731 Days Later: The Monoboard Revisited
731 Days Later: The Monoboard Revisited
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/177559633″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Two years ago, I was staring fruitlessly at a computer screen. In between half-hearted stabs at the keyboard, I thought about going back to grad school even though I had sworn that when I finished my undergrad at UW, I wouldn’t be back. I wanted to simultaneously feel alive and afraid atop a 1,500-foot ribbon of Tahoe snow. I wished I was shaking my way through fragile hook placements on El Cap’s flanks. I wanted to be a malnourished and under-washed 22-year-old again, whose only appointment was watching the sunlight move across Western Australia. The grass was greener. The skies above were gray. I was looking back and stumbling forward, while the present slipped by.
I was sick of daydreaming. I dropped the commissioned piece I was working on that day and started writing, guided by the same intuition that leads seasoned alpinists through hazardous terrain or pulls long-distance runners through the dark streets of cities. I wanted to explore, to grow, to learn. If the computer was going to be the vehicle–so be it.
The keyboard clicked like chattering teeth. I pulled out a mic left over from my days of playing in bands. Audio cords coiled around desk legs like creeping vines. I duct taped the mic to the battered stand (I used to rock pretty hard) and without having any idea of where it might lead, I hit the big red record button, stood up, cleared my throat and decided it was time to find my voice.
Two years later, I’m still a struggling outdoor writer. What’s the difference then? I’m a happy, struggling outdoor writer. The Diaries have swelled to encompass a variety of voices and viewpoints. They have become larger than one man broadcasting from a coat closet. Thank you for taking this journey with me. Today, we present The Monoboard Revisited. Here’s to another two years of dreaming, tinkering and coming up with ways to get into trouble.
P.S. It also happens to be my brother, Walker’s, birthday. Happy Birthday, dude.
Music: Art of Motion by Andy McKee • Grey Weather by Gregory & The Hawk • Born on the Cusp by The American Analog Set
Music provided by IODA Promonet.
The Shorts — The Peach
The Peach
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99569711″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Taco Bell. Pizza Hut. Climber and writer, Kelly Cordes had one hell of resume by the time he applied for a position baking bread. The work was simple, came with food and the early starts would teach Cordes to like the dreaded 3 a.m. starts demanded of cutting edge alpinism. It was an ideal job for a dirtbag who lived and breathed climbing, and once resided in a 77-square-foot shack. Then Cordes ran into Bosszilla.
Dirtbag Playlist Vol. 3
Dirtbag Playlist Vol. 3
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/177544612″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]”Give the people what they want,” my little brother told me. For the last couple weeks there have been calls for another edition of the Year of Big Ideas. Little brother had a point. They grow up so fast.
In the next week I’ll be collecting goals and dreams from friends, weekend warrior and professionals alike. This year though, I wanted to include the Dirtbag Nation. If you got something to say, drop us a line via email. I’m not big on resolutions–to me the word sounds like a limp-wristed Congressional process or a marketing point for an Hi-Def TV. I want honest to goodness goals.
In the meantime, here is a little New Years treat: Volume Three of the Dirtbag’s Playlist.
Tracks:
1. Trashcan by Delta Spirit
2. Half Asleep by School of Seven Bells
3. Tokyo Moon by Windmill
4. Billionaires vs. Millionaires by Feral Children
5. Old Old Fashioned by Frightened Rabbit
6. Oh, Alberta by Elliott Brood
7. Well Water Black (Featuring Yoni Wolf of WHY?)
8. Gorgeous Behavior by Marching Band
Music provided by IODA Promonet.
Bedtime Stories for Wanderers
Bedtime Stories for Wanderers
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99569286″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]If stories are the currency of travel, then writer Ryan Nickum is a very wealthy man. By the time he turned 30, Nickum’s passport was chock full of the brightly colored patchwork of entry and exit stamps from dozens of distant countries. He was consumed by a desire to travel and haunted by the inability to sit still. The gaps in his resume developed into oceans between jobs. Cynicism grew. The overwhelming urge to quit the job and pack a bag sprang up every six months like a song that would not leave his ears. With his career stalling and idealism flat lining, Nickum looked into his past to search for the seed of the travel affliction. There was only one person to blame–his father.
What makes the traveler’s feet restless? Is it nature or nurture? Writer Ryan Nickum presents Bedtime Stories for Wanderers.
Music: Freibad by Hauschka • Old Old Fashioned by Frightened Rabbit • Backrow Politics by Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band • Tight Rope by The Coast • Orion Town 2 by Frontier Ruckus • Viva la Vinyl by Twilight Hotel • The Movemeant by The Tones
Music provided by IODA Promonet.
O Tannenbaum
O Tannenbaum
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99569007″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Warning: This episode contains radio nudity and Christmas carols.
Christmas trees are a massive business. Americans spent $2.5 billion on Christmas trees in 2007. For the last five years, I have been stingier than Scrooge when it comes to a Yule Tree. In 2008, I’m a changed man. Armed with a handsaw and empowered by a National Forest permit, I wandered out into the Cascades to search for the perfect Christmas tree. Sometimes in the darkest days of winter, a little light isn’t a bad thing.
Music: Silent Night by Mahalia Jackson • Snowblind by =/- {Plus/Minus} • Christmas is Coming Soon by Blitzen Trapper • Connjurr by School of Seven Bells
Music provided by IODA Promonet.
