Summer of '69 Syndrome

Climbing trip to Colorado (2012) from Kyle Sumner on Vimeo.

Summer of 2012, I headed west to Colorado. I did the same thing in 2013 and 2014, working for a backpacking guiding outfitter. In 2015, I headed west with my friend Josh. We had so much fun we did it again in 2017 and 2018. (I spent 2016 driving up, down, and around the Appalachians, climbing with anyone who would join me.) In the summer of 2019, I got married. That ruled. It still does. 

But the last few summers have looked different. 

One of the saddest tendencies of our species is the tendency to think that their best days are behind them. We all knew a guy still wearing his lettermen jacket years after graduation at the hometown bar. Maybe it's not the saddest, but it is pathetic. 

Let's call this desire to live in the past "Summer of '69 Syndrome." Named after, of course, Bryan Adams' baby boomer anthem that recounts the youthful bliss of summer. I like recounting those days too. It's fun. But the song repeats the line, "Those were the best days of my life!" Those were the best days of your life? Really? Nostalgia is a powerful drug and marketing strategy but come on, man. Get a life. 

My friend Leah and I worked together in Colorado, taking kids up mountains during some of those previously mentioned summers. We're neighbors now. She works with my wife, and her husband is one of my best friends. I'm at her house 1-2 times a week. We never really talk about "the glory days" because I think we're both in an unspoken agreement that the glory days are right now.

Wilderness Expeditions, Mt. Elbert, 2013

Yes, my summers look different. I sleep in a bed next to my life partner instead of a tent with my belay partner. I make my morning coffee in the kitchen rather than in the back of my truck. But I still use a Moka pot and I still get sweaty doing rad things and exploring beautiful places outside. 

Those trips dirtbagging and climbing around were amazing and I remember them fondly. They undoubtedly helped shape who I am. But instead of holding on to them like some kind of pearl of great price or faded letterman jacket, I try to let that adventurous spirit shape my life in this particular place: pushing myself to do hard things outside, coaching our school's rock climbing team, and exploring the creeks, cliffs, and hollers of the Cumberland Plateau. No, Mr. Adams, these are the best days of my life.

Summer 2022

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The Common Grace of Tailgate Beer

(Independence Pass, CO)

Benjamin Franklin was a syphilis-ridden inveterate skirt-chaser who thought the turkey should be the national symbol but he was right when he said that beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. Wait. Google has informed me that Benjamin Franklin never said this. This, despite its numerous sources on sidewalk kiosks outside bars and breweries. We can all go back to thinking Mr. Franklin was just a chubby ol' creeper with a penchant for electricity and bad ideas (looking at you, Articles of Confederation [though, admittedly, the Constitution pretty much sucks too]). 

Whoever did say it was on to something. Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. 

The biblical book of Ecclesiastes is the author's written wrestling with the theological dilemma of existence and the perceived absence of God. The book has been referred to as the world's first piece of existential philosophy. The author lives in a world with a volatile economy, judicial problems, and new and disparate socioeconomic classes (no, not America; post-exile Persia) and confesses an existence that is contradictory and absurd, yet tries to make sense of it all. 

There is a common theme throughout Ecclesiastes that gives me great joy and hope: enjoyment.  

"There is nothing better for mortals than to eat and drink and find enjoyment in their work. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God; for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?" (2:24-25)

"I know that there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; moreover, it is God's gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their work." (3.12-13)

 

"This is what I have seen to be good: it is fitting to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the work with which one toils under the sun the few days of the life God gives us." (5.18)

"So I commend enjoyment, for there is nothing better for people under the sun than to eat, and drink, and enjoy themselves, for this will go with them through the days of life God gives them." (8:15)

"Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has long approved of what you do... Enjoy your life with the one you love and whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might." (9.7-10)

 

"Have you had a PBR with lime? It's the reason I still go to church." (my friend, Payton)

That last one isn't from Ecclesiastes but it works. The gulf between God and humans is bridged in these moments of humans receiving and enjoying the good gifts of creaturely life: food, drink, friends, and even meaningful work. The German theologian and Nazi resistance leader, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote about the message of Ecclesiastes: "We ought to find and love God in what he actually gives us; if it pleases him to allow us to enjoy some overwhelming earthly happiness, we must not try to be more pious than God himself." I grew up in a teetotaling culture that tried really hard to be more pious than God's own self. 

