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From the Secretary of the Interior Salazar:

Because the previous Administration failed to follow established administrative procedure before leaving office, its plan to intensify logging in western Oregon — known as the Western Oregon Plan Revisions (WOPR) — is legally indefensible and must be withdrawn, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said today.Moreover, Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks Thomas Strickland said that the federal government will ask the District Court to vacate the Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2008 revision of the critical habitat for the spotted owl, on which the WOPR was in part based, because Interior’s Inspector General determined that the decisionmaking process for the owl’s recovery plan was potentially jeopardized by improper political influence.

Great job Obama administration. We are excited to have these forests to enjoy for years to come! You can read more about this at the Care2Action site.

Pat Goodman presented a slideshow on his climbing ventures from the past year. It was an incredible slideshow. We were able to see some of the alpine climbing in India that he did, as well as some of the local North Carolina projects that he has been working on.

Here’s what Carolina Climbers Coalition said on their website about the event:

Sunday evening at the Carolina Brewery in downtown Carrboro, almost 30 climbers got together for the first ever Brewfest, organized by Brandon Hensinger of Adventure ascents consultants with generous support from Andrew and Luis of the Triangle Rock Club. Folks were treated to ample food and more beer than most could drink (well almost). Pat Goodman entertained folks with a wonderful multimedia presentation of his adventures in North Carolina, his most recent expedition to India and some awesome footage from a sailing expedition to the Bahamas. One of the best parts of the event was that it served as a wonderful opportunity to get folks together to meet as a community. A very generous raffle was contributed to by the All about Beer, American Alpine Club, Asana climbing, Ascent Adventure Consultants, Carolina Brewery, Crank forearm fuel, Evolve, Frikshn T-shirts, Metolius, Misty Mountain Threadworks, Mountain Hardware, Supertopo’s super guidebooks, and the Triangle Rock Club. Just about everyone who attended won something in the raffle which helped to raise over $300.00 for the CCC. Big thanks go out to Brandon, Thomas, Andrew, Luis, Pat and the wonderful staff of the Carolina Brewery for supporting such a great event! We look very forward to the next Climbers Brew.

We look forward to next year, where we assume it will all be even bigger and better!

Apex, North Carolina- July 1, 2009-  Ascent Adventure Consultants, in conjunction with Dancing Elephants Achievement Group is offering the Win! Win! Negotiation Seminar as part of their combined Ultimate Sales Training series. The seminar will take place on July 17, 8:30am-12:30pm, at the Business and Networking Center of Cary NC. Through sales training and experiential activity reinforcement, each participant will have the opportunity to put their learned skill sets into practice immediately. The result is a deeper understanding and the reinforcement necessary for both immediate and long-term retention. The session includes training, a workbook, coffee, and snacks. Details can be found on the Dancing Elephants Achievement Group Ultimate Sales Training Website.

“I greatly enjoy designing team building activities and programs built upon the principles that Dancing Elephants teaches,” quotes Brandon Hensinger, owner of Ascent Adventure Consultants. “Knowing that the participants will be able to reinforce Dancing Elephants training  with my activities is exciting because I know they will not forget the valuable lessons they learn.”

The focus will be on how to read situations and people quickly, how to answer price objections, how to use added value as a bargaining tool, how to develop long term customers during negotiations, and the 3 phases and 6 steps necessary in every negotiation.

Ascent Adventure Consultants is a professional North Carolina corporate team building and leadership development company, as well as a rock climbing and adventure guiding company, headquartered in Apex NC.

Dancing Elephants is dedicated to helping corporations to create vibrant, successful sales cultures by applying the principles of ethical selling. Customized training is offered through on-site group programs, monthly sales meetings, workshops, and speaking engagements. Please visit their website at http://www.deagsales.com.

For more information, please contact Brandon Hensinger, at bhensinger@ascentadventure.com, or 877-254-4617. More information can be learned about Ascent Adventure Consultants by visiting their North Carolina Rock Climbing and Team Building website at www.ascentadventure.com.

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I wanted to share, over the next few days, what some of the lessons I learned from climbing are.

There is nothing that is truly impossible.With determination, the right tools, the right training, and the right people, you can accomplish anything.

When I began climbing, I remember standing at the base of Route 2 (5.3) at Ralph Stover State Park’s High Rocks climbing area. I had big clunky hiking boots on, and was a bit overweight and probably hadn’t done ANY kind of exercise for a while… and was sure that I’d make it to the top. But much to my dismay, I did not make it more than 5 feet off the ground.

Now, many people may have given up at that point. But I, by nature am a very determined person and did not give up. Yes, on that day, I realized that it was impossible for me to make it to the top. But instead of throwing in the towel and thinking “This is for everyone else…even though I want to do it. I guess it’s not for me,” I went home and gathered up whatever money I had from my job as a waiter, and bought a pair of climbing shoes, a rope, a harness, 7 carabiners, and 100 feet of webbing. Then I bought a book that would teach me how to climb. I poured over whatever material I could find to learn how to do it, and I made sure to ask as much advice as possible from the people who took me out climbing for that first time.

I began to run, do pullups, and lift weights. I began to surround myself with climbers who could teach me, and within 3 months, I easily climbed Route 2 at High Rocks State Park. As soon as I stood on top of that cliff, something clicked. I realized “WOW! It wasn’t impossible,” and from that moment on, I vigorously pursued climbing.

