Luke's Bloggie Blog

Lawton's Route Re-cap from Mark Grundon

2012-02-10T10:54:00.000-08:00

Mark Grundon, rock climbing guide extraordinaire has bolted a line in El Salto, Mexico, in memory of our dear friend Adam Lawton.

His report on the climb can be found at his blog, El Potrero Chico Guides.

Mark is a guide in El Potrero Chico, Mexico half the year, and in Yosemite, California, the other half, so if you're ever looking for a guide he is the man!!!

The Climbing Zine on Kindle (Ready to Read)

2012-02-06T08:51:00.000-08:00

Well after a couple of weeks of trail and error, The Climbing Zine Volume 3 is now available on Kindle. We priced it at $3.99, half of the cost of our printed version.

Click here to see The Climbing Zine Volume 3 on Kindle.

I hope all you Kindle readers enjoy this, and please contact me if you have any feedback on the format. lmehall@yahoo.com

Who The F**k is Cliff Cash?

2012-02-04T07:05:00.000-08:00

Well here he is, one of The Climbing Zine's most frequent contributors:

For more details, CLICK HERE to visit the Cliff Cash blog.

eLaboration on Motion and eMotion

2012-02-02T08:20:00.000-08:00

As I wrote some last night I am currently staying waaaaaaay out in the hills, on a 30 acre property. I am house sitting an off-the-grid house, one that is more sustainable than any other type of dwelling I've ever stayed in. The people who own the house grow their own food, have various animals (pigs, horses, chickens), and get most of their energy from the sun (solar).

On day four I'm finally settling into this place, and I am starting to appreciate the solitude. At first I wasn't sure if they had the internet, but they do, so I feel a connection to the rest of the world. It's like if Henry David Thoreau had Facebook at Walden. It is what it is.

Solitude is a crazy thing because it makes you directly look into your own soul. Looking in I am happy with some things, and other aspects of my life, such as my dietary habits, I realize need to be improved.

As I wrote last night too I feel that yearning for love. All human beings feel that, and that is what brings us together. Even in this day and age with so many technological advances what we truly need stays the same. And that is why I wrote last night that all we are is love. That is the greatest thing we possess, the greatest gift we can give, and the greatest thing to share. Without love what are we?

Well, there's my morning thoughts from the solitude of Windy Ridge. I'll post some photos as soon as I start taking some. The view from the outhouse is world class.

Much Love,
Luke

February Motion and eMotion

2012-02-01T18:58:00.000-08:00

What else are we but love? I've been staying way out in the hills near Durango, Colorado, actually closer to Bayfield, Windy Ridge to be exact, and this is the first thing I'm driven to write on my bloggie blog since being here.

I love the simplicity of blogging, the channeling of in-the-moment thoughts, into words, out to the interweb, the world.

Are we anything but love? That is what I think out here, all alone, with no way to actually reach out to another breathing human in flesh. All alone I realize how social I am. How I yearn to love thee women. The women, thee women, you are out there, I know, so that comforts me and I move along with my night, light the fire, light one up, drink one down, listen to iTunes. Love you world. Love you.

Freedom and Volume 4

2012-02-01T08:17:00.000-08:00

Well of course The Climbing Zine Volume 4 is taking us longer than we expected. The zine always does. This time we're making sure it's our best volume yet, so it will be worth the wait. We're also figuring out distribution, and the whole e-reader thing, to reach as large of an audience as possible. That said Volume 4 WILL drop this month, I promise. In the meantime, here is a poem that will be published in Volume 4. Cheers, Luke.

Freedom by Luke Mehall

Freedom, where are you?
I found you briefly, growing up in the flatlands
And then, you were flattened
By growing up, taking tests
Who would have known to fail was the best?
I failed so many times I failed at failure
Wailing with the prospect that I had nothing

Freedom I looked for you in magic mushrooms and LSD
Smoking marijuana every chance I got
Risking getting busted and imprisonment to escape a mental prison
Freedom, I found you in Allen Ginsberg’s America
As my tears spilled into my murderous coffee
Freedom, did I see you again at the campfire?
Did I see you when I gave up and wasn’t looking?
When I wanted to die because I had nothing to live for?

Freedom I found you in climbing, higher and higher
Till all negativity and doubt perspired, leaving just me
Realizing at the time all I wanted to be, was to be

Freedom, then I got addicted to you
And the addiction was just as false
As freedom being found in simply the red, white and blue

It can be, true, but what I learned most about you
I learned you are an ingredient
An essential part in the recipe of a human life
Too much and your heart and soul will ache
Not enough give, too much take
Freedom I think I understand you more
I learned more than I ever wanted to know (at the time)
Freedom now I’ll compliment you in rhyme
Freedom I’ll always be searching in climbing, above
Freedom you are the best when complimented with love

Zines on Kindle

2012-01-28T09:26:00.000-08:00

I've spent a good part of my week trying to figure out how to upload my zines into the Kindle system. It's been a whole lot of trial and error, but I'm happy to report that I'm close to having The Climbing Zine Volume 3, and Moonlight Dreamchasers, the 2012 Edition good to go for reading on Kindles.

