Well... And so we meet again (insert big smile). This post has been incubating for nearly two years, as this post come to you from nearly the end of the world. Literally in the middle of nowhere Argentina, or as the locals prefer: General San La Madrid. This morning my climbing partners and I landed in Buenos Aires- the capitol city of Argentina... after an all too familiar process of actually finding what we were looking for: Rental Car, Mondey "exchange", directions to leave, and some overcast skies. Alas, us gringos planned a day by U.S. timeline expectations.... what a rookie move! One thing is for sure - if you come to this country, seeking adventure or not, this country will shatter your expectations, show you what really matters in life, force you to see the opportunity in the now and in hard, dedicated work - and you will find that something you are seeking. What a metaphor! We fully plan to apply this ethos to the mountain, as in 4 days, we will be on Cerro San Lorenzo´s terms... Allow me to introduce you to our friend San Lorenzo and her three summits, at least two of which we aim to experience/summit, if permitted. Ringing in at 3,000+ Meters (13,000 some feet), Cerro San Lorenzo at first listen may not sound like much. But when one considers 65+ knot winds on the summit, a mix of inter-mountain accumulation with maritime precip.... and a near vertical eastern head wall.... one quickyl realizes it is anyone (or anything) but you that determines the conditions for a summit possibility. Only the mountain, and her sister - the wind, and her brothers rain and freezing temperature can offer us the fortune to commune. At 5:30 a.m. we depart tomorrow for my beloved San Carlos de Bariloche to stage for our Patagonian ascent - food purchasing, final gear sort, packing, and final beta gathering will happen here. I have many close, esteemed, and loved friends who live in the town of Bariiloche, and I so look forward to seeing them after many years in the States. Rumor has it Josh Wharton and company are hanging onthe east side of the Lorenzo as well, so perhaps gringos unite in an attempt to get to know this beautiful mountain a little better. May we be better for it. May we have the gift of life continued so as to share the moments - these moments of advenutre together as a brothehood on the rope, and with our friends and family upon our safe return.... Mucha suerte a todos, y que pouden disfrutar la historia nuestra de este aventura tn beuna y tan durissimo. Abrazote, Kev...

I have been gone for a while...     Soon to be back. SummitsBeyond is still kicking. Still here. A little inspiration while some Fall Housekeeping is much in order... STAY TUNED for more inspirational interviews, trip reports, and promotion of finding oneself through adventure...



-The Summits Beyond Team

Featured Adventurer: JULY

    Interview and photos with Stephanie to follow as our Featured Adventurer posts continue, stay tuned for next August's Summits Beyond Featured Adventurer announcement!

NCOBS throwback: My name is "O"

"O" lays down some lyrics as we wait for banquet at Cedar Rock, 2009.

Remote signal faded, yet transmission strong... ...

All:


It has been quite the time passing since my last writing...

 Summits Beyond is now officially back in production with lots brewing for the summer! 
 I hope you will be interested to dust off this ole' web address and entice yourself to follow along with the latest "what's the what"with me and those associated with Summits Beyond.


Lots of Program Administration on the professional side of things. Outdoor Action at Princeton is in full-bore swing as we prepare for Frosh Trip.

Several  friends have been able to visit Chateau Kshon in Hopewell, and it's been great!

Recent guests include:

• Alexis Jean Cymbolin
• Kelly Biasiolli
• Sheamus Burns
• Mike & Lauren Neuvel
• Jim Madison

As Summer carries on past its own height (as in, the equinox was nearly a week ago), the heat swelters on in New Jersey, but so too do the adventures up ahead. Stayu tuned for trip reports from:

• regular climbing trips at the Gunks in New York
• new adventures in surfing (my next new sport!)
• sea kayaking around the greater NYC area
• 2 weeks of Outward Bound work in July
• a Fall trip back to Patagonia, objective: Cerro San Lorenzo

Well now, the Summer/Fall trips list should keep me quite busy. What adventures do you have planned? Backpacking Europe? Learning how to knit? Maybe Alpine summits in New Zealand? Perhaps learning a new language? Adventures await around every corner... 



See you there,




Kevin Shon

...and We're Back!

Summits Beyond is back on the scene and with significant updates. I (KMS) have recently started a full-time gig as Program Coordinator for an Outdoor Program of a University in the northern mid-Atlantic region. As this move takes me one step out of the day-to-day practice of facilitating courses, it is an amazing step in the direction of fostering student growth and leadership, and being a part of an long-standing outdoor program of high quality.

Expect to hear some noise from Summits Beyond as this new "peak" invites new vision, new creation, new discovery, and of course, new insight that comes from learning - and learning the way we know best: Experientially.

Glad to be back,

Kevin Shon

                                               
Founder,
Summits Beyond


Up Next: Trip leading Adventures in Florida...

Images of Experience and Education.

Good People,


Summits Beyond has traditionally been a way for me to express my thoughts and adventures as I attempt to make greater sense of my world and my  life as someone who is committed to intentionally living outside of my comfort zone searching for growth and development; both at a personal and community-based level.

I will also say that this blog has become, as of late, more of a space to give brief updates on the latest "status update"/whereabouts related to me and my surroundings. This format no longer works for me. My hope is that you, my friends and community who follow my whereabouts internetically will be able to stay abreast to my happenings via in-person contact, letter writing, or phone conversation.