Oh, if the elders at Timberlane Church of Christ could have seen the pile of empty cans that accumulated throughout our stay in El Rito, New Mexico. Josh and I spent every day clipping bolts on beautiful, steep conglomerate walls in the dry desert heat and finished every night by a campfire with Doc Watson on the BlueTooth and a PBR in our hand. I spent the previous year in a "dark night of the soul" of sorts. But that week in New Mexico I saw the Deep Mind of the Cosmos in the panoply of stars. I heard the Everlasting Song of the Universe in the howls of coyotes. And I felt the Spirit of Creative Transformation in the conversations between two brothers, alone in the desert. 

Every can of cheap beer enjoyed on the tailgate of a truck or around a campfire with friends is a foretaste of the life of the world to come. At least that's the preferred vision for the future of Saint Brigid of Kildare. Brigid was an abbess in fifth-century Ireland known for her Christian virtue and “as a woman who likes to feast with plenty of ale and divine company.” She is purported to have prayed, “I would like a great lake of beer for the King of Kings with Heaven’s family drinking it through all eternity.” This is my entire eschatology.

Happy summer, megasplitter friends. I hope it's full of swimming holes, gravel rides, and tailgate beers. May the common yet good gifts of creaturely life mediate the presence of the Divine Mystery, whatever your religious persuasion. 

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I ♥ Swimming Holes

Big Blue Spring, Wacissa River, FL

I love swimming holes. My friend Paul calls them "wollerin' holes" which I've always found endearing because it implies that we're all just a bunch of fat and wild hogs slopping around in the water. Maybe you object to being a little pink piggy but swimming holes do make us feel like a youth again, as if you found what Ponce de Leon and all those other dorks were looking for all along. 

Growing up in Florida, where I was never more than seventy miles from the coast, more summer days were spent at the local freshwater swimming hole than white sandy beaches. A short walk in the woods or canoe paddle downstream would take you massive holes in the ground -- springs or sinks -- filled with cold and clear water directly connected to the aquifer. Here, the water goes from waist high to sixty-feet deep instantaneously and the trees offer diving platforms taller than what you see in the summer Olympics. These cherished memories reel in my mind like a Wes Anderson film: a delightfully childlike state played back in dreamy 35 mm. I am played by Jason Schwartzman, obviously (though I wish I was more the Luke Wilson type, obviously). 

A swimming hole is a deep place in natural water used for, wait for it... swimming. This includes springs, sinkholes, deep eddies in creeks, and wide spots in rivers. For obvious reasons, swimming holes exclude lakes and oceans. If you need this explained to you then you probably have posted something about  "~*LaKeDaYs*~" more than once in your life. Not all swimming holes are created equal, however. Below I offer a hierarchical ranking system of swimming holes. These definitely definitive categories come as a result of exploring swimming holes from the swamplands of Florida to the hills of Appalachia and to the furthest reaches of the Rocky Mountain West. 

Popo Agie Falls outside Lander, Wyoming is a classic example of a top-tier swimming hole. It hits all the spots: cold water? check. Scenic views? Sinks Canyon and the Wind River Range, check-check. It’s out west so the only snake to be wary of is the rattlesnake which has the common decency to warn you before it strikes unlike the cottonmouth and copperheads here in the south. And, unless you’re in Lander during the International Climbers Festival, you don’t have to be too worried about crowds. 

Popo Agie Falls, WY

Things get complicated on the B-team. The swimming hole at the end of the cliff line along Little Clear Creek in Tennessee is beautiful and features a fun jump but I’ve seen way too many snakes and know of way too many people (crowds!) who have been bit there. Likewise, way down in Big Soddy Gorge is an immaculate swimming hole. There’s no meaningful jump but you’re almost guaranteed to have the place to yourself. And the water is so clear, you can see any snakes before they get too close. Both are amazing and both are mid-tier. 

 Big Soddy Gorge, TN

 

It's hard to say there are any "bad" swimming holes but there are some we would have to qualify as bottom-tier. First, no swimming hole can be truly good if it has warm or tepid water. Yuck. Likewise with crowds. Crowds mean people, people mean noise, and likely trash. Blue Hole in North Chickamauga Creek outside Chattanooga is a delightful wollerin' hole marred by mobs of teenagers with bluetooth speakers, left-behind empty energy drink cans, and soiled baby diapers. Also, yuck. It's best to avoid a swimming hole like this on  weekends or altogether. 