This is very exciting for me to have a product available for e-readers, and honestly now that I've committed to doing it, I've wondered why it took so long for me to do this. I encourage all young and emerging writers to explore this option for their self-published work.

That said, I am still going the traditional route for publishing my first book, Climbing Out of Bed. Though it will take longer to publish this way, I believe the final product will be worth it to go through a traditional publisher.

Thanks for reading, and I'll be sure to post when the zines are good to go on Kindle.

The Underwear Story and Patagonia

2012-01-26T16:43:00.000-08:00

Well today has def. been the biggest game changing day in my writing career. Late yesterday afternoon, Patagonia published a story about my dream to become an underwear model on their blog, The Cleanest Line. It's a trip because I wrote the first draft of the 561 word story over four years ago, and submitted it to Patagonia to use. They liked it, but couldn't find a place for it. Late last year I revised and resubmitted the story to them. In 2012 there is a place for a funky, strange tale about underwear, hot springs, the ladies and some strangeness in Salt Lake City, Utah. The place is blogs! So word up to that.

The Cleanest Line is a dope blog, and I'm psyched they published the story. It's crazy to think my writing reaching the audience that Patagonia reaches. It's actually blowing my mind at the moment.

Just as I was about to hit click on this piece, a stranger taps me on my shoulder, I thought I was about to get kicked out of the library, but instead she says, "hey look at the sunset, sometimes i get too involved in my work to look up and I thought you might miss it." I was missing it. Wise words from that lady.

To read The Underwear Story, visit The Cleanest Line.

word and peace,
Luke Mehall

Busy Being Born; a review of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

2012-01-25T14:58:00.000-08:00

I wrote this review for tomorrow's Durango Telegraph. Enjoy.

As I start this piece I can barely handle looking at the cover of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. Jobs, the co-founder and longtime CEO of Apple, who passed away last October, was known to be harsh on those he felt weren’t working to their full potential, and even in death his portrait on the cover seems to hold me accountable for every word I’m about to write here.

Walter Isaacson has previously published biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein, and he was courted by Jobs to write this exclusive biography. Initially Isaacson declined the offer, saying he might be interested in another decade or two when Jobs retired, until he found out that Jobs had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Jobs, who was well known to be a control freak, admirably put nothing off-limits, and didn’t ask to read a copy of the book before it was published.

Steve Jobs, the book, was written after extensive research on a man that some have said possessed the best and worst qualities of a human being. Isaacson conducted more than forty interview with Jobs, and a hundred-plus interviews of family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, colleagues, former girlfriends and foes. The result is an honest portrayal of an American icon who felt throughout his life that he was destined to die young, and in his own words wanted to “put a dent in the universe.”

Most Americans know a bit of the story of Steve Jobs and Apple, which is now the world’s most valuable company. Some will read this book merely for that fact, and some sage business guidance can certainly be found within the covers. The great joy of this book is the cautionary, very American tale of someone who changed the world during his short 56 years on the planet.

The Steve Jobs that changed the world was a product of California and the movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He loved Bob Dylan’s music, smoked marijuana, dropped LSD, refused to shower regularly, and walked around barefoot, while practicing and preaching about his fruitarian diet (which was his justification for not showering). He dropped out of college after one year, and lived in a garage without heat afterwards and dropping in on courses that interested him. A pilgrimage to India left a lifelong impression on him, especially the intuitive sense that the people he encountered there possessed.

Isaacson writes about this creative side of Jobs, as well as he does the technical side. While Jobs was swept up in mystical visions and cosmic vibrations, he also was in love with computers. He worked at Atari for awhile, and tinkered with electronics at a young age. At 12 years old Jobs looked up a founder of Hewlett-Packard in the phone book, and called him up for help with finding some parts for a frequency counter he was building.

Jobs got rich quick and young with Apple computers. His ego swelled and his demeanor became erratic, and this was part of the reason Jobs was fired from the very company he founded. He was an emotional rollercoaster and mean to people who were working for him. One phrase that is printed repeatedly in the book is Jobs saying, “This is shit,” to his employees.

The various dynamics in Jobs’ personality make for some interesting reading, but in the end he would have not been remembered if it weren’t for his tremendous successes. As with many successful people he learned from his failures. I was reminded of the Dylan lyric, “There’s no success like failure, but failures no success at all.” After his ousting from Apple he started another computer company NeXT, where Jobs indulged in all his instincts, good and bad. Most products didn’t sell well, but the company was solid enough that the failing Apple computers of the mid-1990s purchased it, and eventually Jobs became CEO of Apple. What happened at Apple, under his leadership from 1997 till his death in 2011, was the creation of products like the iPod, iPhone and iPad; products that led to Apple’s worldwide success.