Summits Beyond strives to reach its next evolution: A forum to present both personal stories of others, as well as my own in which people (and other creatures) are finding growth on the edge of their comfort zone and realizing those "summits" in our lives that define our direction, mission, purpose, and self-realization*.

"What does it all mean?"


Well, Summits Beyond will soon begin interviews, essays, presentations, and photo journalism highlighting life on the edge, life in progress, and lives of learning all in the name of better understanding the world around us, our community, and what it all means...


Stay tuned for a new look, and new twist, and an additional purpose as this web log transforms from personal digressions to a newer, community-based site designed specifically to build a sense of community while embracing the unknown.


We hope this entry finds you well, contemplative, and ready for the summits beyond...



In Adventure,



Kevin Shon
Editor-in chief
SummitsBeyond.org

Hold the pose...

Good people!

  Hello, yet another entry at Summits Beyond. The title hopefully conjures images in the mind of meditation through movement, Sanskrit sweating, and enlightenment. Yoga. This really serves as a working metaphor representative of my transition back to Northern Virginia life after stepping up by stepping back from Outward Bound for a little bit. I was yearning family connection, weekends, friends and respite, so I hung my expedition hat on the rack for a bit and am working on settling in to a routine here in the ole' NOVA. I do find that although transitions are usually tough for me, this one (yes, is tough but) is equally filling with hope. Whewwww.....

   With some time and space to breathe, I have started two new ventures in employment, and am actively searching for what my "Grad School by 2013" campaign will look like. I plan to be in a master's program by 2013, somewhere at some point. Either Outdoor Education, or Counseling- but I DIGRESS.

   It is amazing to "hold the pose." I didn't think that coming back to Manassas would be challenging, but it completely is. I find my centered-ness off. I find my focus pulled by strange left-field doubts from time to time... "can I do this thing?" "Should I have left the woods?" "How do I build relationship with folks in society?" I am usually a pretty rock solid thinker. My time in valleys and mountains and glaciers and forests has made me pretty mentally strong, yet it is the concrete jungle that is getting me out of my comfort zone. My comfort zone is being pushed, not by the physical environment, but by the mentalscapes I now encounter in Manassas. Reconnecting my social network here, finding new employment, seeking new professional self-views? I am in a redefinition process. It is so new and so much and so full-on that this adventurer is enjoying sweating it out in process of redefining me and my world outside of the Outward Bound paradigm. Of course OB is like family to me. Of course I love the place. Of course I still instruct there. I am also enjoying the exploration of who I am by being in such a familiar place that is ironically so new and foreign to me. 

   I am literally re-mapping not only my professional self, but my personal self as well. Reconnecting with my parents, some childhood friends, my partner, and my profession here is a lot to take on. I am excited to be doing so. It is not easy. So here I am. Here I stand. Sweating out my heart, my soul, and my whole self while trying to maintain values, focus, goals, what I want, who I want, where I will go, and how my future is being constructed in this environment where there are no dinner circles, hugs to say hello, quotes, morning meeting/duty, etc.

Not a mixed message. I have left what I now know to return to where I have come from. I am encountering all sorts of new challenges I never knew existed. I am sure it is going to be okay, it's like that initial turbulence at take off... I am trying to balance what I know, what I see, what I feel and where I am. Here I am...   Holding the pose...

What inspires you to hold your "pose" ?

You can send reply to me through comments here, or through email, and I will post some of your responses here in the weeks to come...

Please pass on Summits Beyond to someone you know, especially if you think this Blog will inspire others to push their comfort to discover new growth.


In Adventure...


Kevin Shon

Breath easy...

That familiar sigh of relief that is released when one is full of decision, thought, and action all at once. The plethora of abundant life that exudes from every fiber of your living, breathing body. From the very connectors- the sinew of your soul that holds it all together, like the glue of sanity at its breaking point comes screaming from the backdrop of your consciousness as you lay focus on the fact that "oh, I haven't come up for air. I have been distracted! What am I GOING TO DO - I CAN'T BREATHE AT ALL!!!!" Like an electric heat wave consuming your ability to remain present you must stop, analyze, commit and act - how will you reclaim your sanity after all the responsibilities, travel dates, stress and contracts settle as residual "dust" from a season full-on with running yourself ragged in the space time continuum. Spring, Summer Fall; Spring Summer, Fall - "Self... Where did my Winters go?" Why am I resigned to perpetual Alpine florescence? Why does it become hot with long nights so fast? I see snow, in the summer - only because I go to mountains..." "I leave when the leaves are red, and come back when they are pink, fire-blazed purple and the Amancay glows in the Patagonian Sun." "Self, when will I take a break?" 

Like a self-absorbed Magic Eight Ball attempting to both self-actualize (enough to make any Maslownian proud) while simultaneously immersed in deep reflection in a moment so inappropriate because the decision time is now (Don't miss the window of opportunity)... "One more week of work/travel to New York City? ...    Or chill in Northern Virginia...?..."

You see, I have been chasing my proverbial (and metaphysical) tail for the past two years in the name of serving others, professional development, fun & excitement, and in seeking for myself what the next steps are supposed to be. I sometimes feel startled and unfound when I pause and absorb the gravity of my situation. "How dramatic Kev," we might say, but really I think I walked to the limit of my wits end and back again, like our friend from The Gods Must Be Crazy attempting to hurl a deviant Coke bottle from the sky; a malevolent gift from the gods. I have discovered the threshold of my ability to travel and bounce and run and scream through time like a comet penetrating the stratosphere. As a result, one could say I have "crash landed" on the terrestrial surface of my own priorities. I have grounded my vessel right in to the very next steps of life - abruptly I have halted. This sounds from the outside a bit dramatic. A bit forced? And the metaphor is so apropos.

