A Baby and a Grade V

Since my last post, some significant things have happen. The first, and by far the most important event with the most lasting effect, was the birth of a son to my friends Ethan and Tristan. Welcome to the world William James Blackburn!

Ethan sent out a link to a bunch of photos, and it was pretty impressive to click through the gallery and feel the excitement and happiness in each frame. Check him out!

So while my buddy was off starting a family, I was out in the wilds of Nevada, climbing at Red Rocks. With a couple of friends, Chris Brown and Josh Finkelstein, I climbed one of the most incredible routes of my life - The Original Route on The Rainbow Wall, a 14 pitch, 1,200 foot 5.12. The pitches are consistently demanding, but one of the defining memories I have from doing that hefty day of climbing was a sense of mental peace and confidence that we'd be just fine. It wasn't the proximity to Las Vegas that lulled me into a sense of security, but the top of the route is, in fact, visible even from the visual din of The Strip.

Instead, I was able to find an extended meditative state while on the wall, and lean back on years of climbing to confidently climb each pitch. For part of the route, Josh wore a helmet cam, and there is a particular MP4 that shows me finishing a pitch, getting to the belay, and then starting off for my lead. After we'd done the route and had returned to a computer, we checked out some of the footage. The defining characteristic of this sequence was the slow, methodical pace that my brain was processing information. Josh turns basically into a casual observer while I go into the anchor, bring up the tag line for Chris to ascend, take a drink of water, re-rack the gear, and begin to scout the upcoming pitch. At one point, he asks me how much water I have in my small pack, and it takes me roughly 45 seconds to calmly answer "couple of liters."

I thought this illustrated the priorities my mind was able to entertain, and also did a good job of exemplifying the present mindfulness that climbing provides. I wasn't chit-chatting, and I had no time to wonder about work deadlines, soccer scores, or what was on the menu for dinner. I could only deal with the reality as it was currently presented.

We spent two nights up at the wall, bivying at a perfect rock ledge with our heads literally touching the start of the route. The lights of Vegas flicked below, but we were under the muted stars, away from practically all civilization. We did have a ringtail cat to keep us company, though.

After I got back to town from the Red Rocks trip, I kept the momentum going by starting an LLC that I'll use to continue my energy consulting work. Not too much changes, as I'll keep the same clients and do the same work, but the prospect of now running a business with proper formality is exciting. In addition to young William, say hello to Onsight Energy Consulting.

All in all , a big week!