Little Clear Creek, TN

A word of nuance: the three-tier system assigns objective value to a swimming hole while many criteria are subjective and liable to vary or change. Ipso facto, a swimming hole can be a top-tier on Tuesday (no snakes seen, no crowds) and mid-tier on Saturday (a snake seen or a crowd gathered). Figuring out which swimming holes are what category is an excellent way to spend your summer. You won't regret it. 

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Welcome to the Best Month of the Year!

summer conceptualized

 

June is the best month of the year. Some may disagree but they're wrong. What makes June so great? It is peak summer. Not actually, summer doesn't officially begin until its twentieth day, but conceptually. There's no school for kids and its big vacation time for adults. It's warm but not too hot. Cool air can still be found in the mornings and on the mountains. It's a dry month too. These conditions combine for a uniquely wonderful thirty days of playing outside. You can ride your bike in the cool morning air or chase the shade at the local crag and then spend the afternoon at the nearest swimming hole. My Mountain Project and Strava activity peak during this glorious summer month. In short, June is kind of perfect. 

The other months, ranked:

12. September: You can yell at me all you want. "SENDtember" sucks. It's hot. Really hot. But we have all been convinced by somebody, somewhere that it shouldn't be. We've been duped to believe that heat no longer exists after Labor Day. And while that may have been true at one point in history, Sendtember is wishful thinking in a rapidly warming world.

11. February: Thank God "January 2.0" is 1-3 days shorter than all the other months.

10. August: You know the back sweat that develops as you walk the twenty yards across the parking lot to your car after a long day at work? And how your underwear turns into a swamp as you drive home in your sauna car? That's what August is. Back sweat and swamp butt.

9. January:  Nobody loves January except for the first day of the month and even that's about the last day of December. Whatever the initial high of New Years' and its resolutions was, they quickly wear off during the month's cold, wet, dark days.

8. July: Don't tread on me, Thomas Jefferson. TJ sucked and so does this month. Here's my July Fourth playlist. Suck on that, Nathan's Hot Dogs.

7. March: You have heard it said that "April showers bring May flowers," but down here it's really March showers and they make one dour (thesauruses are amazing). March is tricky. It doesn't know what it wants to be. March will have you scraping ice off your truck and then wearing a t-shirt a day later.

6. December: December could move up and down the list depending on your thoughts about bouldering. The air is cool but not yet frigid and it's generally dry which makes for great friction. For other outdoor activities, it sits right in the middle. Whatever you're doing, remember a headlamp because these days are woefully short.

5. April: April is amazing. Creeks are swelling, flowers are blossoming, and primo temperatures are begging for you to play outside. But there's a catch: pollen. This yellow powder from hell is everywhere and will destroy your nose and throat. May God have mercy on your soul.

Rocktober

4. October: Congratulations! You made it through the false start of fall that is September and made it to "ROCKtober." This is the month that many climbers start coming out of their gym rat-holes and see the sun for the first time since spring. October promises send temperatures and autumnal colors but a word of caution: it's getting warmer. And unless ExxonMobile and others like it stop belching carbon dioxide into the atmosphere,  Rocktober may soon be a thing of the past too.

3. May: May is America's favorite month. I think, more than anything else, May is a season of hope. The floor is full of maps and your browser is bogged down with 47 tabs as you plan for the endless possibilities of summer. May's weather lends itself toward spending lots of hours outside training for bigger objectives. And that's the thing: May is good but it's largely spent longing for something better. You also still have to deal with pollen. That's why it gets bronze.

2. November: This is it. The apex of the "cooler"months. There's a crisp chill in the air. The trees are bursting with all the radiant, short-lived, first three colors of the ROYGBIV scale. A day spent bike riding, rock climbing, or trail running among all the arboreal splendor and capped by an evening in your puffy jacket, around the bonfire with a beer and pie in hand, is the pinnacle of living! So what makes it #2 to June? Work, school, long nights, and other structural barriers to enjoying those sweet autumnal days.