I have been traveling at nearly Mach speed from this place to that since February. On the move with students, friends, or family with no time to process what is happening to me, around me, for me and from me. I have been wrapped up in showing up to places so much that it only recently dawned on me it is time for respite. The great "S" word. SUSTAINABILITY.

"What in the heck are you freaking talking about you lunatic!?!"

I am telling you that since February, I have been non-stop only in one place for no more than three weeks, then traveling across the country or globe to my next destination, then the next, and so on -- my wings grew tired and I could not lite. I could not rest on my laurels. I am finally in a resting space.

Self-elected mind you, such that this is no cry for pity. I have done this to myself. Traveling so much for the past three years from South America to North and back again - something I plan to continue... AND I now have a vision of what it looks like to do so sustainably.

I am in North Carolina Course Directing a 21-day course for NCOBS. It feels like an arrival point. I am here for the summer. I have a place to hover and regroup within. I have community here. I have a place to rest.

It took me a while to arrive in this moment where the next 30-seconds aren't the ones that count. There is no bus to catch as it pulling out of the station. No crevasses to analyze. No red flags to mention in my pairs meeting. No airline check-ins too close to my take off flight. No one who will hear "Well, see ya next summer" At least not for a while. I am deposited.

I was just whisked down the river of my own life through a steep gradient, bouncing of rapid after rapid rolling with punches, timelines, deadlines and destinations non-stop for the past 6 months, and finally the madness can stop. For now.

I fix my gaze on the next giant steps I will take. The next sustainable avenue laid before me. The next direction that will give me trajectory in the management of my own life.

Finally, I can stop, take it in and be present because I am calm and stationary - not present because I am running through the moment, needing to listen to which gate change is required to hop on my next plane. There is no next plane for a while. Only family, loved ones, community, and my own health.

I am feeling so healthy. I am feeling present. I am here. Now. Ready.

If none of this makes sense, I will tell you quite literally again:

Since February, I have been traveling non-stop either for work, or some expedition I have committed to. This is great, and - feeling like there is no stop in sight for months to come puts you in a mindset- a rhythm- that I equate to that of a world-championship dodgeball game. You can't stop to breathe it in and be delightfully present. The only form of being "present" is preparing for the next hit. The next commitment. The next place you have to show up. It is a relentless cyclical preparing process. it gains a momentum all of its own - a personality if you will.

Like the silence after a windstorm, my mind only now can absorb my experience of the past 6 months. I can only now make sense of my travels, my shortcomings, my successes and my decisions. it feels good to lite in one spot for a bit. Like a tired eagle, I can dry my wings and, although it is not my ultimate nest, I have respite and shelter among a community of health.

I have been a weary traveler. I had fallen tired. It feels good to be recuperating and ready for my next solid bit of motion. Only this time - this motion is positioning me for the sustainable. New colors present themselves on the horizon of my near future. I can see clearly ahead that I am headed for new things: School, Love, Work, Climbing, Paddling, celebrating unions of friends- being with family. All of my values are singing in unison the chorus of my soul. I can reconnect with the things and people that sustain my spirit. I can connect with the ones I need/want in my life. i am done running ragged, head spinning to make that next flight. I can rest! It feels so good.

I can focus on one thing at a time. I can succeed. I can be a rock for others.


The calm after the whirlwind is good. We all need this sometimes- crazy moments to propel us to our next vision statement. What is your next vision statement?

I will be sustainably pursuing education, relationship, adventure, and the scaffolding of my future this new year for me (I am celebrating 31 years of life!!!). This is the year of solidarity. This is the forged ore that rises from the tempering flame of frenzy and travel from which I have just called "case closed." I sojourn forward with clear eyes, a full spirit, and a brilliant-shining soul. Hold my hand. Walk with me. Let us support one another. My community is a tribe of goodness. My goodness is a tribe of community.

Compassion prevails as the beacon of my own spirit shines through because I am on fire with the presence of my loved ones, my dear friends, and the adventures in the mountains and the ocean that taunt and beckon. I am alive. My inertia finally enables me to recharge. Here I walk forward with eyes fixed on what must be done. I do this with love and courage. I boldly say "I support you." and I prepare for the rest.


Goodnight moon.




Shalom,






Kev

Awakenings... Big Dreams lead to an even LARGER Reality:

Aloha! (Almost... but not quite that far) From the land of Tahoma! Seattle bustles before my eyes in all her foggiest glory this drizzly day in the Political Action Committee North West (haha? PAC NW- get it? it's election year people, c'mon a little White House Humor for ya- BADABING!). I am brought here to reunite with three amazing friends from West Virginia University and one from North Carolina Outward Bound: Team KevSamGretchAmoCorey will surmount the task of ascending Mount Rainier in a mere two days. A low pressure system from southern Alaska brings us overcast, rainy weather in the lower elevations and cold fester our plans... but as with many challenges and all things worth it in life, big-mountain climbing is a process, not a product. So, if we are granted weather and the systems come in to play for success to be defined as making it to the top of the highest Mountain/Volcano in the continental lower 48, so be it. Amen...