In repose while staring back at Jobs on the cover of his book I look back and don’t really feel like I understand him, as a person. He was obsessed with his vegetarian diet, but didn’t seem to be a healthy person. He was enlightened but not content. Isaacson referred to him as “being driven by demons.” In the end, to understand Jobs may not be the point of this 500 plus page book. It is to read his story, to take the journey of an LSD influenced, hippie, computer guy, who founded a very American company in the most positive sense; a company that is worth billions and produces user-friendly, intuitive products.

Though this book is a clunker (reading it as an e-book would be more convenient) after finishing it, I still found myself curious for more of Steve Jobs, especially the philosophies he believed in, that guided his, and Apple’s way. As 2011 winded down Jobs was featured on the cover of many mainstream newspapers and magazines. Most offered small blurbs about his life and his success with Apple, but very few captured the essence of his brilliant mind and driven spirit. I dug around some more, and on YouTube came across the 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University that Jobs delivered not long after having surgery for pancreatic cancer. The address is the best commencement speech I’ve ever heard: beautiful, inspiring, and concise. The entire thing is worth a watch, and I’ll leave you with a few words from his speech here.

“Sometimes life is going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. You’ve got to find what you love, and this is as true for work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

How we do...Creeksgiving dance-off

2012-01-24T13:25:00.000-08:00

Check out this awesome Creeksgiving dance-off footage from Phillip Street and Timmy Foulkes TV.

Click HERE to watch the video.

Outdoor Retailer (OR) Show Part II, rappers, rejuvenation room, and the latest and greatest

2012-01-23T16:25:00.000-08:00

Well, our first OR show was memorable to say the least. I'm in a hazy state of recovery at the moment, and I know plenty of ya'll are out that attended are in a similar state. Speaking of states Utah is a weird state. I think it always will be. In a way for me though Utah is a home away from home, especially in the red rock desert, and sometimes in Salt Lake City. I lived there for awhile and wrote my first zine there, so it is an important place in my life. That said, here's some photos and thoughts on the great Salt Lake City, Outdoor Retailer Show.

We didn't really know what to expect at the show. Shaun Matusawicz and yours truly simply went into this with the attitude that we would promote The Climbing Zine, cover it on my blog and otherwise study the scene. A recon mission; getting set up for success and experiencing the show fully in the Summer. Some highlights after rolling in Saturday afternoon: hip hop MCs, DJs, and good beer. Beautiful people, passionate folks who love their jobs, and of course, the freshest gear on the market. It had the vibe of a great party, in the midst of like-minded people On Sunday everything was really mellow, and we learned about companies like Sherpa, chatted about the latest gear Petzl and Black Diamond have in the works, checked out some really cool running sandals from Luna Sandals, met some people at Mountaineers Books that I hope to work with more in the future, ran into PR Man and Rep Todd Walton that I collaborate with at Deuter, and discovered that there is a functioning dog harness on the market. Who would have known? Next time we'll do much more, and at the last minute we discovered there was a rejuvenation room. I could use one of those now.

La Sportiva beer. Good marketing if you ask me.

Chatting with Justin Roth of Petzl. Justin was super psyched on The Climbing Zine. He used to be an editor for Urban Climber, we're going to do some reviews of their latest headlamps and some climbing gear when we launch our website, in a month or so.

I think this headlamp from Petzl is going to be a game changer. It will be released this summer, and we'll be doing a review in the near future. Among the dope features is the ability to change with the amount of light that is needed, more when its really dark and less with it is lighter, or you are reading something close to your eyes. Def. the coolest headlamp I've ever seen. Can't wait to get one on my head!

The lightweight Luna Sandals. Shaun's feet on the right and on the left is Barefoot Ted, a guy who is a character in the best selling book, Born to Run by Christopher McDougall that works for Luna Sandals. We met this crew through our good friend Amber.

Amber hanging in this structure in the lobby. Not really sure what this was all about, but maybe this is what it is all about.

We changed out some Mormon propaganda since we were in the neighborhood.

A Ghost Bike in the city, a tribute to fallen cyclists. word to that!!!

I was digging on this car. I've seen it around, I think it belongs to one of the Yoga Slackers crew. Much props to a fellow owner of a ghetto car with stickers and spraypaint!

It ain't over till you're safe back home. It was a long drive back to Durango, but all in all Shaun and I agreed it was a very successful OR show, and we're psyched to return in August for the full experience.

Oh Are You? Our First Day at Our First OR Show

2012-01-21T22:21:00.000-08:00

Representing The Climbing Zine crew, Shaun Matusewicz and I hit up our first ever OR show today. We arrived into Salt Lake City after driving through lots o' snow on the mountain passes. It was raining as we rolled in, but then turned to big fat flakes of snow as we headed into the Salt Palace Convention Center. No doubt we were both thinking of our good friend Adam Lawton, who recently died in an avalanche. Adam's home was Salt Lake, and I know he would have been proud that we were representing The Climbing Zine at the OR show.

We didn't really know what to expect, and we're treating this first show as a recon mission for the future. We have big plans for The Climbing Zine and hope to attract the biggest sponsors out there for our publication. We know this will take time so for this show we're soaking it all in to see how things go down within the industry.