Now I am getting nostalgic and feel like writing more and more. But I won’t say too much more, except that as soon as I got to college, I got involved with Quest, the climbing guiding service at the University and continued to train hard and push myself. I remember saying “Climbing is great! But I’ll never do that Trad Climbing thing. That is just WAY too scary.” Well, within 3 months of being at college, I learned enough about trad climbing that I set out and bought my own rack, and led Route 2 at High Rocks State Park as my first trad lead. One thing continued to lead to another, and I eventually become a climbing guide and coordinator for Quest.

Through the experience I gained in climbing, I also became involved with conducting team building and leadership development programs through Quest and Corporate Institute, and even changed my major to Organizational Communication, with a concentration in Outdoor Leadership.

And here I am today, having started my own climbing guiding and team building company, founded upon the principles and life lessons I have learned through climbing.

So how did all this apply to me starting my own company?

Even though many people seemed to be in my way, and there were SO many obstacles to overcome, never once did I think that I wouldn’t be able to do it. I wanted to make it happen, so I was confident it would.

I made sure to surround myself with people who could help me. Building relationships not only benefited my business, but it also improved my life as I have been able to meet so many people.

I was not afraid and am not afraid to invest in my company. By making my initial investment into climbing, it opened the doors to a whole new world, and the same is true in business.

What might look difficult on the road ahead, only looks exciting to me now. Difficulties and trials only excite me more!

NEVER stop learning. NEVER think you know it all.

]]> http://www.ascentadventure.com/2009/06/reflections-on-how-climbing-helped-me-start-my-business/feed/ 0 http://www.ascentadventure.com/2009/06/new-press-release-learn-how-to-trad-climb-at-table-rock-linville-gorge-north-carolina/ http://www.ascentadventure.com/2009/06/new-press-release-learn-how-to-trad-climb-at-table-rock-linville-gorge-north-carolina/#comments Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:11:06 +0000 admin http://www.ascentadventure.com/?p=1287 Ascent Adventure Consultants, a North Carolina Rock Climbing guide company, is offering  a weekend trad climbing course at Table Rock Linville Gorge North Carolina, August 15-16 2009.

Apex, North Carolina- June 16, 2009- Ascent Adventure Consultants, a North Carolina Rock Climbing guide company, is offering  a weekend trad climbing course at Table Rock Linville Gorge North Carolina. The focus is to give students the tools to make the transition from top rope climbing outdoors to leading traditional rock climbs, to handle the risks while on a trad climbing route, and to become comfortable with falling on their own trad gear placements, in a controlled environment. The weekend course will be held August 15-16, 2009. Trad Climbing 101 will be held on Saturday, and Trad Climbing 102 on Sunday. Students have the option of taking one, or both classes. If you decide to take both classes, you will receive $10 off of each class. The itinerary for the course can be found on the Trad Climbing Classes section of our North Carolina Rock Climbing Webpage.

“Helping others learn the skills necessary to being lead climbing, and specifically trad climbing, outdooors is a great privilege and honor,” says Brandon Hensinger, owner of Ascent Adventure Consultants. “We are offering this course to people who are intrigued by trad climbing and desire to learn how to do it, but don’t necessarily know where to start. I am proud of all the ability that all of our guides have to patiently work with people and help them hone in on their skills to become proficient climbers. Combined with a weekend of camping in a wilderness setting such as Linville Gorge, this course is sure to be one that impacts people for the rest of their lives.”

Topics covered include: Selecting the route, Choosing the gear for the route, Placing the protection on route, Setting a belay with a multi-point anchor, Protecting the second, Evaluating risk as you climb, Keeping your focus on a trad climb, and Gaining experience by learning to feel comfortable with falling on your own trad gear placements.

Ascent Adventure Consultants is a professional North Carolina rock climbing and ice climbing guide company as well as a business team building and training company, headquartered in Apex NC.

For more information, please contact Brandon Hensinger, at bhensinger@ascentadventure.com, or 877-254-4617. More information can be learned about Ascent Adventure Consultants by visiting their North Carolina Rock Climbing and Team Building website at www.ascentadventure.com.

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Location

Umstead State Park

Date and Time

July 18, 19 2009

9:00am-5:00pm

CPR Add on Course Available Friday Night July 17th for an additional $50.00

Wilderness First Aid is a good basic course in backcountry emergency response for almost any location. This 16 hour course is for those who work, live or play in remote areas – away from the usual EMS service. Even though the emergency workers near these areas may be trained to search for and rescue those in need, there may be a delay in the notification of assistance, the time required to get to the patient, or in moving the patient to more advanced treatment. It expands the concepts in First Aid: When Help is Delayed to give more detailed information and hands-on skills practice.

The Course Will Cover

• The difference in WFA and street FA.
• Causes & prevention of wilderness injuries
• Seven Steps of of a  wilderness first aid response
• First Aid treatment for specific wilderness conditions
• Patient transfer and evacuation

What is the class size and course length:

The class is designed to have up to 12 students and to be 16 hours long

What prerequisites are required for a participant to take the Wilderness First Aid Basics Course?

There aren?t any prerequisites for taking WFA

What minimum age is recommended due to the serious nature of the course?

15 years old

What is the certification period of the Wilderness First Aid Basics course?

3 years.

To Sign Up, or for More Information, visit the Wilderness First Aid information page to fill out a form