7 October 2026 Day 17 Zero Point (12,000’) It’s just past 0700 at 12,000 feet. I’m lying in my tent on a NOLS expedition to the Nadi Devi valley in India. We are resting today because we did a load ferry up to 14,500’ yesterday, getting onto snow and returning in the clouds and rain.
In April, I worked a NOLS canyons course with a Navy test squandron from California. The pilots and SAR folks were great, as was my co-instructor, and the desert and the canyons didn’t disappoint. But for the first time, I could see my self as a military pilot. While so focused on NASA for so
September… catching up… Well, it’s been a whirlwind. I stepped down from my USAP (US Antarctic Program) full-time role at the end of the season so I wouldn’t have to work all through the summer on my computer. So when I landed back off the ice, I took some time to adventure in New Zealand,
Yep, I want to write more. So here goes. The wheels are ungreased, but maybe I can slowly work back to where I was when I loved sharing the story by writing. I sometimes wonder if the stress and business of the last many years is having a long-term effect. There hasn’t been the space
10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…Lift Off! In the NASA visitor stands, I watched as friends have the experience of a lifetime – on the top of the Falcon 9 rocket. They’re going more than 100 mph as they clear the tower. They have just begun their journey to the International Space Station. For two of the four, it is
Reaching for the stars … and missing Read More »
“Wow.” I got in to bed at 2:30 in the morning yesterday. I was in a hotel. I was off the ice. It’d been 5 months since I’d been around a tree, flower, darkness, kids – the list goes on and on. Only three full weekends off in 5 months – which doesn’t really count
Five months on the Ice Read More »
Once again, I’m on my way to Antarctica. Currently in New Zealand for some helicopter training (practicing on how to enter and exit a hovering helicopter – quite fun) and soon into the mountains to train on Search and Rescue with the New Zealand field team. None of this training was available to us last
There were many times during the week of preparations for this trip where I thought, what the fuck am I doing? Time, money, effort, questions, problems, loneliness. I could be doing so many other things right now. I’d had all these thoughts before and knew it was worth it, so I kept on going, got
In June, I worked a NOLS Alumni course on Denali. It was not a typical NOLS course and it was not a typical mountaineering experience. I had wanted to climb the mountain for a long time, with various things getting in the way over the years. At last, it was time to experience the mountain.
21 April 2024 I get tired of the strain. There are things inside me that I cannot easily put to words. I don’t think words are my first language. Paragraphs have never been easy. As if trying to place a face – you flip through all the faces in your brain, looking for a match,
Half a year on the ice Read More »