Hah! I found these awesome photos from a while ago today when I was looking for photos to redesign this bland blog, just thought I would share.
"Everybody pretend you got dip in yo mouf" - Grant Ortman
These are from one of my favorite First Fridays that Grant and I attended with friends, Jason Karn and Ryan Palo. Location: Cowgirl Cash which happens to be our favorite place to visit during this event!
Eventually, Grant will come back in true ranting form...I hope!!
Currently, Grant's best friend Will is in town and I have noticed quite the love-hate relationship with them. Mostly love. It's adorable. Will has been in Boston for quite some time now and let us know that his lack of fitness due school was in full effect and to recommend some short "Rumneyesk*" style routes so that he is not completely shut down. Grant ignored his request, thus putting Will on routes requiring a 70 meter rope in the park. Will was beginning to question his friendship with Grant and I of course got to laugh at both of their expense.
It appears that Will's payback towards Grant was to heckle (in front of Grant's "homies") and convince him that for $60 to shave his hair into a mullet. Grant being the man that I know at least, never backs down from a challenge.
For example, the Cinnamon challenge* here:
Granted, at this point he might have accepted the challenge to impress me...who knows.
God, I love him but he sure is silly sometimes.
Willem goes home tomorrow. Grant and I are both pretty sad about it but hopefully he will come back soon. *cough to live here cough*
Vocabulary-
Rumneyesk - climbing routes that are shorter than 50 feet...very uncommon for Smith Rock.
Cinnamon challenge - take a tablespoon of cinnamon and try to eat it without drinking water.
I love a good disposable camera, I love it when memories flash before your eyes at a moments notice because you are reminded that that moment was captured. I'm like a kid in a candy store, barely able to contain my excitement when opening my yellow envelope containing my forgotten moments. I can hardly make it out the door without shouting at Grant, "Ha! Look at this!!"
I just recently got a camera developed, here are some pictures.
Friends:
What is awesome about this photo is how hard it was for Daniel to be away from Rachel. Even though we were out doing something we all loved, he insisted on making her apart of the experience.
Julie, Daniel, and Rachel (on phone)
Grant, Chris Sinatra, Aaron Tague, and Josh Duda have been friends for more than a decade, it definitely becomes some sort of a spectacle when they all get together.
Climbing at Smith and climbing in general:
This was captured just moments after my send of Full Heinous!
I was born and raised in Bend Oregon, but it is not where I feel that I grew up. I feel that the place I called home for most of my adult life is the great town of Fort Collins, Colorado. While living in Fort Collins I experienced everything a so called adult can ask for. I bought a house, went to school, got married, got divorced, made many mistakes and made many a friend. I consider the people I know from there as some of the greatest people in my life. The community that I developed over a seven year period is something I cherish and I wish I could see them more often. Then why don't you live there still you might ask?
Monkey face high line. Pretty ugly backdrop!
There are many reasons for me moving back to my home town. One of the largest reasons was family. I had not lived in the same area as my family for so long that I lost track of cousins, grandparents etc. A few weeks back it was my grandmas 90th birthday and it confirmed that my decision was for the best. I was able to introduce Vanessa to my extended family and see many people I hadn't seen for years. It's always hard to say bye for now to one set of friends and try to make new ones, but family outweighed everything and I made the leap to come back home.
With my family close, I have now found a new group of friends to hangout with. Smith Rock is the local hang and climbing is the game. The community here is small yet very tight. Everyone knows each other and trys there best to support the best they can. This community uses all means neccesary to support other climbers. A good case in point is that I've never been around a group of folks that are more internet savy. If you or anyone you know sends something at Smith its almost a guarantee it will be all over Facebook before you even get back to the car. They are also some of the more sarcastic people I've met anywhere. I guess it is hard to takes ones climbing too serious when the local area is known as a vertical mud pile. And generally has sand bag grades and very painfull climbing.
What does all this mean? I'm not a philosopher by any means, but I think it means that we should embrace change. I love the people that are far to many to count from the Front Range community, but embracing family and new found situations I have found a new group of people to call a community. As they say "if you could have your cake and eat it to" then I would have both communities here to hang with. I'd also be fat if I ate all the cake, so who knows... and i dont like fat so i guess i cant have both. Damn quotes and them screwing my strength to weight ratio!!!!!! THE END
Racking up for the big rig
JPA "bouldering"
Central oregon bouldering antics
Kirk showing the arsenal of uppers and downers
you must have to boulder here
My sister and Mom
Pops and Brandon
The Ortman clan on my Grandmas 90th
Grandpa Don stylish as always.
Grandma listening to my niece and cousins
play for her bday.
