There has been a long battle about a proposed development close to Red Rock Canyon, a stunning climbing and state recreation area not far from Las Vegas. The region is as characteristic of the southwest as a landscape can be and draws rock climbers from around the world to its trad, sport and big wall routes. The developer in question won a court battle over zoning restrictions relative to housing density.

While it pays to be objective in cases that become hot ticket items for those who closely follow local politics, there is little argument that should this crack in the dam expand, Red Rock will soon make it’s way on to the amenities list of the next mega-casino. Currently, the state is appealing the developer’s victory and appears to have a chance.

However, the odds of the Las Vegas region being able to support another housing community are slim to none, closer to none. The city is already a hotbed of foreclosure, short sales and destitute real estate agents. If you care about climbing, you should care about this issue. It’s a big deal.

Well…at Ascent Adventure Consultants over the past few weeks we have experienced a HUGE setback, in that our website went down. But now thanks to our designers, The Infantree (www.theinfantree.com), we are back in full swing. As I was sitting here this morning thinking about what to write to alert everyone that the site is back, I was thinking how climbing has prepared me to handle situations like this.

Climbing has taught me:

1. When I encounter an obstacle, instead of just continuing to press forward haphazardly, I take time to look at my guidebook and resources, plan out the appropriate route, and make sure I have the necessary tools.
2. When I set out to accomplish something, I’m not afraid of giving it full commitment, since I know that I have prepared adequately.
3. I learn to trust the process. I go through the thoughts in my mind to help myself realize that the preparation I have done ahead of time helps me to take the risks now, and that many people have faced similar challenges in the past and have overcome using the same steps.

Just thought I’d share a quick thought on that!

Due to the hack we recently experienced, the individual links to our scheduled trips and class is NOT WORKING.

For information on trips and classes, please download this informational packet:

Ascent Climbing Info Packet

Our Contact Form is not working either. Please email us at

bhensinger@ascentadventure.com

Do you ever feel like your life is a mix of tasks to get done, and you just jump back and forth between tasks all day, feeling like you never get ahead? Maybe you wake up in the morning and have an idea of what needs to get done for work that day, but as soon as you sit down to start your day, you are overwhelmed by the myriad of thongs to do.

This is a result of not prioritizing. When’s the last time you looked at your life and your job and write down what your priorities are each day?

For example, a sales rep may have a ton of paperwork daily, reports to fill out, sales calls to make, research to do, financial forecasting, etc. But are any of those more important than others? YES! For a sales rep, making sales calls is the most important, since the rest won’t matter if there aren’t any new sales! So therefore he could say, “Cold Calling is my #1 priority. Therefore I will do nothing else until I have planned out who I will call on each day and made those calls. Then I will do the rest of my tasks.” Then comes prioritizing #2, #3 , etc.

So give it a try…write out what your daily priorities are. This will make you accomplish much more every day.

What about climbing? How does this principle apply to climbing? Well…do the same thing. If you have 1 hour to train at the gym…climbing routes that help you train for your goals is more important than just doing situps Climbing is the best training for climbing. So climb first…then squeeze in supplemental training!

Have you ever had the thought that your boss is not a good leader, but that they just boss you around? Better yet, have you ever had the thought that maybe you aren’t a good leader, but just bossy? Maybe people follow you because they are afraid, not because you lead well. I found this quote online and wanted to share it with everyone. It compares leadership to “bossiness”:

“The boss drives group members; the leader coaches them.
The boss depends upon authority; the leader on good will.
The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm.
The boss says ‘I’; the leader says ‘we.’
The boss assigns the task, the leader sets the pace.
The boss says, ‘Get there on time’; the leader gets there ahead of time.
The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown.
The boss knows how it is done; the leader shows how.
The boss makes work a drudgery; the leader makes it a game.
The boss says, ‘Go’; the leader says, ‘Let’s go.’“

I am awakened at 4:30 am by the call to prayer from a nearby mosque, followed by rooster crowing from the chicken farm next to the hotel. The Lutherans fire up their tribute to the divine at 9 am in some of the loudest and most enthusiastic church singing I have ever heard. Breakfast consists of dense, chocolate-brown Tanzanian coffee and eggs that taste like, well, chicken. Nothing like a week of eating organic!

Moshi is a working city lined with street-side fruit and clothing vendors. The men wear collared shirts and pants even in this heat and women wear brightly colored dresses, carrying children in slings and huge baskets of fruit and other items on their heads. There are no starving children in the streets and everyone seems to be chatting or texting on cell phones. Advertisements for Tanzania’s four cell phone companies and Coca Cola dominate the downtown area. Dusty 20 year old VW minibuses packed to the rafters chug down rutted streets. Our $60/night hotel is an oasis of tropical greenery with open air public areas and uniformed staff. I look through the gate of the hotel and am shocked to see a man with shriveled legs propel himself down the street using his arms while seated on a wooden dolly.

One of the things that we heard over and over again on Kilimanjaro was the porters and guides saying “Pole Pole” (pronounced pole-ay pole-ay). The translation is “GO SLOWLY.” Not only was this applicable on the mountain, but in the rest of the Tanzanians lives. Of course on the mountain going slowly was key to acclimatizing as we rapidly gained altitude. However we quickly noticed that Tanzanians have a special gift to be able to live life “Pole Pole.” They recognize that life is too important to have each moment lost in the hustle and bustle. Rather, they take time to enjoy life, enjoy family, enjoy friends, and don’t occupy themselves with worry and stress. For example, we expected that every morning we would be getting up at 5:00am and quickly hitting the trail. But no…they wanted us to sleep until 7, then brought us hot water to wash our faces, made us tea and breakfast, and we hit the trail at 8:30am.

Of course, the reason our county is so progressive, and the reason that we have wealth etc. is because we have mastered the art of multi tasking, working non stop etc. I’m not advocating that we stop working hard by any means. That’s what makes our lives comfortable here. And it is also simply a cultural difference. But I am advocating that we all take time to see how much we miss out on life if we are not slowing down and stopping to enjoy life, family, friends, and leisure time as well.

We have returned from Mount Kilimanjaro! Leading up to the trip, we knew that it would be a life changing experience for all of us. Little did we know how dramatically true that would be. From the friendships built, to the personal struggles overcome, we all walked down the mountain changed people. In the days that follow, I will be posting trip reports from all of 4 of us, photos, and amazing stories about the people and culture of Tanzania. It was a true honor to be part of this trip, and I can’t wait to relive it through the blog and photos! It is great to be home. Every one else got home a decent time…I had many flight cancellations and it took me 70 hours to get home!