The quick update with me is that I have been "slumbering" for a bit now and recently awakened from my "sleep" and by sleep I mean a 72-day wilderness expedition known as the North Carolina Outward Bound School International Leadership Semester. For three months I instructed 7 students as they followed their own personal journey toward self-discovery and efficacy. How could I not be inspired by them after all that time?! I am so inspired....  and after 4 days off, I headed north to New York City to instruct three weeks there. I am currently taking a week off to climb Mount Rainier - my next Summit Beyond as I climb with some much loved friends... 

My commitment is to kick out/produce 1 Blog entry a week from now on, as I realize I have been pretty hit or miss with my correspondence for the past several months.


One other detail... I am reading The Fifth Discipline and it is BLOWING MY MIND! I am growing, searching, discovering and hopefully restructuring some systems in my life to really become a better me.

More on all this later.....In a week, in fact. Stay Tuned...



-- Kevin Michael Shon

Since I've Been Here...

Ugh. Falling alseep. Will write tomorrow...

Where is Kshon?

HEY PEOPLE! So, Feliz Navidad, merry Christmas, happiest of Chanukah! All of this... 


Where have I been? I was recently in North Carolina, taking my SPI exam with the AMGA. This was after my climbing trip with Stephanie Maltarich, but before my flight to Argentina. In fact, I actually delayed my flight by a week at a very low cost... This allowed me to climb more, see friends in Asheville, and spend Christmas time celebration-type stuff with my parents and family friends in the immediate Manassas, VA area. Cha-CHING! This is what I have been up to. Quite simple, but complicated enough to explain... One often needs a flow chart or a wipe-off board with crazy NFL-looking Playbook-like scribbles to begin to put a chronology to my escapades... 


Speaking of Escapades... I do not plan on ice skating any time soon... however I did just receive this book for Christmas from mis padres, and I am totally siked to hop on some sick ICE when I am down south:

This book is an introductory book on Ice Climbing technique and training. Although I have gotten my "feet wet," with ice climbing, so to speak, I am at a point of self-education to make more sound decisions while moving on ice... 


I may even just write a book review here afterward, so stay tuned and check back for little lessons I generate here based on what I learn from the book!








So - what's next?!  You may be tempted to ask me... 




     Go ahead. 


     Ask. 






....................... ........................... ........................... 




OKAY! I'll Tell you!


 I am going to fly to South America on December 28th, and then take a bus on December 29th from Buenos Aires to Bariloche. A 19-hour bus trip across the country is an inexpensive and romantic way to view the Argentinian countryside. 


 Once I am there, it will be time to a) Celebrate New Year's! b) Re-acquaint myself with friends in town, c) Climb a bunch, and d) Climb a BUNCH! 


 In addition, I will continue to paddle with PURA VIDA PADDLING. Paddling day trips and such with clients from around the world. 


 I DO  look forward to being in touch with each and everyone of you, so if you need to contact me, the best way to do it is through e-mail and skype. 


email: kevin.shon@gmail.com


skype: kshon.     (with dot).




So, for now this is what I have for you. Stay tuned, be updated more with photos and stories... but until then, buena suerte y un abrazo fuerte!




Chau, 






Kev

Buried Treasure Part Deux: "And by tomorrow, I meant..."

Hello there good people! We have to stop meeting like this:

  Here I am in Miami-Dade International, waiting for my flight to Buenos Aires. I am returning to La Patagonia for 3 months of adventure, catching up with beloved friends, climbing and instructing my longest OB course to date: 72-days. Wow.

 I recently have been using travel time as both a reflection period as well as a way to share- to internetically break bread with my friends and family- to share. to update them as to my whereabouts, my happenings, my next moves and my thoughts on it all.

 I am excited to see the "front range" of the Andes sub-range in a mere 48 hours, arriving to Bariloche by bus. I am excited to see the smiling faces of my long-far-away friends who have been bustling with life, managing volcanic ash literally covering our little town in a a few-inches thick carpet of fine pumice, a low tourist season where people are seriously considering if they are going to make it through their Spring tourist season as campground hosts, hostel owners, etc. Life in Patagonia is not easy, but it is beautiful, wild and filled with an amazing spirit. To live there is to be more connected with the land than in some other places I have lived.

One thing is for sure, I am developing a knack for being drawn to landscapes where the people and their culture inhabiting those landscapes are truly connected to the land in which they inhabit: Appalachia: from the hills of West Virginia, to the Highlands of Western North Carolina. From the expanses of the Yampa Valley in North Routt County, to the granite spires of Frey -- the people in these places have a long indigenous story, as well as modern development (which I guess, really, could be a lot of places in the world).

What exactly is this Blog about anyway?!!   Kshon - GET TO YOUR POINT -

Well.... Just saying -- Landscapes fascinate me, and the people connected to them inspire me. I am in a funky in-between where I fly circles around the world, going from predictable location to predictable location, as my life has taken on a rhythm which takes me to these beautiful recurring places. But, as I fly, I am a SUPER visitor. I am a friend to many, but a local to none. I flap my wings, circling above, but never landing long enough or deep enough to build a nest and have people call me one of their own.
Note, my friends love me, obviously -- and cherish our connection, I believe, AND I am still an adventurer who comes and goes on my own wavelength.

My wavelength is broad and adventurous... somewhere on the Red spectrum of light, while cascading down rapids and plummeting below only to splash up the steep granite headwalls where the table top pines cling for their sinewy existence....

