Stories
Posted 22 weeks 4 days ago by
Rob Pearlman
In the spirit of International Mountain Day 2011 Climb For Change is proud to present the 15th Annual Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival Mountain Photography Competition. The competition runs until January 15th and the winners will be announced at VIMFF in February 2012. This is a great opportunity for all photographers to present their mountain photography to the public and win some great prizes. It is a forum for the sharing of imagery and the exchange of ideas between photographers, mountaineers, and outdoor enthusiasts alike.
This year, we are running the...
Posted 27 weeks 4 days ago by
Chris O'Grady
It is a commonly held belief that we in the west often think too short-term. We deal with the immediate issues and problems on which we can quickly slap on a band-aid solution, often passing on the real cost to future generations.
I recently discovered this video describing how a mountain community in Meghalaya, northern India, has traditionally solved the problem of building strong, sustainable and durable bridges in a mountainous environment. Their region receives anything up to 25m of rain, that's nearly 1000 inches, over the summer monsoon. Building...
Posted 31 weeks 2 days ago by
Rana Chawla
Hi to everybody at Campfire. Many thanks to Chantal for helping me out with this.
I am compiling a book of motivational short stories on adventure sports/climbing in the Indian Himalayas. I am keen on getting in touch with people who have climbed in this part of the world, and would like to contribute their real life experiences towards this book. My email id is ranachawla@gmail.com. The details of the kind of short stories needed and a sample short story can be made available if someone is interested. Best wishes.
Posted 48 weeks 3 hours ago by
Chris O'Grady
This kid is awesome! If you're looking for inspiration for anything you're trying to do in your life, here it is.
Thumbs up everybody, and Rock 'n' Roll.
Posted 1 year 6 weeks ago by
DrRoss H
The camp at Barafu appeared over the ridge of a group of large boulders. He was going to get there first. I had been chasing my brother-in-law up the trail since lunch atop the Barranco wall. The Barranco wall is a 250 m (800 ft) shear wall masterpiece that at dawn that morning had looked quite unclimbable. Our ever buoyant guide, Michele Cohen, had led us to the foot of the wall and pointed out a path up the face using natural ledges and rock holds. It had been a blast of a way to start the day. Now at midafternoon, with that adrenaline rush subsided and...
Posted 1 year 8 weeks ago by
Chris O'Grady
Years ago, Mallory famously responded to the question "Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?" with "Because it is there." Interestingly, he is also quoted as saying "The first question which you will ask and which I must try to answer is this, 'What is the use of climbing Mount Everest?', and my answer must at once be, 'It is no use'.". He followed this by saying "What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy."
Now I know charity climbing was not Mallory's thing, but for many people these days, "just sheer joy...
Posted 1 year 11 weeks ago by
Adam Millard
To say that climbing wasn't on my radar would be a falsity. I grew up with a brother who would climb anything that was even a little bit taller than he was. Later in life, I would marvel at how naturally agile he was as he masterfully ascended what seemed like the impossible. Climbing was on my radar, it was just something that I told myself I wasn't too hot at.
In the fall of 2009, I learned that imagine1day, an organization that I had been working with in Vancouver, Canada, was planning a trip for 17 participants to travel to Ethiopia and experience its land, culture, people,...
Posted 1 year 11 weeks ago by
Jordan Anderson
Climb for Change: A Haiku
Sea of clouds below
Inversion layer creates change
Into which I climb
-------
About the photo: Taken on the summit of one of Vancouver's North Shore mountains, this local scene captures the feeling of growth one has when they have climbed above a challenge. In this case, a strong inversion has quite literally created a layer between the bustling real world below and the sunny escape above.
About the author / photographer: Jordan Anderson, known more for his photography ability than his poetry, has been climbing, biking, skiing...
Posted 1 year 11 weeks ago by
Emily Coolidge
As I sat down to work through the planning of my pending 8-day wilderness adventure, I knew I would climb. What I didn’t know, however, is that I would change.
My unexpected adventure began in the spring of 2010, when my boyfriend, Jordan, pitched the idea to go on a backpacking trip through British Columbia's Stein Valley. I am eager to try new endeavours and explore new areas of the world, so this seemed like the next logical step. I researched the hike by reading blogs and trail descriptions until I felt I had an understanding of what the 100-km, back country traverse...
Posted 1 year 11 weeks ago by
Wendy B
The bright white light I was staring into was not my life flashing before my eyes. It was a cop car, and I was getting pulled over. “You in a hurry?” he asked. It was 2:30am and I was still in my business suit. I thought it was a stupid question. “Yes, sir.”
That night I did not have any novel or life-changing revelations. Instead, I was two hundred dollars poorer, driving down the highway, letting my mind wander. Your mind wanders when it takes thirty minutes to get home and you’ve just worked a fifteen-hour day. On particularly bad days I often wondered...
