By Will Meinen
As much as I love the mountains, and the thrill of exposure and the excitement of adventure, sometimes it's all too much and my nerves get a little frail. When that happens, it's time to go on vacation and relax.
Some say my life is already a big ol' vacation already. I'd like to argue though. Cornices, seracs, rockfall, unplanned open bivies, scary descents, constantly dehydrated, and never well rested. Climbing mountains is no cakewalk. So where do I go here do I go to get away from it all?
I go sailing.
For a couple days this summer I left the Rockies and jumped on a buddy's boat and sailed in the Youngstown N.Y. Levels Regatta. What a blast. The sails were always full of wind, the races were very competitive, I had the honour of sailing with a great crew, and there was a seemingly endless supply of rum. Even when we were weather helmed and the boat capsized I don't think I stopped smiling.
If I were rich I'd buy a boat and sail around the world stopping at various remote destinations for some virgin alpine walls. But I'm not, so after the regatta I thanked the Skipper for letting me crew and took one last deep breath of the wind coming off the water.
With my nerves calmed and my focus steady I headed back to the Rockies to try my odds at this summer's objective; The East Summit on North Face of Mt. Edith Cavell....
| Permalink
Stumble It!
| 
Dig This!
| 
Seed Newsvine
| 
Post to del.icio.us
| 
Ma.gnolia
Share on Facebook
| 
Google Bookmarks
| 
Yahoo! My Web
| 
Windows Live
Comments (3)
was that before or after you quit? Glad to see your happy.
Posted by Lew | October 3, 2008 1:33 PM
Posted on October 3, 2008 13:33
Hey Lindsay:
I went sailing shortly after I quit. MSI was just not for me (understatement). How are things anyways? We should get a beer sometime and catch up!
Will
Posted by will meinen | October 14, 2008 12:32 PM
Posted on October 14, 2008 12:32
Will is the definition of calm when sailing even when the **** is hitting the fan. However, he puts his calm in perspective...
"What's there to worry about? The furthest you will fall is three feet at 6 knots, and into water."
I suppose the reason that most climbers cannot percieve danger is that they put themselves beyond the boundaries of sensibility on such a regular basis. Thusly climbers must feel, when not climbing, that the world around them is made of marshmellow. Will is the epitome of this.
Posted by Graham Krall | October 23, 2008 12:37 PM
Posted on October 23, 2008 12:37