The Shorts — Dirtbag Resume
Dirtbag Resume The M.O. was familiar–work hard at a series of bizarre jobs, make money and then hit the road to travel. During his twenties, writer and Diaries contributor Ryan Nickum went around the world and drifted across the Pacific Northwest. When it came time to settle down after returning from a Peace Corps stint, […]
The Shorts — Yosemite’s Next Top Idol
Yosemite’s Next Top Idol Yosemite has always been a crucible of hard climbing and big egos. Every year the sport’s stars, die-hard dirtbags and hungry youngsters flock here to throw themselves at the big stone. Only the great will become legend. There is Surfer Bob, Mr. Magoo and Platinum Rob. James Lucas had dreams of […]
The Shorts — Scars
Scars “There is a wonderment in scars, the remnant of a body able to heal itself,” writes Becca Cahall. “I love that my skin has chosen to retain memories that I might have otherwise have forgotten.” We’ve all got them. War wounds. Battle scars. We get them from crashing bikes in the woods, surgeon’s scalpels […]
The Shorts — Upward Mobility
Upward Mobility Throughout the course of the Diaries, I’d hazard to guess that hundreds of you have written in about the struggle many of us–me included–experience between work and our passions. Even if work is one of your passions, the mountains, rivers, all the tiny places in this great wide world can seem impossibly far […]
The Shorts — Trekker’s Blues
Trekker’s Blues More people reach the top of Mount Everest than hike the entire length of the Pacific Crest Trail. It asks a lot of the human body. When writer Alissa Bohling and her longtime boyfriend Paul set out of the trail, they thought a trip of that significance would leave a mark on their […]
The Shorts — Forty Miles a Poem
Forty Miles a Poem Whether you swing a hammer or hammer on the keyboard, we all find ways to stay sane during the workweek. Maybe it’s a particularly good post-work bouldering session or an hour of yoga, which has been the case for me lately. When Scott Harvey’s poem “40 Miles of Inspiration” showed up […]
The Shorts — Friends in High Places
Friends in High Places Climber and Diaries contributor Kelly Cordes is what you would call an early adopter. Kelly may live in a shack at 8,000 feet, but the guy is no cretin. He’s had an email account for four years now. He knows how to program a VCR. He’s even considered buying one of […]
The Shorts — Underwriting Adventure
Underwriting Adventure Can you insure adventure? Last summer, climber and writer Majka Burhardt embarked on an adventure two years in the making. In the last moments before leaving, Burhardt decided to purchase travel insurance. Her trip to Namibia was an insurance underwriter’s nightmare. It turns out that climbing is blacklisted. On top of that, while […]
The Shorts — Knees and Weather Permitting
Knees and Weather Permitting Some of us were lucky enough to hoist a bulging pack onto our shoulders, stumble into the mountains and return changed at a young age. Some of us heard the mountains’ calling later in life. That doesn’t mean the passion burns any less bright. When writer Sarah Wroot took her first […]
