncle John’s Band” I’m sitting here writing on a cold October morning in El Potrero Chico; yesterday seemed to be summer, and today old man winter showed up. It’s the type of weather, combined with all the war and sadness in…