I go to cool places. Beautiful places. Wild places. I am part of these peoples' lives. I adventure and teach people how to take care of themselves, others, and the world around them through challenging situations in unfamiliar settings....     I love that.

My wings flap and are not tired, for thy have a rhythm. AND -- I am spotting twigs here and there that will make my nest totally sweet. I am talkin' bout settling in to my rhythm with an arrival point in mind. I will soon be ready.

So - if you were wondering what goes through my mind while in an airport...trying to encapsulate my thoughts in a quick, online, digestible, type-able form....   that was it. Did you blink? Did you miss it? So'k go back and read it again, Its not goin' anywhere...

But you know what did?! A 48'' Sling with two carabiners when I was climbing with Stephanie Maltarich in Red Rocks - at Mescalito on the route called Dark Shadows. I will post the video when I have my mini hard drive back - it is packed in my checked bags...

Please know I miss you all, I am going to miss you over the next several weeks. I am reachable by SKYPE and GCHAT.

kshon. (with dot) is my skype name.

I will be posting pictures and videos from my adventures in Argentina- including NCOBS's International Leadership Semester Course.
Stay Tuned. Stay good. Be well...


Un Abrazo fuerte a todos,


De servir, poner tu mejor, sin parar,


Kshonito

Buried Treasure...

Time to cath a speeding plane. this update will be completed tomorrow.


Quick run down:


Air plane
Denver
las vegas
Red Rocks
Lots of Pitches
Buried Treasure
Montrose
Hi Ben Gardner!
I missed you Kat!
Clmbing tomorrow? Sweet Place
Wow- 25 dollar boot rentals? But I have never ridden AT setup before
23 F, hundreds of cold smoke vert in my face!
Double Eject!
LOVE IT!
Bye Ben, will miss you Kat
Ben cant wait to climb again with ya
Drive Safe
Misssed you STEPH!
Hi Angela, so amazing to meet you
Airport
Flight
Hi cool person sitting next to me
we'll talk the whole flight. Weird. Cool.
Dallas Ft. Worth...wait, boarding already?!?!?!

More in a sec. ...

Post-season climbing Trip: 2011 Pre-Patagonia Departure.

So, I am sitting in Dallas/Fort Worth airport. Waiting for my 2:00 pm flight to Denver, Colorado. I am brewing up another adventure and this time, on my own time and terms.

   I am about to meet my dear friend Stephanie Maltarich for a week of climbing spread out between Moab, Utah and Red Rocks, Nevada. After having worked hard for 4 months outside of the Catskill Mountains of the Hudson River Valley for New York City Outward Bound, we were ready to leave the comfort of the Shawamgunks and head west to scale routes greater than 3 pitches. Take note, and have no doubt, the Gunks was a great training ground for our late-Fall climbing soiree.

   This of course is the preamble to a few other adventures I have in the chamber: Taking my SPI exam for the AMGA (www.amga.com). "SPI" stands for Single Pitch Instructor. If I pass my exam, I will be qualified to guide clients in 5th class terrain, while belaying them up to an anchor and lowering them back to the ground, managing their climbing site either from below, or from above. This is a major step forward for me in my "private sector" side of my outdoor education pursuits.

   Post Red Rocks, post Asheville (where I will take my SPI exam), I will then be heading to San Carlos de Bariloche in the Patagonia region of Middle-Western Argentina. Here I will commence with my love and responsibility to North Carolina Outward Bound, as I will be instructing one "Alpine Backpacking" course, and then serving as the "Proctor" for our 72-day International Leadership Semester Course. This course will start in early February and campaign on, sojourning boldly until the tail end of April...  This is a huge honor and undertaking to infuse continuity, personal attention, and high quality to my crew of students, which could be anywhere from 1- to 13 students. Enrollment numbers are still clicking away, so we will see how large my ILS Spring 2012 crew of students will be.

  In addition to heading to Patagonia for work, I also venture for reasons two-fold:
a) I love Patagonia. The landscape captivates my soul - it calls me, begs me to return. A bit dramatic, I know - but, well, go there yourself and see what it does to you...

b) I don't mind being a little personal here on such a forum as my blog for my friends. Last April, I ended a 2-year relationship with someone from Argentina who was very dear to me. So, I am excited to return to the land that I love down south to feel what it is like to be there and be single. To feel what it is like to take steps forward in a land that I know associate with heartbreak. I have such good friends there in Bariloche and I feel set up for success professionally, emotionally, and personally.

   Have no fear my friends, with such text-based content, specially content that i can admit is rather dry (being merely personal updates on my life full of dull facts), I will assuredly incorporate some great photos at the end of this post. My next few posts will be reflecting on my adventures in my more natural, creative non-fiction style of writing.

   For now? You are stuck with the play-by-play of what I had been up to, and what I am about to be up to. The Twilight Zone of my life: those funky in between transitions where most of you see me nowadays. Those two days that I am in Manassas visiting my family, or when I text you that I will "be in town tomorrow, what u up to?! Want to hang out?"


   Your patience is so deeply revered and appreciated in our friendship and kinship. I am a professional adventurer who is constantly circling. I will light one day, as Eagles do, but for now I dry my wings in the sun. 


OOps! Time to board a plane. Photos in a jiffy!!!!!!!!!!

What now?

