Climbers and Backcountry Travelers

Perhaps you are drawn to the unparalleled beauty and adventure of the outdoors.  It is an irresistible attraction that many cannot understand. Climbing offers physical and mental challenges, spectacular beauty, deep friendships, and can be at the center of one’s community. Perhaps you have suffered tremendous loss in these very same environments in a way that forever changes your relationship to these treasured places and the special community of people you share them with. Perhaps you have suffered injuries or other life changes that now prevent you from doing the activities you love. I too have wrestled with the tension between the vitality that comes from managing risk in the mountains and the dangers and the potentially tragic consequences. I have experienced unfortunate close calls and have lost friends to accidents that we wanted to imagine could not happen. As a parent, I struggle with these same questions as I encourage my own children to explore the outdoors.