The Hazard Chronicles

Before I get into our week I want to take a moment to tell about a friend of mine. He is a climber- a good climber. He began climbing in the 60s and has done a lot of the "big-name" routes in Yosemite, Oregon, and Colorado. Obviously, he isn't climbing now at the same intensity, but he does climb regularly (I climb with him almost on a weekly basis) and he is a super fun person to hang out with because of his stories and his seemingly intuitive knowledge of all things that have to do with climbing in general.

Anyway- I mention him here, because I found out this week that he took a fall. A big one. He hit the ground from about 60 feet feet up and landed on his back- breaking several bones and putting him into physical therapy. He'll probably never climb again...at least not the way he is used to.

The crazy part? This happened in a climbing gym. Despite all the safeguards against such occurrences, he had forgotten to double check his harness and belay. In the end, it was his own complacency that led to this accident. I am not saying this out of any disrespect for him at all, but as an honest acknowledgement of the realities that led to this incident.

This is troubling to me on so many levels. This is a person who has been in some really extreme situations, and who has come out mostly unscathed to tell about them. He has done way more than I have, or that I will probably ever do. He was a "master of the rock," and yet he made a simple mistake that has led to catastrophic consequences.

And while the climbing community around here is coming together over this, and is reaching out in support, I think it is important to take a lesson away from it as well. Do we ever get complacent? Do we ever get so comfortable with things- in climbing or in other areas of our lives- that we forget to be on our guard? If it could happen to this man, then it can happen to anybody.

Let's not forget to be safe.

Okay. Enough said about that. On to our week.

This weekend, Rachel interpreted for the annual LDS event "Time Out for Girls." This is a big meeting where LDS celebrities like John Bytheway, Elaine Dalton and Hank Smith (who is that?) basically go on tour to speak specifically to the young women in the church about issues that effect them. Rachel had a fun time interpreting it.

And I had a fun time with the kids. Since she was gone, we had a lot of "Papa Time" this week. I asked the kids what they wanted to do and they said they wanted to go backpacking. Twenty minutes later we had each packed a lunch and our coats, and were on our way to a trailhead.

We had a great afternoon hiking around, picnicking, and exploring the beautiful area where we live. I had Lindsey on my back as well as mine and Maren's stuff. The other kids carried their own packs and they all did great. I am excited that they are old enough for us to do this kind of stuff.

Also, on Sunday I took Addy to a local community theater (CYT) production of Pocahontas. Rachel and I try to go on one-on-one dates with our kids on a pretty regular basis, and this week it was Addy's turn. The play was a lot of fun- lighthearted and playful enough for Addy to be totally engaged, while at the same time deep and insightful enough to hold my interest throughout the entire thing. The kids doing the play did a great job and a huge shout-out has to go to them and their parents that made this production possible. Way to go, guys!

Alright- I think I got the main things in for our week. I need to run off for work (lots of positive changes happening there that I'll mention in a later post), and I'll finish off with a few pictures.

Have a good week!

 Here are some pictures of our hike

Me and Addy and "Pawhatan"