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:

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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. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

When I’m not out actually climbing, I spend a lot of time training for climbing, and talking to others about training for climbing. I love helping others excel in this amazing sport. One thing that I often run into is that sometimes people don’t understand that training needs to be specific to the climbing discipline that you wish to excel at. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve spent a decent amount of time writing about training for climbing. However, it always involves giving new ways of training in the climbing gym and/or at the cliff. Well, what if you don’t have a climbing gym near you, and/or you don’t have a cliff nearby? I thought it would be helpful to give you all some advice on how to train for climbing in a typical fitness gym. Below you will find ways to use weights to train for stamina, power/strength, and anaerobic endurance. Of course, climbing is always the best training, but weight training when climbing isn’t possible is of utmost importance (this is in addition to antagonist push muscle training that every climber should be doing 2 times per week). Read the rest of this entry »

Recently I began learning more about nutrition and the essential role it plays not only in general health but in physical fitness as well. Fortunately, I have for a long time been a fan of eating healthy, such as eating organic foods, eating a ton of vegetables and fruits every day, etc. But as I learned more, I realized that I needed to learn what my body needs in order to stay fit, and most importantly in order to be a strong climber. When coupled with a solid training program, eating properly can help you make significant performance gains. Read the rest of this entry »

I have been spending time thinking lately about the importance of rest; rest from physical training for climbing, and rest from the hectic pace of life. By doing some research, and through personal experience, I’ve learned that the body does not get stronger, or build endurance during exercise. It is during rest and sleep after exercise that the body goes into “super-recovery” mode and begins to build muscle and build endurance, both aerobic and anaerobic.

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This week someone asked me why I love to climb. They didn’t understand what was so appealing about it. So I’ve been thinking all week about that question and keep coming up with more and more reasons why I love to climb. So I thought I’d list a few here. I’d love if you would add to this list in the comment section!

The Adrenaline Rush

One of the things I seek out in life is new, exciting experiences. Every time I climb, I get that feeling that I am doing something new and exciting and I love the adrenaline rush it gives me as I move up the cliff. I have learned to turn fear into excitement!

The Challenge

I’m always looking for new challenges, and with climbing, there is a limitless lifetime of challenges awaiting me.

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As the next installment in my ongoing series focusing on “The Climbing Experience Applied to All of Life”, I wanted to take some time to write about how climbing can actually help you learn how to be a good planner and organizer in all of life. I could probably write pages and pages about this, but I wanted to share 3 key points that I believe translate well into personal life and business life.

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