I'm excited to have the opportunity to share my outdoor experiences with you, and I am humbled by your willingness to take the time to read them. I wanted to provide you with a little bit of background information on me, so that you know what to expect, and maybe get an idea (or a warning) of where I'm coming from with my blog.

First and foremost, as an administrator of this website, I have a vested interest in growing not only the content of the website, but embracing this online community, and the community of California rock climbers as a whole. I was introduced to rock climbing just a couple years ago, by my childhood friend and co-creator of this website; Mike.

I, like 99% of the general public have always shared an admiration for climbing and those who pursue it. The thrill and the perceived (but hopefully not real) danger involved make it a sport fit to entertain even non-participants. As I began to participate, the perception of danger was replaced with the empowerment of knowledge. A great appreciation of the skill required to "succeed" in this sport swelled to a point of almost obsession.

I grew up as someone athletically gifted, I was a natural success at every sport I sampled growing up. Rock climbing was a complete BATTLE from the very first time I hugged a granite face. Starting with a route labeled at 5.8, I don't think I got in over my head. It was just hard.

That first struggle, the first defeat at the hands of a rock face, hooked my interest in a way that few things do. To this day the only sports I actively participate in are rock climbing, fishing, and golf. The three of those represent the absolute truest tests of skill, determination, and mental fortitude for me. I'm drawn by difficulty, and rock climbing, coupled with the ability to be outdoors provides me with every bit of difficult that I can handle.

The one other thing that I have been attracted to with this sport is the character of those who participate. Everyone who I have met through this sport seems to be generally aware of the importance of representing the sport in a favorable manner. This sport is vulnerable, outside of rock climbing gyms, we are largely dependent on land set aside for state parks, preserves, or just undeveloped. Those instances are rapidly becoming more and more threatened, especially in California. State Parks are being closed to help "balance" the budget, and the suburbs are sprawling quickly through the undeveloped land. If this group as a whole does not unite to fend off those threats, we'll first be booking airline tickets to go climb, and then not far after that be restricted solely to man-made boulders, and that's just not the same. Rock climbers genuinely understand this I believe. I don't see chalk bag wrappers or Gatorade bottles left at the foot of climbing routes. What I see is a conscious group, fully capable of preserving this sport in California.

I am excited to be able to speak to you as a representative of that group, I hope you enjoy what you'll read here. I know I'll enjoy writing it.