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Dear Parents,
I arrived at the University of Utah and it's great. I don't know yet about the studying, but they have plenty of clubs like scuba diving, rock climbing, parachuting, knitting (just kidding) and more. I think I'm going to try them all. Don't worry that they are risky, there's no one left in those clubs who has had an accident before.
Talk to you later.
TA
Dear Parents,
I started the activities with the climbing club. They have a climbing wall and it's great, but on the second time I went I fell and broke a finger. No one had told me to remove my fingers from the pocket holes when falling. Bummer. I think I'll stick to scuba diving.
Your loving son
TA
Dear Parents,
Well, after the scuba diving accident (don't worry, the red in my eyes should go away in a month or so) I think I'll stick to climbing. Diving just looks too dangerous: a valve gets stuck deep down and if your co-divers don't see you, you're a goner. At least with climbing, if you don't let go you can't fall off...
Love you all
TA
Mom and Pop,
I discovered bouldering and it's so much more interesting than gym climbing. At least you are alone in the woods without anyone to bother you. Say 'Hi!' to the dog for me.
Regards
TA
Dear Ma
Hi All,
Today I was late for class, as yesterday a friend got hurt while bouldering near the University. He fell about 3-feet while climbing alone and hit his leg against a tree stump. Broke his knee cap. I got to ride in one of the search and rescue jeeps. It was neat. We never would have found him in the dark if it hadn't been for the lightning. I had to go pick him up this morning. The guy in the same room had been run over by a car and had tire threads on this chest. Don't worry too much about climbing risks, I've checked the statistics and one is 10 times more likely to die in a car accident than a climbing accident, so I'm safe. By the way, this weekend we are going climbing in the Tetons: driving all night on Friday, climb on Saturday and Sunday and drive back Sunday night. Should be a fun weekend.
Bye.
TA
Hi folks,
That was a great weekend. I started mountain climbing, it's much better than sport climbing ! We were on The Grand climbing the Black Ice Couloir. I wasn't too comfortable, partly because I was climbing in ski boots, and I had borrowed crampons and axes. The axe belongs to a friend's grandfather and has a wooden shaft, but it's obviously been through a lot already as it has no teeth left. Or maybe it never had any. Please send money for axes and crampons.
Talk to you later.
TA
Dear parents,
This weekend we went back to the Tetons and it was my 2nd time mountain climbing ever. And my first unplanned bivy. Please send money for pile jacket, gore-tex, real climbing boots, stretch pants, gloves, balaclava and more, as my blue-Jeans, grandma's wool sweater and my sweatshirt weren't quite enough to keep me warm after we got lost in the storm and got soaked to the bones by the wet snow. At least in the morning we were dry (as ice is considered dry).
Love
TA
PS: If the university complains of hot water abuse in my dorm, it's just that it took me a couple of days to warm back up.
.
Hi Mom, Hi Dad,
Mountain climbing is just long walks in snow carrying a big pack, and the only interesting part is often the schrund (provided you don't fall in it like last weekend); ice climbing is more fun. Just find some frozen waterfall and climb it. We don't know anyone else who does that but it's fun. And it's a pleasant egoistical feeling to climbing such an temporary thing, it wasn't there last summer and it won't be there in a couple more weeks. Or sometimes less, as one of the waterfalls collapsed 10 minutes after we bailed off of it... It's amazing how loud ice can be when it crashes down hundreds of meters of couloir.
I'm still waiting for the money for the axes: I broke the tip of the old wooden one and it was way hard to finish the route with one hand... I also need a new pair of gloves as a piece of falling ice cut right through mine.
Bye, bye...
TA
Hi you all,
For New Years we went to a yurt lost high up in the mountains. We carried packs worthy of a Sherpa, with Champaign bottles and live oysters in addition to all the climbing gear. We got drunk and then all went climbing on the walls above the yurt. Some without headlamps, and one with a candle between his teeth. Sleeping out drunk at this altitude is not too comfortable, particularly when you can't see how to get down from the ledge. And you are butt naked... Noooo, that wasn't me but I won't tell...
See yah.
TA
Hello again,
Back in Jackson Hole. I'm waiting in the ER room for the doc to finish sterilizing my partner's butt. He was wearing shorts when he tried to 'ski' a glacier in his running shoes. He fell off the steeper section at the bottom and scrapped his butt on the old dirty ice at the base. I spent 20 minutes with the pliers from the Swiss army knife to remove most of the pebbles under the dubious stare of hikers on the trail below.
Bye
TA
Dear Parents,
As spring is coming we wanted to do some long rock routes. We chose the wrong place as it was north facing and covered with ice. After 3 pitches we bailed as we had to climb on ice with bare hands and my rope got cut by something (a sharp edge ?). We managed to finish the rappels with only a few strands on one side. Please send money for a new rope.
Your loving son
Totally Awesome
Hello from Zion,
Here's a postcard from Angels Landing, one of the most famous cliffs in the world. as high as many mountain routes and as steep as a sport cliff. We must have chosen the wrong place as we couldn't find the route we wanted to climb. After trying several dead ends both my more experienced partners tried and bailed after they saw you couldn't place any gear in the 40 meter chimney. Finally I tried it and ran the pitch out to the belay. The hardest part was the last two meters, as the shaking was getting real bad. They paid me the beer in the evening and said that from now on I could climb with them (before I had to sneak in their car in the morning otherwise they would just 'forget' me...).
Bye for now.
TA
Still in Zion,
I discovered one route, Space Shot, and since it's the same grade that I climb in the gym I decided to go. The only partner I could find was a beginner, but he did alright. Granted I had to Z-pulley him up the last 5 pitches. The pitches where it was raining. But sandstone is not too slippery when wet, so we had a good time.
'later.
TA
Yet another postcard from the Zion,
This place is great, there's so much to do a week won't be enough... We climbed Moonlight Buttress. While we were on it we got passed by two old timers who were cruising up. They were wearing helmets. As they passed one told us that we should be wearing them as well: he removed his and showed us a caved in hole as big as a fist inside his skull. 'Rock' he said and disappeared up.
Please send money for helmet, even thought the rock in Zion is excellent and nothing falls off. At least it will protect us from dropped gear and stupid tourists throwing beer cans from the rim.
Bye.
TA
Hello Mom, Hello Dad,
There's not much climbing around campus so to practice we do 'buildering', climbing on buildings. As we were doing it around the University which was deserted for the summer, a cop car starting driving around all the buildings we'd climbed before, so we just hunkered down and ran off later. Will you bail me out of jail if I get caught?
TA
Hi all,
On the weekend I went climbing at a place called
A postcard from Alaska,
I'm writing this from the little airplane that takes you to the base of Denali. We think that after one year of climbing we are ready to tackle more interesting problems like this... It does look big though. Don't worry.
Talk to you later...
TA
This is no longer locked? :ne_nau:
Nope.... TA has disappeared and feared lost on Denali :haha: