The Dreamers

“I had convinced myself at that point that my goal was so important it was worth dying for,” says alpine master Steve House about his 15-year-old dream of climbing the Rupal Face. Big Dreams require big commitment. We may not all dream on the same scale and commitment levels, but we all share dreams. They pull us through our lives on solid ground. Today writer and climber Sarah Garlick presents: The Dreamers—reflections from four generations of the world’s best climbers: Steve House, Henry Barber, Steve Schneider, and Colin Haley. In the process Sarah found out a little bit about herself. Do you have a life long dream? What if you completed it? What if you never realized it?

Music: Today’s music came from our friends, The Secret Life of Sofia (now Milagres). This Brooklyn-based band aren’t your typical indie rockers–they’ve got an affinity for the wide open space and big mountains. Their latest album Seven Summits is featured here today.

“It is in some ways a concept album – part historical fiction, part personal experience. Its writing was largely influenced by an obsession with the mountains and my relationship with them,” lead singer Kyle Wilson told me. You can purchase the album through their myspace page linked above.

On a personal note, I really dig this album. It’s very difficult to write songs that speak to the power of high places without falling into ridiculous cliche. I’ve listened to this album dozens of times and at each listen I find some new historical reference or emotion I recognize from my own connection to the mountains. It is in some ways as much a novel as it is a record and Wilson avoids the cliche by sticking to inventive images that we all know and recognize but would never think to include in a song. Seriously, check it out.