We really enjoyed ourselves. We chatted with some really friendly people within the industry, and saw some climbing rock stars in person (Chris Sharma, Lynn Hill, Dean Potter). We got to check out some new gear, and drank several varieties of good beer (sometimes a rarity in Utah :). Most of all we received a positive welcoming from the various folks who checked out The Climbing Zine, and we truly know we have a future in the climbing world. It's only a matter of time before we reach a large audience. We're taking our time with this, because we know all good things happen in good time. And, we are PSYCHED for tomorrow.

(This is where I stayed last night and woke up this morning, the Castleton Tower campsite. I love waking up here, and wished I could have started the day by climbing this. But alas, I didn't have a partner, and had to meet Shaun in Crescent Junction by 10:00 a.m.)

Shaun having some fun.

Super cool new magnetic locking beaner from Black Diamond that will be released this summer!

Lowe Balls and Tri-Cams oh my!

Rock and Ice article from the Archives

2012-01-17T07:53:00.000-08:00

This is an oldie but goodie. A piece that will appear in my upcoming book, Climbing Out of Bed, and was originally published in Rock and Ice Magazine. I was stoked to see they had it posted up online, as I was doing some research for my book.

READ "Naked Disco Dance Party in J-Tree" from rockandice.com.

The start of a new project...

2012-01-16T09:50:00.000-08:00

It's a new year, and time to start another new project. This is the start of something new...enjoy!

photo by Jonathan Byers

In a world that had lost its way we sat together at a cliff. It was just the two of us, there, at that moment. Our other friends, the others in the tribe, they were just around the corner, still climbing on the red rocks. We sat together, intertwined, as we shared a beer. Our love was just beginning, yet comfortable enough to know that, here, exactly where we were at this moment, was everywhere we ever wanted to be, as we sat silently, watching the sun set.

Her love and comfort was unexplainable, the greatest thing I’d ever known. As they say the best things in life are free. I hoped she felt the same about me, and by the way she opened her lips to kiss, it was enough of a hint for me to believe she did.

The sunset was dramatic, first a hint of orange and red, and then a dominating red across the sky. Red rock cliffs and towers loomed in the distance, and an occasional bird flew by. I looked at her face and then kissed her lips. I knew at that moment nothing could ever compare to this. So I remained in the moment and kissed her again.

I loved him then, and I had a feeling I would love him forever. Thank God I’d finally found a good, honest rock climbing man. The males in the mountain town culture are diamonds in the rough. I was happy to be growing older, and to be meeting older men. We grew together that evening when we sealed our love in our beloved red rock desert.

New love is perhaps the greatest thrill in life. I’d loved and lost many times before this man, and there was the possibility in my mind that this rollercoaster cycle would continue for my entire life. Then here he was, this lover, yogi, dirtbag, all rolled up in a package, that seemed to be just for me.

But this sunset, in some ways I wished we could just become one with it, and go where it was going. We were new lovers, but in our thirties experienced enough to know sustaining love was a greater challenge than any climb we might attempt together. We had new love, in an old world, a world that needed love more than anything else.

Our friends hiked around the corner to find us content and in love. I would have never thought of it like that then, love is a bold proclamation, but now I know it was love, and I know we were content and in the moment. The group, two other couples that had been couples for some time now gave us a look of happiness, contentment, even a hint of jealously at our new found love. Spiritual seekers of love are always waiting for this moment, to establish a connection of the divine in the outdoor world, a moment that berths hope to every dream that is still alive in one’s heart.

Just like that the sun was setting further down, the red and pink went away and a purple hue hung on briefly. We packed up our backpacks, as we hiked down the cliff, weaving and turning down the red rocks and dirt.

Fire. Fire is the first thought when we return to camp. The cool air of the desert night cries out fire. So we build a fire, and we all huddle around it before we cook dinner. We savor the feeling that we built from the day.

Casper by Greg Pettys

2012-01-15T09:52:00.000-08:00

I normally only post my own writing on this blog, but I wanted to share this piece by Greg Pettys. He wrote this for Adam Lawton, our dear friend who was killed in an avalanche on Friday, January 6th in British Columbia. Greg has a very unique talent, and I, for one, hope he continues to write and share his words with the people. Thanks Greg!

Casper

The night before I received the call, an angel visited me. With candles lit and incense burning we spoke of death. How was I to know He would come so soon?

That night you made your last turns
The hippies in CB met in an alley,
Making edgy plans, as we always do.
You know, to take over the world.

Of course your last visit would be in the form of snow.
That’s what you were;
Casper. White.
A pillar of crystalline purification.
An ever flowing, ever changing, reminder to re-new.

So we ski. It’s what we do.
Somehow we ski now!!

But I remember the tattoo on your arm
I remember the colossal turns you made on Our Hill.
On an alpine board! Who does that?!?!

Waking up early every morning,
Skipping class and prioritizing Life.
Hitching up to our backyard,
Wild-eyed and filled to the brim;
Grateful.

