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
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
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. ...
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. ...
Friday, November 25, 2011
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!!!!!!!!!!
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!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
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
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
Monday, July 25, 2011
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
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
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