This was the question I started off with back in May, when I had then recently returned from Argentina. Freshly single. Freshly returned. So much was raw and ready to be thought over and since then so much growth has found its way to me front step. I'd like to fill you in on where I've been and what's new...


The quick version of my summer is that I returned to the US from South America to work at North Carolina Outward Bound School. I did. It was amazing. I was surrounded by good friends and could really focus on doing a job well done with my profession, while also picking up the pieces from my former relationship and make new sense about what I wanted in my life.

Throughout the summer I had ongoing conversations about potential employment with New York City Outward Bound. In July, I committed to joining the NYCOB team (which meant I would forfeit my eligibility to be considered "seasonal staff" in Patagonia this season).

I definitely saw the benefit in the opportunity to work with urban kids from Expeditionary Learning School of NYC (http://elschools.org/) , here is a link to NYCOB's website (http://www.nycoutwardbound.org/) and so I made the decision to be in New York for the Fall. I just finished my 8-week stint there and had been living in Queens/Fishkill New York for 4 months. The season was long, challenging and amazing all at once! Keep posted for more photos to come from this Fall!

What's next for me?

- 5 day climbing trip in Nevada with my close friend Steph Maltarich, a week in Asheville preparing for my SPI (Single Pitch Instructor Exam), and then a flight to Argentina, where I will instruct a 14-day Alpine Backpacking course, and a 72-day International Semester course.

Stay tuned for more...


For now that is all. Expect more regular updates now.


Cheers,


Kevin

Rejuvenated

After a long spell in Argentina, I know see what nearby "peaks" are beyond the clouds of my recent return from South America. I left Patagonia with much material for reflection and am again ready to write some thoughts out for Summits Beyond. I look forward to offering some of these reflections as I am making new sense of my next steps in this crazy expedition called "life."

Soul Searching is like routefinding of the mind, heart, and spirit. Well, after taking a sit-down break, I am now ready to recommence my journey. With steps forward, I will be posting what exactly all this mumbo-jumbo means...


Stay tuned, and join me in the journey.


-KMS

Patagonia Update # 3

The LOWDOWN.

BACK FROM CHILE.

We just returned from a weekend in Chile, where we visited the hot srpings of Puyehue National Park, the cities Osorno and Puerto Montte. It was a blast! Below are some pictures I took and a few I scrounged from the internet to try and convey the beauty of these places.

Osorno, for me personally, was lack luster. I am sure the town has some amazing history, but it lacked the qualities that attract me to an area of high population density. The main themes were big malls and mega grocery stores, ''Am I back in the US?'' I had to ask myself... blah!

Puyehue, really nice. The hot springs vary. There are modern enclosed pool-type of hot springs, and there are outside flows of thermal waters cascading into human-carved pools. We opted for the indoor ones because they wer eless crowded. But, the next time around? We want the most ''natural'' looking that we can get.

I'd like to come back and visit the park itself more, do some hiking around the border of Argentina and Chile. In fact, I have found a new climbing goal - its called ''Pantojo'' or by some ''Pantoja''. It is a 1,000 foot volcanic plug. More on that below.

Puerto Montt was beautiful in many ways: It touches the Pacific Ocean (my first time to the Pacific in the southern hemishpere-the only other time was in Seattle visiting my older brother), it has houses and other buildings in a slew of pastels and other vibrant colors, these categories remind me of many a classic fishing town I have visited: Seward, Alsaka; Yellowknife, Northwest Territories; Kennebunk, Maine; Seattle, Washington. I have seen a few. The personal downside, which I won't spend to much time on, is that I found a lot of things representative of the yearning to be like Yankee Gringos. That's right. I said it. Their is a three level shopping mall with KFC, Pizza Hut, and lots of other stores that are similar to those we find in the US, but, instead of being a touch of home... it came off more as an urgent wanton of the Chilean people to try and emulate USA as much as possible for simply the comfort of their south-bound tourists from the north. It was almost like an attempt to immitate a land with an economy that they so desire, while forsaking their identity as a beautiful, tranquil little fishing town in the southern most reaches of the conitnental western hemisphere... So the store fronts in the mega mall and the urban planning of neo-shopping complex meets olde-towne fishing village remain dissonant in my mind, while I am still excited to return to eek out the parts of Puerto Montt that speak to me more... We were a bit rushed because we were 4 hours away from the Argentine border and they close at 9 pm. So, we had to boogie out of PMontt if we expected to arrive back safely in our own beds in Bariloche for work onMonday morning. Mission accomplished. I also found a cool hooded sweater, which was an un mentioned personal mission for me in Chile. The best hooded sweaters? Are made in Chile. Check.

TRONADOR. (album link)

I went to Mount Tronador (translation: The Thunderer), with three friends a few weeks back. We went as a team of four with the goal of summitting Peak Argentine. This was a true gift for me because I was able to hang out with three Argentine friends, all who speak fluent English, but who are also awesome at helping me hold myself accountable, so of course we spoke almost entirely in Castellano. Amazing. No, on top of speaking entirely in Castellano, I was on the sharp end of the rope- in the lead, route finding through the crevacced glacier fields and all.


We started our hike from Pampa Linda and made our way to Refugio Otto Meiling. The ''refugios'' (translation: Mountain Hut) are not some primitive escape from the rain. They are a fully stocked small-scale Andean hikers lodge sponsored by Club Andino Bariloche and the managers of each refugio receive a hefty concession for operating them. This ain't no tin roofed bivouac in the middle of nowehere. Ok, well, yes, it is in the middle of nowhere, but you can find sleeping accomodations upstairs, a full kitchen with amazing meals, local beer, Argentine wine, a candle-lit intimate atmosphere where friends share stories of their day on the glacier, or the trek up from Pampa Linda, and where locals play the Argentine all-time favorite card game Truco.