The stoke.
The humility.

The hair.

We never made it to Burning Man,
But you were the first person to speak of it.
You always were.
We found our own though.
In Klaus’s janky g-ride,
Cruising down a hill of sudden death alongside Purple Mountain,
In search of Digiorno’s,
We stumbled into...
Vinotok.

And you made your own,
In Utah of all places!

But Crested Butte was always your true home.
You were here first.
Paving the way,
As you always did.

Always showing up right on time.
For a pristine fall bike ride into the yellow,
For a Grand Reverse,
Or conveniently when me and one of my girlfriends
Were heading to Orvis!

(And I respect your advice good brother,
…I will do what I can.)

I can’t recount all the spontaneous road trips.
Into the mountains.
To Red Rocks and beyond.
Phishin’ deeper,
For answers to Life’s most profound mysteries.
Managing to balance your aid of your beloved “troubled youth”
With the aid of your clearly off-centered bretheren back home.

You skied fast and took chances that most of us dare never take.
Riding the “white wave” with style and grace,
…Well, maybe not style,
But I sure did dig those touring flannels!

Shredding the nor.
G-narring the shread.
Praying in our own way while freaking out the squares
In a sacred canyon
Made unholy by man’s greedy desire.

The river flows with or without us brother.
This never was our act.
You knew all along that we were just actors in Gods great production.
But rest assured good pirate, the heady shroud will still fly high…………..

Skier Boyz Blog

2012-01-13T12:59:00.000-08:00

Some great Adam Lawton stories and reflections have been popping up at the Skier Boyz blog, and I for one am grateful and appreciative of the posts. Thanks ya'll.

Last Thoughts on Adam Lawton

2012-01-11T17:24:00.000-08:00

Adam Lawton has been in my thoughts for all my waking hours since he was killed in an avalanche last Friday, January 6th in British Columbia. I’ve wanted to write about him since it happened, but I’ve been unable to. There is a time and place to write, just like Allen Ginsberg once said, “I won’t write my poem till I’m in my right mind.”

Those of you who knew Adam are feeling his departure in one way or another. He was a great man and a great friend, the type of individual I wish there were more of in this sometimes harsh world. He was a light. He was a leader. He encouraged thinking and questioning, but never spent so much time doing those things that he annoyed or did not live to the utmost extent. He loved skiing, running, biking, climbing and floating down rivers. He loved women. He loved good food. He loved yoga. He loved life and shared that love so much that it grew exponentially in all our hearts, and will continue to grow.

I first met Adam at Western State College of Colorado in 2000, and we’d been paired up to deliver a presentation on Leave No Trace for a Recreation class. I couldn’t even begin to recall the specifics of what we discussed during our meeting in the College Union, but I do remember that he possessed a lust for living, and a hunger to learn more about the world and pursue that knowledge in an experiential way. I got a feeling that we were both in college, in Gunnison, not simply to get a degree for a certain amount of knowledge of a career path, but to access higher learning in the great outdoors, with a community of people that shared this hunger for living life to the fullest.

Over the years Adam and I grew closer, and in a roundabout way, we ended up sharing all the same friends in the Gunnison Valley. Good, like minded people have a way of finding one another. I remember one day in Crested Butte, he was describing his life, “I feel like every day is the best day of my life. I thought yesterday was the best day of my life, and then today was the best day of my life.” It was just the opposite of the scene in Office Space where the main character is describing every day as being the worst day of his life. The mountains were Adam’s rightful home, and he was happy in the mountains.

Eventually Adam moved to Salt Lake City, Utah to pursue an even higher education, at a graduate program at the University of Utah, and the powder of the nearby Wasatch Mountains. I remember him quoting another skier, “the license plates don’t lie,” talking about the slogan written on the old Utah plates, “Greatest Snow on Earth.”

I passed through Salt Lake City in my post-collegiate wanderings of the west more than once and Adam was a most hospitable guest. He always had various new friends and new stories to tell. One year while passing through Salt Lake I ended up running out of money there, and had to get a job to make some money. His hospitality never wavered and he let me crash on his couch as often as needed. He introduced me to everything that was great about Salt Lake: the library, the vegan restaurants, the Tibetan Buffet, the Bayou Bar, the buildering of the city, Little Cottonwood Canyon, and so much more. He even got me excited about cross country skiing (I should note I am not a skier). He loved skiing so much I am in awe of how he also excelled at climbing, biking, running and river activities. Last I talked to him he was excited about the idea of long, ultra-running races. He always seemed to remain passionate about skiing, while also doing something new, and he always wanted to share that passion.

Adam was interested in so many things, and now in retrospect I wish I’d taken notes about our conversations. He had an open mind, the true definition of an open mind, maybe so much that his mind was continually expanding. He was certainly into mind expansion. His heart was ever expanding as well, and I think the greatest advice he ever told me was to breathe.