1. June: June rules. Let the stoke overfloweth. 

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Summer Summary 2017 pt.II: Eastbound and Down

In July, my dad said goodbye to his mother. The whole Butterworth tribe returned to the family farm in Lynn Grove, Kentucky; we sang hymns and shared some stories. I was reminded of this Robert Capon quote from his lovely cookbook Supper of the Lamb: 

"Why can't the vast technological resources of America bring us up to at least the level of our grandmothers?" 

In the South, when people are good, we say he or she or they "are good people." Linda Butterworth "was good people" and she knew how to host company and throw a party. I hadn't hung out with my cousins in years, but in the hotel lobby we drank Cinerator, played checkers, and laughed a whole lot. "Mama B." would've loved it.

Butterworth Farm, Lynn Grove, Calloway County, KY

After the funeral Josh and I drove over to the Red River Gorge. It was the least I could do for Josh being a good sport for cutting his Colorado trip short and attending the funeral of an old lady he never met.

There are few things I love more than waking up in the cool, dark morning air for an alpine start. It's hard to convince southern climbers to partake in this mountain practice UNLESS they're planning to climb 28 routes for their 28th birthday. And I was psyched to belay Josh for another year on another birthday challenge.

Miguel's Pizza, Slade, Powell County, KY

Here's how it went down: 

• 28 pitches (5.1-5.10b)
• 20 sport routes
• 8 trad routes
• 13.08 miles hiked
• 1 Miguel's Pizza with chorizo, avocados, and extra cheese

This is the only picture (and incidentally, the only route I climbed that day) I got of Josh in the process: #yolofreesolo on "Kate's First Trad Lead." Don't ask what grade it is, it doesn't matter. Okay, it's 5.1. 

"Kate's First Trad Lead," Muir Valley, Wolfe County, KY

After Kentucky, it was to Nashville to attend my girlfriend's brother's wedding. There were free margaritas and there was this girl. It was awesome. 

Nashville, TN

After the wedding, I stayed in Nashville for a bit for some very solid date-days. Becca and I looked at some fancy aboriginal art, ate some super delicious tacos, and climbed some chossy limestone. Kings Bluff is where I did my first lead-climb and Becca did her's while we were there!  

Kings Bluff, TN

July started off the same way it did last summer: at the Obed. This time, with Eli and Julia and their friends. It rained... a lot. But we squeezed in some climbing and a lot of laughs. Climbing with Eli is a rare treasure since he went back into the military. Apparently learning how to fly helicopters in Florida keeps him from climbing very much. He still on-sighted 5.10 in the rain though. Here, Julia charges up a soggy and steep warm-up at Little Clear. 

Little Clear Creek, TN

The rest of July was spent chasing shade at Pep Boys, Sunset, and Deep Creek. And I convinced Andrew to drive up to the Obed back to Little Clear for some good ol' clips and whips on steep jugs. I day-flashed some things I on-sighted years ago and I hung on some things I on-sighted years ago. That swimming hole though...

Little Clear Creek, TN

At the end of it all, I took Becca way down south to see my homeland. My folks made fish tacos, grilled shrimp and clams from the Gulf; locally raised sausage; corn on the cob, potatoes, and fried okra from the garden. I took Becca to one of my favorite places -- the Wacissa River.

I spent a lot of weekends canoeing and camping along this beautiful spring-fed river and it was so fun to hear her coo about alligators and  how clear the water is.
 

Wacissa River, FL

She didn't hate it...

Big Blue Spring on the Wacissa River, FL

*fin.

Summer Summary 2017 pt.I: Westward Bound

My trip west was under peculiar circumstances this year. Three days before my month-long adventure I found out my grandmother had a severe brain hemorrhage. Because of an unexpected rally, my father gave me his blessings to go ahead and go -- with the foreknowledge that I could be coming back home at any point. So after my last day of work I hopped in my Tacoma and headed west.

I stopped for a kush bivouac in Boonville, Missouri before pounding it out across Kansas and on to Salida, Colorado. Dirtbag road trip pro tip: Pilot Stations > Wal Mart parking lots. 

Pilot Travel Center and Convenience Store, Boonville, MO

Not all campsites are created equal....

Banks Gulch Trailhead, Mt. Shavano, Chaffee County, CO

After a couple days bouldering and milling around Salida and BV I headed up to Denver to meet up with my friend Barrett. We soloed the Second Flatiron in the AM and then drove up to Torreys Peak that evening. We ascended Torreys via the Kelso Ridge and it was a rad day in the mountains! (Read about it here.) 

