Welcome to my home page! Colorado is my home, and it’s a terrific place for what I love to do: climb mountains. Follow the link below for photos, trip reports, equipment recommendations and links to additional information.
Climbing:
Depending on your criteria, Colorado is home to about 55 “fourteeners” (peaks which reach at least 14,000 feet elevation). While many are “walk-ups” which require only moderate fitness, many others require some degree of climbing skill. All require good alpine judgement! Since catching the peak-bagging disease in 1990 I’ve climbed 37 of the 55 peaks that meet *my* fourteener criteria. I write up a trip report for each successful climb, then incorporate a link to it into my climbing page. Click the link above for photos, trip reports, an equipment checklist and suggested reading!
Food for Thought:
“In Germany, the Nazis came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, but I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak for me.”
-- Martin Niemoeller
A Few of the Organizations Whose Goals I Support:
- Working not only to keep the remaining wild places wild, but also to ensure that our cities’ air is safe to breath and their water safe to drink. Because quality of life and economic viability both begin with a healthy environment.
- Working for basic, civil rights for gays and lesbians, who can be fired from their jobs and denied public accommodations for no other reason than their sexual orientation. Discrimination based on sexual orientation is as unacceptable as discrimination based on race or religion. Protection from such arbitrary acts is not a “special” right... it’s a human right.
American Civil Liberties Union - Defending the Constitution and Bill of Rights (well, most of it, anyway) from religious extremism and political expediency. Keeping freedom of speech alive demands that even hateful speech be protected -- especially hateful speech, because no other kind is more likely to be challenged or suppressed.
The National Rifle Association
- Defending the Second Amendment to the Constitution (i.e., the part the ACLU finds distasteful) from the anti-gun zealots. The “founding fathers” knew that the right to keep and bear arms was the right upon which all the others -- freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press -- relied if push ever came to shove. And if you believe that you have a natural right to self-defense should you ever come face-to-face with one of the violent felons who prey on the law-abiding, the NRA deserves your support.