A bit late...

Just a quick update on my sleeve.  It is definitely taking longer than I was hoping!  My third session was on October 22.  I have been having issues with ingrown hairs, yuck!  So I am now taking some time off of the tattoo so it can completely heal.  As soon as it does I will probably make a 3 hour appointment to finish up the rest.  I will have more appointments later on to connect everything around my arm but I am not to concerned when that takes place.  I just want to finish the focal point.  

Session 2

I spent 2 1/2 hours under Nina's needle today. I originally wanted to go for 3 hours but it was definitely getting hard to ignore the pain so we cut it short. Now I know to just make 2 hour appointments instead! She worked on the alpine meadows today using a lot of greens and yellows. I get more excited after every session I have. I'll probably have my 3rd session in about 2 weeks but that depends on this wonderful Washington weather. If it's sunny; I'm going climbing! If it's raining; I'm getting inked!

On a different matter...  Stevens pass recieved snow!  Here is an image from the web cam.

...But I'm not done rock climbing yet!

The smell of FAILURE...

On Monday and Tuesday I was supposed to climb the North Ridge of Mt. Stuart. This climb has been on my mind for nearly 8 years. Everything was working out great! amazing weather, great temps... The only problem seemed to be my climbing partner! We ended up hiking 6 hours to the Stuart Glacier when he decided that we have gone far enough. We turned around and hiked 6 hours back to the car. Pretty lame.

People need to realize their limits! Just cause you have talked yourself into believing that you can do something doesn't mean that you are actually capable of doing it. I guess I am glad that we turned around at the glacier instead of on the actual ridge. That could of been a mess!

The approach with Ingalls Lake in the distance.

Me resting at the Stuart Glacier.

Mt. Stuart will have to wait till next year I guess.

The start of something new...

It's been awhile since I have updated my web page. Sorry, I'm to busy climbing to be coding. I have my priorities! I have finally updated a couple of my recent climbing trips and I will get to the rest soon. I have something different that I want to add here though. I have wanted tattoo's my whole life but for some reason or another I have always made excuses to not get any. I have finally started what I have always wanted! Yesterday I had my first session for a sleeve that I am getting permanently inked into my skin!
I have been trying to figure out exactly what I want for the last year or so and thanks to Nina at Laughing Buddha we have come up with the perfect design for me. It is going to be a landscape sleeve of the enchantments and prusik peak in Washington. The enchantments are an amazing place and Prusik Peak is a Washington climber landmark. The place is special to me and I can't wait to have my experience of being there and climbing that peak permanently attached to my skin. My only issue is the 2 week healing period; it's really messing up my climbing!

Here is the rough draft

here is the process

She was only able to work on it for about an hour. In the next 3 weeks I will be attempting the North Ridge of Mt. Stuart so I wont be able to schedule another appointment until afterwords. I don't want the rubbing and chafing of my backpack to mess with it at all.  My next session should be 2 or more hours long so a lot more will be done.  I can't wait to get it done!  Finally!  

Gannett Peak - Gooseneck Couloir -

I'm back in Seattle after a long 10 day vacation. It is good to get back to work as I obviously have a lot of bills to pay off. I still have a couple of weeks to raise money for Big City Mountaineers but even if I can't raise it all it was well worth the effort! For starters; I feel that I am a part of possibly changing the lives a kids who may otherwise never get the opportunity to spend quality time in the mountains. I know way to many people in Seattle who have lived here for a long time and have never been to Mt. Rainier! I can't comprehend this at all. I had parents that took me on backpacking trips while I was young. I never saw Disney Land but who cares when you are totally surrounded by the outdoors! I feel that these camping and backpacking trips have made me the person that I am today and I am completely ecstatic to help give these kids similar experiences!

The climb of Gannett Peak was amazing! I have never been to the Wind Rivers and i now know that I must find my way back! It was a complete thrill to be hiking at 10,000+ feet for 5 day's. Going in and out of valleys and lakes and camping below 13,000 foot peaks. What an amazing experience! A trip report will soon follow. If I could only find time!

2 WEEKS!!!!!

Well, in a couple of weeks I will be driving to Wyoming to climb Gannett Peak! I am pretty excited to explore the Wind Rivers! So far I have been able to raise $1965 for the Big City Mountaineers! Of course that leaves me with $2035 to pay. A lot of money but worth such a good cause! I've been spending a lot of time climbing in the North Cascades to train for my 40-mile round trip hike of this awesome peak. I'm in good shape right now and am not worried about the hike at all but I am a little concerned about the altitude. Living in Seattle I spend most of my time at sea level and I have not been above 10,000 feet for quit some time. It is a 5 day trip so I should have some time to adjust.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me and donated to this great cause! It means the world to me and to the kid's that will gain an unbeatable life experience. I still have about 6 weeks to raise money so if you are interested and/or have an extra 10 bucks to spare please donate.

Donate Here!

Slowly Trudging On!

Some people are just amazing! Others, not so much. A huge thanks go out to Armida (who helped me out at the last Safeco game), Sheri and Leizle for working another game for me! We all worked at Safeco on May 6th as the Mariners got their ass kicked! I think it was like 10-1 for Texas. We had a good time as it was not as busy as the first game we worked so we could actually chat a bit. I'm not exactly sure how much we raised but it's in the realm of $260-300. Thanks again ladies!
I also had a donation from Graham Hunter who donated $100 and another donation from my wonderful mother who donated another $110! You two are too good to me! Love you both!