The short story is... we didn't summit. We made it to a place called ''La Entrada'' or, the entrance to an area known as the ''Deprersion.'' No this doesn't mean we all became instantly very sad, and therefore had no cahrisma with which to summit, the Depression is a lower flat spot that scientists believe was part of the throat of the volcano that was once there. Tronador was three major peaks: Chilean, International, and Argentine. All three are right next to each other, thus stratifying the border between the two countries, and the trail to Picco Argentino stands where there was once a towering volcano, spewing ash into the air, with its approach trails that are now known as the arms of Lake Nahuel Huapi. more on this guy later...

We didn't summit because the snow was pretty ''blandito,'' or thin. It was like walking in medeival golf shoes (crampons on plastic double-lined boots) through a marsh of Mashed Potatoes. Can you imagine doing that for 5 hours? So, we could have made it to the summit, returned to basecamp as night was to fall, only to be wasted of energy, unable to cook dinner with only enough sense to lie there and hope that someone would make our feet feel better.
Or, we could call it an amazing experience in judgement and decision making after considering our then-currently delicate balance between exhaustion and ahtleticism (sometimes int he mountains the two can mix so subtly it is hard to tell which one you are actually experiencing). We returned to camp happy, hungry, and yearning to return the following spring (November, December) to give it another go.

I personally feel great about the outcome. We went for a walk on some glasciated terrain, roped up and everything, and we could practice what we all need to practice the most: Route finding and decision making skills. Was I a bit dissapointed that I didn't get to use my new Black Diamond Cobra Ice tool? Yes. Will I live to use it again? Yes. So, all in all it was an amazing trip getting to know Diego, Letticia, and Esteban and sharing some good times with them. Woohoo!


BUILDING A HOUSE. (album link)

Something I didn't mention is that I helped some dear friends work on a strawbale house they are constructing here in Bariloche. Eric and Erica are my friends, and they invited three gringos: Dan, Scott, and Tyler to come help. Those guys own a company called BUILD IT GREEN in New Hampshire, USA. They have since become good friends, and I look forward to seeing them next year, when we install the bales of straw, or ''Fardo'' as it is called here. ''Well, if you're buildin' a strawbale house but your puttin' the bales in next year, what the heck did ya do THIS year?!?!?!'' Well, we laborously unloaded to semi-trucks full of fesh cut Oregon Pine from 60 km south in a beautiful little town call El Bolson (More on Bolson later). We then maticulously measure them and cut them to form the Tennon & Mortise structure that serves as the skeleton for the straw bales. This wat of building if a very antiquated form of building houses (and furniture too!). It is a shame that we don't build like this more often in the States. In the US, we have tons of culdsisacs with amazing houses. But the fact is, these houses are built to last 13 years and then they start to fall apart. The crime of it all is that development builders in the States ACTUALLY PLAN FOR THIS. They know your house will far a part somewhere between your second mortgage, kids going to college, and you gazing towards retirement.

The follwing has been flagged for being an aside and an environmental opinion. It has been flagged as such to ease your flow of reaqding. If you've got the time, give it a read... if not? Hope you'll be able to when you've got more time...

That span of 15-20 years is when your house is in dire need of an update, not to mention thats when you'll be making the most money you'll ever make in your entire life and coincidentally when you also want to switch from your laminant floor to a nice hardwood. You'll probably go to Lowe's and select a model of hard wood floor that came from Indonesia or Northern Canada, both of which are great options... the thing is that the amount of transport that flooring has seen from the time its timber was felled until your walking on it in your house is such that the carbon foortprint of your new floor that you could only purchase after selling your third vehicle to kid down the street for his 19th birthday has made a significant envionmental impact between your house, your neighborhood Lowe's, and its original plantation from where the mass-grown trees originated, that the sun now shines brighter over Patagonia because of carbon dioxide emissions from a saw mill in Japan that actually set the flooring to size. Sheesh! Globalized Economy means Earth-sized environmental considerations to carefully ponder!!!!! Pardon my rant...

The truth is that we do have a structure that requires us to find parts from really far away. Sometimes thats really a cool conept, like having really quality cars from Japan, or Diesel to fill them with from Saudi-Arabia, or Gold to line the particle boards that are in the computer that regulate your cars operations from South-Africa. All of this is really a step forward for society. AND, when we all start to realize that this is one model of commerce,and that it just might be creating excessive pollution for our world...hopefully we have thought of a back up plan?
Of course Global Warming is a natural cycle.... I mean, so are Glacial periods people, and believe you me- I love ice ages.... seriously. Without them? I could enjoy summitting Tronador... But, also, the natural reaction to a period of cold is a period of warmth, but we humans are adapting and evolving and developing our own technology at a rate that may just aid int he altering of our climates ability to regulate itself. Puede Ser.

I digress.....

Building the structure of the house was real fun, here is a link to some photos of the process...

FINDING WORK.