We’re all grieving over you Adam, and I felt the huge loss of your departure in the weeping of all our shared friends as the news was broke that you’d been killed in an avalanche. Everyone is dealing with it differently; people deal with death in different ways. In some way we’ll never be the same without you. We are better for having known you. The world is a better place because you lived. We hope to see you again, and your spirit is always with us. I can feel it right now as these tears spill onto my keyboard.

Adam Lawton

2012-01-11T08:46:00.000-08:00

We lost a kindred spirit last week, by the name of Adam Lawton. He was killed in an avalanche in British Columbia. I've been at a loss of words to write about him, but I know in time they will come. I thought the tears would stop, but again this morning they return. I hope everyone out there who knew Adam is going through all the emotions that arise, as well as reaching out to their loved ones. We have a community of support that is there for us, and after our mourning it is important that we allow Adam to continue to inspire us! I feel your spirit Adam!

Indian Creek Campfire

2012-01-07T13:47:00.001-08:00

Photo by Jonathan Byers. We will be using some of his photography in the next issue of The Climbing Zine.

It's 2012!

2012-01-02T10:01:00.000-08:00

"All good things must end," we've all heard that one, but I got a new one, for this new year, new age, "All good things must end, but all good things must begin as well." Whatever you're dreaming my friends, there's no reason not to go for it this year!

Steve Jobs: One time American dirtbag who co-founded the world's most valuable company

2011-12-27T09:35:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, a wonderful book. Jobs, a co-founder of Apple, passed away this year, and I didn't know much about him before he died, other than the fact that he was the pioneer of the ipod. This book brought Jobs to life, and now I am fascinated with the man, who was a hippie child of California and the early 1970s. I plan to do a review of the book, which I'll post up on the blog. In the meantime here is a very inspiring speech from Jobs at the Stanford commencement in 2005, the best commencement address I've ever heard. (A close second to my dear friend, Greg Petty's address at Western State College of Colorado in the same year.) I wish we had that one on film.

Click here to watch the speech.

The Great American Dirtbag

2011-12-22T22:00:00.000-08:00

“The world has enough for man’s need, but not enough for man’s greed.”
-Gandhi

Where do we look for hope, for America, the planet, for the human race? The dirtbags. They have usually descended from the Middle Class, where they had enough material-wise where their bodies could be content, but not their souls. Their souls were driven to live, so much, in fact that they gave up all conventional Middle Class ways of survival. Instead embracing another way, the way of the dirtbag. A way, if the entire world lived in this fashion, we could be saved. We could be saved because the spirits of mankind could be fed. When the spirit is fed greed disappears, and without greed there is enough for everyone on the planet.

Of Writing, Computers, Horse Shit and Haters

2011-12-19T08:37:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I was mucking horse shit. For those of ya’ll out there unfamiliar with this practice, it basically means I was shoveling poop out of a corral. It’s an odd job I do about once a week for a nice woman I met through a house sitting gig. As I was working I had a couple thoughts I wanted to share up on my blog here today.

First off, I was marinating over a couple responses towards my last blog post, a book review, which you can see below. On Saturday I received a most pleasant email from a woman who works at Mountaineers Books, the publisher of the book I reviewed. She expressed thanks for the review, and even noted that it was one of the best she’d read all year. I was beaming from the email, and even forwarded it to my Mom and Dad.

The second response was a random comment from an anonymous reader, who said my review was decent, but my grammar sucked and I needed to hire an editor. Immediately I was pissed off, and wished I knew who made the comment. I’ve had a few people hate on my writing online before though, and I brushed it off and continued my session in the coffee shop that afternoon. There are quite a few internet haters out there these days, and as I become more and more successful I’m likely to only get hated on more and more. A reality of this world we’re living in. If the person who made the comment is reading this, I’d like to invite you to find something else to read, this one is for the dreamers and the lovers.

So there I was all up in some horse shit. The activity isn’t the best form of making a buck, but it isn’t the worst either; it allows my brain to think and process. I’ve been a dishwasher in restaurants for 17 years now, and one thing I’ve learned is that while doing a simple mundane job the mind floats and a higher level of consciousness can be obtained.
I thought about something a professor of mine, Tyler Sage, said a while back in an Extended Studies English course at Western State, in Gunnison. He said (in different words of course) that the personal computer has highly influenced the modern writer in a profound way; so much that we really don’t know how deep it has affected the psyche of today’s writers. I personally can’t imagine not having a computer to write; I do 98 % of my writing on this laptop I’m typing away my thoughts this winter morning.

Then I thought about the internet hater who left the anonymous comment, where does this person get the nerve to say something negative about my writing when they are a user reading something at no charge to them? Quickly I switched my thoughts up to the kind email I received the day before, and realized a friendly email from a credible source is much more valuable than an anonymous comment from a hater. Focusing on positivity over negativity is a key attribute to a successful artist.

And this is where I’m at a crossroads, finding success in my writing. I believe it will happen someday, and in some regards I have found success. I’ve been published in some major magazines, and I’m so close to having my book finished that I can taste it. Financial success has alluded me though, hence the mucking of horse shit, and dishwashing.

