Some Rock Climbing!!!

 Some of the wall that we climbed last weekend (It is about 1800ft tall).

 Can you find Jesse in this photo? We are starting the first pitch.

 Jesse heading up on pitch three. Say yeah to wide cracks!

 Jesse joining me at belay after the 60 meter, fourth pitch crux. Most pitches on this climb are at least 40 meters long and up to 60 meters! I fell in the middle of the crux and will have to go back to complete the pitch free.

 Jesse taking care of business.

 Happy piz : )

 Oh no!, the sun is going down quickly and we are still a long way from the top.

 Jesse trying to beat the sun.

 Almost out of light. You guessed it though, we ended up having to climb under the half moon and headlamps and didn't get home till midnight. Long days are what its about!

I had to put on my CAMP jacket and WindX on to stay warm as fall is approaching and the temps are beginning to drop.

Get outside and have an adventure!
piz : )

More Rowan Enjoy!

 The Purdy's came over and all the kids got to play.

 Mom helped Rowan make this box to play in.

 Wrapped up in his blanket.

 Yeah, he likes it.

 Where's Rowan?

 ?

 Can't see me!

 Me and the boy.

Mom and the boy at the peach fest in Palisade.
Get outside and have an adventure!
piz : )

Quick Rifle Day

 We all (Jane/Rowan/Me and some other friends from GJ) got out to rifle to climb last weekend and here are the only two photos that we took. Rowan got all dirty in the fine grained dust that is at the bottom of all the climbs, while we got covered in chalk and sweat. It was a good day.

Yes it is possible to belay a top rope and hold a baby! Here Rowan and I are watching for falling chalk and having a good time.

Get outside and have an adventure!

piz : )

Rowan's First Birthday!

 Playing with the hose in the Colorado sunshine!

 At the park with friends on his birthday.

 His cake that his mom picked out. So cool!

 Exchanging licks with the puppy and Jen.

 Getting ready for his first cake.

 You know what happened here.

 Hanging out on a beautiful day with friends.

He still got to play ball on his birthday too!
piz : )

New Room and New School

I just spent the last week learning about how things work at my new school.
It has been a whirlwind of information overload and I am still trying to grasp it all, I had better hurry because the students arrive next week!

me in the bugaboos provincial park, canada

The last week or so has been spent hanging out with my family and trying to get back into shape. After being sick for a couple and not climbing much my hands are soft and buttery, my endurance is low and I have very little power.

I fix that problem I have been getting to the gym to climb for about a half hour each day. One, I couldn't last much longer in my current state and two, it will help to slowly get my hands and fingers back into grabbing holds shape.

I am looking forward to meeting my new students and getting them psyched on earth science and careers. (those are the two classes that I teach). I am ready to see if I arranged my room in a good way and if the systems that I set up will work smoothly.

With respect to my climbing, I am ready to start getting out on the weekends and trying new routes and getting fit enough to begin working on another undone tips crack.

Until then, get outside and have an adventure!

piz : )

Lucky

It is not often that you get to be in a magazine.
I was lucky in August.
IF you have a chance, check out the short I wrote about Mt Evans and the Possibility Wall in the August issue of Climbing Magazine. There are even a few nice photos of me in there too.
Thanks Andrew Burr for and Dan Gambino for killing it with photos.

I was also in the August issue of Rock and Ice. I recently climbed a new line in Escalante canyon near home and wrote a short about doing and finding new routes. Thanks to Jerimiah Watt for nailing that photo too!!

Lastly, I was on the cover of the August issue of Elevation Outdoors, a Colorado magazine that prints more than Climbing and Rock and Ice magazines! Thanks Keith Ladzinski for taking that amazing photo.

Feast or famine as my folks used to say. I totally agree.

I just opened the September/October issue of Climbing Magazine today and noticed that I am in a two page spread again of my new routing in Zion this June.  Jeez. Thanks Andrew Burr for coming out and blitzing a one day all out shooting fest in the worst light we have had to deal with in a long time.

Most of all I am not so lucky for being in the magazine with words and photos but for having the best wife and son a guy could ever wish for, Thanks Jane and Rowan for putting up with my obsession.
I love you guys!

piz : )

Bugaboos

I was sick. I felt like I had no energy. I had no balance. I tried.
The weather was good enough at times but the two day snow storm was full on.
I brought my light sleeping bag and needed boiling water in water bottles in my bag to sleep at night.
When it was sunny, it was t-shirt weather.
On the South Houser, I put on and took off my hoody 20 times.
We barely made it back to camp before the gnar was unleased from the clouds.
Being inside of a lightening storm is scary and cool at the same time.
I pooped at an open air portolet at about 9000ft with the most spectacular view around.
I travel with awesome folks who took care of me when I was really ill, thanks mike!!!!
I couldn't talk for 2-3 days of this trip.
There was vomit on the screen of the tent where I slept.
The most comfoy pillow of this trip was a static rope and my rain jacket.
I read 5 books during this climbing trip or was it a reading trip. I don't know.
Flying in a helicopter is as cool as it sounds.
I met the colorado boys and the austrians. They were nice and fun to talk with.
I superman jumped a crevass.
I slide down steep glacier slopes on my butt.
I had to wear crampons.
I got sunburn and my nose began to bleed.
I got rained on.
The stars were beautiful.
The sunsets were priceliss.
The hike out was hell.

I will post some photos when I get them. I think you will enjoy what I kind of experienced!
piz : )

whew!

So, this summer has been a busy one. Not that last year wasn't busy with a trip to Europe, a trip to Ohio, buying and remodeling a house, knee surgery, and having a baby wasn't packed enough but this felt different.
This time around I still had a trip to Zion national park, a trip to Ohio, a trip to Canada and all the summer weekends and partial weeks were booked with things to do from June 1 till August 12. Plus the fact that I got a new job and have been sick the last month, I feel worked, destroyed, kaput.

As I lay in my tent in Canada at the Bugaboo Provincial Park with a sinus infection, puking and unable to stand cause of lack of balance I decided that I was going to quit climbing.
NOW, that was a bit drastic, but that was how I was feeling. I was too booked and just wanted to spend time with my wife and practically year old son. So, what I have concluded that is that I am not going to plan anything for next summer vacation. I am going to happily play it by ear and be able to do and participate in whatever comes up. This year I feel like I missed out on so many things that all my friends were doing in Junction, I feel out of touch and like I lost friends just because I was so jam packed with other stuff. This summer I look forward to being available for whatever.

Now if will be up to me to make sure that happens. Now does that mean that I won't try to go to Zion again for another new routing adventure in the Narrows. No, but it does mean that I won't be planning ten of those trips one right after another, thus killing my whole summer of other things.

 Rowan and the Peacock grandparents

 Rowan and the hose

Rowan and his new favorite playing area, the box as we call it. It is actually the inside of the ottoman.
Hope to see you all soon!
Get outside and have an adventure!
piz : )