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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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. 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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A person can teach themselves to overcome learned helplessness and be more optimistic.  As with all forms of mental discipline, from sports psychology to the suggestions below, they seem simplistic and somewhat silly when written on paper.  However such disciplines, like exercise, healthy eating, systematic investing, and others, can have powerful effects when applied consistently and intelligently over time.  They are not magic.  But, they do work.
Is being optimistic an advantage?  People with high scores for the optimistic explanatory style has been shown to have to be the ones “immune” to learned helplessness.   Other significant benefits have been documented: Read the rest of this entry »

It’s amazing to see how many articles have been popping up all over the internet and in print media lately about how having a wilderness experience, whether its climbing, hiking, camping, kayaking, backpacking, etc., can greatly impact your life for years to come. I read another article this morning, this time out of Austrailia, on how having a wilderness experience gives a new perspective on life. They theorize that it’s because when out in nature, you realize how small you are and that you are part of something far bigger. Check out the article here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/03/2616497.htm.

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