However this is where an artist builds character, (that’s what I’m telling myself anyways) committing to the path, and doing whatever it takes to achieve the dream. The lovers and supporters over the years have instilled me with the confidence that I will be able to do this, and the haters give me the fuel. So with that said, happy holidays to all, and if you’re a dreamer, an artist, like yours truly, I encourage you to stay on the path. There’s something great just down the road, even if there’s some horse shit (or haters) to shovel out of the way.

Forget Me Not by Jennifer Lowe-Anker....New Book Review Column for The Climbing Zine

2011-12-14T11:35:00.000-08:00

This is a sneak peak into the new column for The Climbing Zine. Volume 4 will be out within a month. Enjoy.

What We’re Reading
Forget Me Not by Jennifer Lowe-Anker
Reviewed by Luke Mehall

“The best climber is the one having the most fun.”
-Alex Lowe

This is a new column for The Climbing Zine, and a space we’ll use each issue to review a climbing related book, new or old, for our readers. For this issue the book is Forget Me Not, written by Jennifer Lowe-Anker, and published in 2008 by The Mountaineers Books.

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a book review, generally I find the process unsatisfying, like writing a term paper in college. So I guess this is more of a contemplation on Forget Me Not, a book I enjoyed immensely, and one that truly moved me.

The book begins like a small campfire, inviting but not overwhelming. Then eventually it grows into something blazing, which fixated me, and I was unable to step away from it. It is her story of love with the late, great climber Alex Lowe, their journeys in climbing and raising a family, and his tragic death in an avalanche in the Himalaya. Following this is a great mourning, and the tale of the new love that was borne with her current husband, and world class climber himself, Conrad Anker, who was with Alex Lowe when he died. Conrad and Alex were also best friends.

Alex and Jennifer’s first days of love were probably somewhat similar to many climbing couples, yet vastly different than most young lovers. They travelled the world together, visiting various climbing locales in the United States and abroad. They climbed together, and suffered the woes of travelling as well. One of Jennifer’s greatest skills as a writer is her brutal honestly, while she graces Forget Me Not with beautiful prose, her honest words sink deep into the reader’s psyche.

She writes of Alex’s legendary drive for climbing, boundless energy, and pure enthusiasm, while also reflecting on his moodiness and gloom when he could not expend that energy. She writes of the joys of life, and the sorrow of death; both which Jennifer has fully experienced in her own existence. Interesting in its own right, is Jennifer’s path towards becoming an artist; she is a talented painter, and her work graces the cover of the book.

In these pages are the journeys we all experience as humans, but especially climbers who want to have it all, the freedom of travel and climbing, as well as the foundation of a home and a family. There are lessons to be learned in Forget Me Not that climbers and non-climbers alike won’t easily forget.

Eventually Jennifer’s own climbing is halted with Motherhood, and she no longer has the drive to take risks on major climbs. Alex however continued to explore the world as a guide and professional climber, to Yosemite, Denali, K2, Everest, Antarctica, the Himalaya, Baffin Island, the Great Trango Tower, Kyrgyzstan and beyond, all while Jennifer took care of their three sons, Max, Sam and Isaac.

One part of this book that made it especially enjoyable is Jennifer’s use of Alex’s various letters he would write her, words of love when they were close and afar. If Alex would have lived long enough to getting around to writing a book it would have been beautiful and intriguing; he was someone who had a way with words. Reading his words reminds me the importance of telling someone you love them in print. Thank you for that Alex Lowe.

There are many other elements of Forget Me Not that make this book worth reading: Jennifer’s trust in her intuitive sense, her ability to put the frailty of life in words, reflection on the first days where the internet and climbing came together, and a Mother’s thoughts on risk and climbing.

Eventually the book goes to a very sad place, we as a reader know it’s coming, and the way Jennifer writes made my entire psyche fixated in the pages of Forget Me Not. I absolutely could not put it down, surely the measure of a great book. I was relieved to read about the love she found with her current husband, Conrad Anker, and the love they share as a family with Max, Sam and Isaac. She writes beautifully near the end of the book, “it is love that seems to soothe the anguish wrought by love lost.”

It’s been two days since I was engulfed in the final pages of Forget Me Not. That night left me feeling sad. The next morning though, I awoke, to the sun, another beginning, and a more enhanced realization of the preciousness of life. Forget Me Not is truly unforgettable.

Luke Mehall is currently in the final processes of finishing his first book, titled “Climbing Out of Bed”, which should be released sometime in 2012.

Freedom Mobile Story in the Winter Crested Butte Magazine: Roll on Freedom

2011-12-07T11:37:00.000-08:00

Below is a story I wrote about my car, The Freedom Mobile, which was published in the most recent issue of Crested Butte Magazine. Below is the draft I submitted, surely just a bit different than the finished product. Hope ya'll enjoy, and be sure to pick up a copy of the CB Mag. when you're in the Gunnison Valley. A link to the online version can be found below.

