Rocktober 2013. Cast of Characters
Rocktober is a state of mind. Or, more accurately, it is a community. Predictably and understandably, rock climbers migrate to the desert in the fall. These climbers bring their personality and party ("Be the party!") to crags throughout the arid west. This year my own Rocktober journey began in Vegas but spent the most time in Indian Creek. By far, my favorite part is the people. One can't recreate the climbing, campfires, conversing, and connecting. But one can get a vicarious sense of the ever-shifting crowd that inhabited my climbing vacation this fall. Hereby, in order of appearance, the cast of Jed's Rocktober 2013:
Viren makes my decisions for me and connects half the climbing world.
Mark S and I met in a twisted version of "summer camp" and have been best buds since.
Janelle's married to Mark and serves as the ultimate wing-woman to her single friends.
Amber got kicked out of Yosemite with the Smileys and followed their party to Vegas.
Leah came with Amber and left us all a little less naive.
Dale does more things than one human can possibly do. And he knows everyone. I'm convinced there is no one Dale.
Ian and I have spooned more nights than we should admit.
Jess keeps Ian sane and knows every climber from Canada.
McKenzie is one of my employers and quietly crushes.
Luke came with McKenzie and brought all his toys.
Chance came with McKenzie and Luke. Chance has badass facial hair and earned multiple campsite MVP awards for firewood contribution.
Megan A came to us via friends of Dale. Her Moab address gave the rest of us street cred. Oh, and she brought s'mores.
Denise worked with Jess at Outward Bound and brought the stoke.
Mark A is a guide and knows Ian and I. We didn't know he'd be there until he came to our site in the dark looking for someone else. Ian recognized his voice and commandeered him into our posse.
Sheldon tolerates Mark A and finds strays to shower with gentle kindness.
I used to be married to Annie.
Heather got recruited by Sheldon.
Josh and I go way back. Back to the golden age of the Bishop Zoo.
Rob was invited by Meagan. Meagan didn't appear until a day after Rob. But Rob fit in just fine right away.
Meagan works with Jess at Outward Bound too. She's Canadian and likes Vegas.
Max came with Mark A and climbed with Rob.
-Intermission- I took off for a little while in Boulder for the AMGA Annual Meeting. Where I met another bazillion people and bonded with countless old friends and acquaintances. I fricken love people. Back in "The Creek", many of the same people were still around, but we continued to expand our "reach" with new and random connections.
Elyse is friends with Sheldon.
Simon led pitches for Sheldon and Elyse before Sheldon handed him off to us. He's from England.
Rainbow is a guide. Many of us knew him from various angles.
Ryan lives in the newest version of the Bishop Zoo.
John and Jessie live in the Eastern Sierra. Ryan brought them to Utah, but I first met them when teaching an avalanche course.
Adam works for OB too. Meagan brought him along.
Bill, same story. But Bill wore badass and expensive american flag tights for Halloween. For like 18 hours.
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| It's all about the people, but who wouldn't connect in an environment like this? |
Viren makes my decisions for me and connects half the climbing world.
Mark S and I met in a twisted version of "summer camp" and have been best buds since.
Janelle's married to Mark and serves as the ultimate wing-woman to her single friends.
Amber got kicked out of Yosemite with the Smileys and followed their party to Vegas.
Leah came with Amber and left us all a little less naive.
Dale does more things than one human can possibly do. And he knows everyone. I'm convinced there is no one Dale.
Ian and I have spooned more nights than we should admit.
 |
| If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you climb well. If you climb well, you climb safe. Ian putting safety 3rd. |
Jess keeps Ian sane and knows every climber from Canada.
McKenzie is one of my employers and quietly crushes.
Luke came with McKenzie and brought all his toys.
Chance came with McKenzie and Luke. Chance has badass facial hair and earned multiple campsite MVP awards for firewood contribution.
Megan A came to us via friends of Dale. Her Moab address gave the rest of us street cred. Oh, and she brought s'mores.
Denise worked with Jess at Outward Bound and brought the stoke.
Mark A is a guide and knows Ian and I. We didn't know he'd be there until he came to our site in the dark looking for someone else. Ian recognized his voice and commandeered him into our posse.
 |
| Metametaphoto: Jed captures Dale capturing Luke capturing the sunset. See, it's all about the people. |
Sheldon tolerates Mark A and finds strays to shower with gentle kindness.
I used to be married to Annie.
Heather got recruited by Sheldon.
Josh and I go way back. Back to the golden age of the Bishop Zoo.
Rob was invited by Meagan. Meagan didn't appear until a day after Rob. But Rob fit in just fine right away.
Meagan works with Jess at Outward Bound too. She's Canadian and likes Vegas.
Max came with Mark A and climbed with Rob.
-Intermission- I took off for a little while in Boulder for the AMGA Annual Meeting. Where I met another bazillion people and bonded with countless old friends and acquaintances. I fricken love people. Back in "The Creek", many of the same people were still around, but we continued to expand our "reach" with new and random connections.
Elyse is friends with Sheldon.
Simon led pitches for Sheldon and Elyse before Sheldon handed him off to us. He's from England.
Rainbow is a guide. Many of us knew him from various angles.
Ryan lives in the newest version of the Bishop Zoo.
John and Jessie live in the Eastern Sierra. Ryan brought them to Utah, but I first met them when teaching an avalanche course.
Adam works for OB too. Meagan brought him along.
Bill, same story. But Bill wore badass and expensive american flag tights for Halloween. For like 18 hours.
 |
| It wasn't all climbing. Amber and I ran too far on the final day of my stay there in Utah. |