A garage sale for your mind

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Curtis Jones

God-fearing, mountain-climbing, software engineer.

📍 Atlanta, GA https://curtisjones.com

Denali Expedition 2008

This blog post is a compilation of the McKinley 2008 posts. They are mostly in chronological order, with some grouping to make it more accessible. The posts include the actual climbing log as well as posts related to preparatory paperwork and fitness.

My Trip to Atlanta

A trip to Atlanta in fragments: a single malt that ruined whiskey for my budget, a scuba proposal in the whale tank at the Georgia Aquarium, four cats (one of which ate my shoe), cookies docked to an 8.25 for oatmeal, and a leap second I fully intend to watch for.

Stylin'

Every time I shower right before bed, my hair stands straight up in the morning and nothing will coax it down. So my late after-gym shower leaves me choosing between unconquerable hair or going to bed a little gross. I guess I'll get used to the hair.

Ice, ice, baby

My shiny new Petzl Nomic ice tools arrived this morning, quite possibly the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Dangling a couple hundred feet up on half an inch of pick is the stuff of dreams. (It is less thrilling than it sounds. We are top-roped the whole time.)

"A substantial cache of arms"

The Indian Navy captured some pirates and seized "a substantial cache of arms," including seven AK-47s, machine guns, an RPG launcher, and, listed by name, "a GPS receiver." I know people with more substantial weapons. What on earth qualifies as "other equipment"?

McKinley Training - Week 6 of 26

MooseJaw had a 25% off sale, so I stocked up for ice climbing and McKinley. The La Sportiva Baturas come to just $52.50 per toe, and shaving a couple pounds is huge when people drill holes in their toothbrush handles to save weight. As for workouts: I slacked off.

McKinley Training - Week 6 of 26

Reflections on a Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim

The day before the forty-eight mile death march we hiked down a couple miles to scout it, a view that proved daunting twenty-three hours in on the way back up. A satellite phone that only worked from the rim, and a rental Prius that negated every ounce of macho-props.

Reflections on a Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim

Laundry

When you wait eight and a half weeks between laundry sessions, it really takes a chunk out of the day. But now I have clean clothes until February. Buying new clothes is often more convenient than doing laundry, I've found.

McKinley Training - Week 5 of 26

Three trips to the gym this week, four would have been better, no stair running. I looked through photos of my last trip, including the Valley of Death and Camp 1, and I am just dying to get back. Twenty-one more weeks.

McKinley Training - Week 5 of 26

Disturbing

Easily the most disturbing logo I have ever seen: SQLFairy. He has nice calf definition though. I'll give him that.

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