Our vehicles make statements about our lifestyles, and here in Crested Butte we have quite the diversity in modes of transportation. From the high class Hummer SUVs to the old Subaru station wagon that checks in well over 200,000 miles, the car we drive can be a dead giveaway to the activities we pursue. I often wonder what strangers think of my car, an old 1988 Mazda that is spray painted red, white and blue, most commonly known as the Freedom Mobile.

Ever since I saw the classic 1969 American road movie Easy Rider with Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson, I’ve wanted to paint a vehicle in the colors of our country. I’ve always sensed that us mountain folk are living out our own version of the American Dream up here in the Gunnison Valley, and my car is representative of our unique culture. Adding to the mystique, I also wanted to feature the OM symbol, to show that the east and west can come together, and to show that although I am a proud American, who has been heavily influenced by the ancient, Indian-based art of yoga.

Reactions to the Freedom Mobile have been mostly positive since I graffiti-ed it up with my friend and artist, Nathan Kubes, three years ago. I can count on children smiling and pointing at it, supportive nods from people on townies crossing Elk Ave., and my fellow climbers saying, “I love your car” at various locales across the west. The most predictable response, however, is from hitchhikers; as I slow down to pull over. Their response, with a glimmer of hope in their eyes, is something to the effect of, “I knew you were going to pick me up.”

I’m proud to drive a vehicle that elicits such a response. It took some time to get to this level of pride though. The very next day after we first painted the car, I was pulled over by the police, saying something about my headlights not working properly. I thought they were, and wondered if I’d just set myself up for getting pulled over all the time. It took some time getting used to driving a car that attracted such attention.

A couple months later I had a first date, at the Almont bar of all places. (The woman was living in Crested Butte, and I was living in Gunny; a good mid-way meeting point I thought.) I had the usual butterflies of a first date, and as I walked out to get in my car for the drive I wished to the heavens that I hadn’t painted my car in such an outlandish manner, so I could just present myself in somewhat of a normal way. She ended up loving The Freedom Mobile though, and I learned an important lesson that our inner freak is usually a beautiful thing, and we should not hide it; if someone is a kindred spirit they’ll love what is inside you.

Something I did in the Freedom Mobile, that I never dreamed would happen, was taking it on a major rock climbing road trip, across the Western United States. It all went down like this. I’d just lost my full time with benefits job in Gunnison, with the downturn in the economy, and recently broken up with the first woman I’d ever been in love with. I needed to get out of the valley, and I’d made plans to move down south, to Durango for a fresh start. In the interim my friend Dave and I would make a month long road trip. It would be one of those coming of age trips to do something exciting, and forget about the trials and tribulations of the past.

At the last minute Dave’s truck broke down, and now the trip relied on the Freedom Mobile. With nothing to lose I decided to take Freedom on the trip. We drove to Red Rocks in Las Vegas, Nevada down to Joshua Tree, California, up to Yosemite, to Vegas again, and finally down to Durango. There were many moments of pure bliss, and the country’s reception of the Freedom Mobile was incredible. At one moment, driving in southern Utah a woman sitting shotgun in an old truck, with oxygen hooked up to her nose, pulled up next to us, and gave the biggest grin I’d ever seen, and two thumbs up. Later that same day, pulling into a gas station in the Middle of Nowhere, Utah, some good ol’ boy mechanics were staring us down. We were slightly defensive until they started talking, “Nice car, it looks like something Evil Knievel would drive.”

Durango ended up embracing the Freedom Mobile, and there are more spray painted cars there per capita than any other place in Colorado I’ve been. Work ended up being scarce in Durango, as it is many places in our country these days, and when the spring ended, I found myself returning to this sacred valley for the summer.

The Freedom Mobile made its first appearance in Crested Butte’s Fourth of July parade, and somehow I managed 16 of my closest friends to spell out The Freedom Mobile in body paint across their stomachs and chests. The wildest incident though came later, in the fall, as the deadline for this piece was approaching.

I’d teamed up my friend, Braden Gunem, to do a photo shoot for this article. He rigged up a camera on the front of my car, with all sorts of lighting inside; including a small rag in a bottle he wanted to light on fire to add a wild touch to the photos. While we were keeping our eyes peeled for the police to make sure they didn’t see our shenanigans, I looked up to the last rays of daylight to see a major townie takeover headed our way. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was the Brick Oven Pizzeria’s softball team, dressed complete with their signature red, yellow and green tank tops, and hairnets on their townies; thirty of them, followed by a police officer.

As we watched it all go down, wondering what was going to happen, the police officer ended up escorting the Rasta Hairnet townie takeover down Elk Ave. Only in Crested Butte! With the police busy escorting the wild Brick Oven crew, we commenced with our unorthodox photo shoot.

I never know what’s around the corner for the Freedom Mobile, and I like it like that. It’s headed back down to Durango for the winter, so it won’t be rolling the streets of Crested Butte when the snow falls. The spirit of Crested Butte lives in the Freedom Mobile, wherever it may go though. Let freedom ring!

Crested Butte Magazine online