Since moving to Bariloche, I have found some work as an assistant to the guide for a company called PURA VIDA PATAGONIA (http://www.puravidapatagonia.com.ar/). Technically, because I do not have a DNI (similar to seocial security number) or an Argentine ID, I can not qualify to take the exam with the Prefectura (Argentine Coast Guard), or the exam to be a certified National Parks guide. Therefore, for now, I am guiding, but with more of a helper's capacity in terms of final-call decision making. This is a really good place to be. I can gain more professional experience, I can observe others and their decision making process, and I can help out good folks who want to guide clients through an amazing Patagonian experience.

Pura Vida Patagonia conducts many types of Sea Kayaking trips, and for right now, I am helping with half-day trips (an excursion of about 2 to 3 hours). Clients show up, we show them how their equipment works, how to saely exit the boat if it flips over, and what do to afterward. This is conducted in English or Spanish or both. I have needed to give the safety talk in Spanish. So, as my spanish improves, the comedy of my safety talk will hopefully one day decrease (and at least I can still laugh at myself). We paddle about, have a snack and return and that is all in a day for me. it starts around 1:15 pm and we finish putting gear away around 5:30 pm. There are many more fine details to it, but we can talk about them in person when you come visit!

MERIDIES (http://www.meridies.com.ar/) is the second business I have been helping. recently we completed a three day adventure with clients from an agency called Adventure Travel. We sea kayaked for a day, wnet on a day hike to Cerro Llao llao, and then we summitted Cerro Challuaco with 10 clients. I look forward to helping Meridies int he near future.

I also have a dream to conserve Patagonia through education. I will implement an education program to local kids here in bariloche with a dual curriculum. !) To teach chuldren of Bariloche how to conserve energy and reduce waste in an urban environment through common sustainable living techniques for energy, water, and waste minimization. 2) To teach children of Bariloche what natural world exists outside of their urban zone in Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi through real-time experiences in the surrounding Patagonia wilderness. These experiences will include bridging connections between the urban and wilderness areas of Patagonia.

I feel that education is the key to resource management and through a carefully planned curriculum, we can all conserve this beautiful place together.

OTHER ADVENTURES.

There are more adventures to come. Watch for photo albums and more! Such as my Outward Bound courses down here!...

Bariloche dispatch #2

Greetings friends and family,

As of recent, Pili received an amazing gift from her father.... a NEW CAR! Or, new to us anyway. There will be much less waiting for bus to come in snow or high frigid winds. We can visit places on the weekends... etc. It is a red Fiat Duna, a 2006 deisel. And so, since Pili is still practicing her driving for her test this coming Friday, I have been driving, as I have my international driver's license. We have been to two really ocol places so far: Villa Angustora, and El Bolson.

Angostura is about an hour away by car. As the crow flies, you can almoast see it from Bariloche across Lago Nahuel Huapi, but as the road heads east, then north, and curves back west, it is a windy circumnavigation of the lake. But, imagine... rural Wyoming, the foothiils before the Grand Tetons? That is the landscape east of Bariloche.

To the south? El Bolson, home of organic, local food movements, a full community recycling program, a hippy-fair every weekend the weather is good, where Pili bought some beautiful ear rings, and a bracelet of silver. Home of the local amazing icecream company: Jauja (pronounced: ''How- Ha.'' Simply amazing. The drive south? Imagine a combination of Western Washington State, meandering to the Kenai Peninsula in a matter of 4 hours. Breath taking.

I have begun volunteering at Colegio Del Sol, where Pili teaches 4th grade in the afternoon in English, and 2nd grade in the mornings in Spanish. Buenisimo! MY volunteering consists of preparing short lessons (30 min.) teaching students about the environment. We have started simple. With trash. For now, there are two programs going on in Bariloche: 1) at the Basurero (the dump) there are workers whose sole job is to separate organic refuse from reusable/recyclable materials. The recyclable materials are then sent to various locations around Argentina to be recycled. 2) The public is encouraged to separate their prganics from in-organic materials for waste so that the Basureros (workers at the dump) can have an easier time splitting things up.

I have been teachign kids at Colegio Del Sol why separating is helpful, how they can separate the trash in their house, and other little trash tips as well. The next few lessons wille explore a)where does our food come from? and b) what happens to our trash after we send it away to the basurero?

Also, Margarita continues to get bigger and bigger. I will be sure to include some photos of her in this post, as well as some photos I took just this morning of Bariloche. The photos are mostly of two distinct locations in Bariloche: Cerro Otto, named after one of the early German settlers who crafted some of the first nordic skis --Otto, it is his old house which is now a museum. Cerro Otto lingers in early morning clouds as a Shangri-La type feels sets in. Also, photos of Cerro Catedral, the local ski resort, as morning sun casts beautiful light on route 82, the road our house is on.

I think that's the general skinny for now..... Enjoy!




Kev


(1) Lago Guitierrez w- Cerro Ventana on the left in clouds, and a mountain ridge on the right leading to Frey and on to Tronador. This is literally a 5 minute walk from my house in Bariloche


(2) Margarita is SO BIG!

Bariloche update 1

Things I did:

Got introduced to the Bariloche bouldering gym. SCORE.

Started an eight-week course on climate change and global warming, with a global focus but also
pertinent to Bariloche\Argentina. All in Spanish. Wow.

Am volunteering at Colegio Del Sol as the curtain person\ techie for the kids' end of year musical
play

Went skiing at Corre Catedral one day. No Poles. On Purpose. On Tele. Awesome.

Pictures and videos to follow chicos...



Abrazo,


Kev