"Kelso Ridge," Torreys Peak, Clear Creek County, CO

Kelso whipped me into shape for a week working back at Wilderness Expeditions. It was a blast -- albeit eventful week -- taking these kids from Alabama up one of Colorado's tallest mountains. We saw a mama bear and cub, had two moose wonder through camp, and a glissade "rescue" for a kid who slipped and slid down a snow slope. It wasn't bad, but to a 17 year-old kid from Alabama... he must've been scared. Anyway, Shavano is beautiful and the students were cool.

Colorado Trail, Mt. Shavano, Chaffee County, CO

mountaineering is sexy, Mt. Shavano, Chaffee County, CO

After eating my body weight in Moonlight Pizza at least twice, I headed to Boulder to meet Paul. We hiked up the East Face North Side of Seal Rock before I picked up Josh from DIA. The Seal is classic! The fourth pitch finger crack is the epitome of 5.fun.

"North Face East Side," Seal Rock, Flatirons, CO

Josh showed up and we had a few days to squeeze in as many classic easy pitches as we could before I had to head back for my grandmothers funeral. We played in Boulder Canyon and the Flatirons before heading to Colorado Springs and then on to Kentucky. 

"North Face Center," Cob Rock, Boulder Canyon, CO

Climbing in the Springs was... interesting. Fanny packs, wide brim hats, obese RV campers everywhere. We were even asked to explain our gear to a group of Asian tourists. Josh was peeved but I embraced it as a part of the Garden's experience. Our roles interestingly reversed. That's the price you pay for desert towers in city limits. 

a sea of fanny packs and wide brim hats, Garden of the Gods, CO 

"North Ridge," Montezuma's Tower, Garden of the Gods, CO

Oh, and I got a mullet. 

Summer in the Southeast

It had been five years since I spent a summer in the South. It's hot. Like, really hot. And humid. Somewhere I read a clever acronym about summertime in the South: Snakes, Humidity, Ivy, and Ticks and it's pretty accurate. But the climbing is still oh-so good. You just have to wake up early and chase that shade. I surprised myself and climbed outside almost everyday that it hasn't rained. And since the great state of Tennessee was in a drought, that was most days.  

Summer comes pretty early in the Southeast. Come May, you're sweating just walking from the parking lot to your workplace. My workplace is a high school, so things are beginning to wind down and Daylight Savings Time means I can find time between preparing final exams to get out after school and on the weekends.

Jackson enjoys the movement on "Ethiopia" (5.10+R) at Suck Creek's Roadside Wall

On May 27, I turned in the last of my end-of-the-year paperwork and drove to the New River Gorge with new and old Chattanooga friends. Memorial Day meant the masses had come from all over and the crags felt a lot like a mega-gym at peak time. But the hordes could be avoided by climbing harder than usual on "less than classic" routes which, in turn, meant a lot of fun. 

Abi avoids the crowds by warming up on an unnamed 11 at Summersville Lake

Sydney and I catch the sunset after deep water soloing at Whippoorwhill 

I had intended to spend the whole month of June at the New but had trouble finding partners after the Memorial Day crowds deserted the gorge. Even though 48 hours of deep water soloing and margarita drinking was fun, it was not how I wanted to spend the summer, so I drove back to Chattanooga where I could have consistent partners. 

Sunset Park is without a doubt, my favorite crag in the Chattanooga area and second only to the Obed, my favorite place to climb, period. Andrew (the chemistry teacher at my school) and I have taken advantage of our summer vacations and the crag's shady west-facing cliffs to run through the south-end's classics, as well as some "no-star" moderates. Onto the northside!

Andrew follows the money pitch on Sunset's classic, but seldom travelled, "Northwest Conversion" (5.9)

Sydney beats the heat at Lake Nickajack

Summer bouldering? In the Southeast? Yes, we have that too. Some might say that Alabama's greatest gift to climbing is its boulders. But those who say that usually flock to the Heart of Dixie in January and February, when friction is prime. But down in the Little River Canyon is a treasure trove of water-marked boulders you can get all hot-and-bothered on. When you do, cool off in any number of swimming holes and soak in the gorgeous natural beauty of the place. 

Jamie gets ready to commit to an Alabama top out in the Canyon

Similarly, North Carolina's Linville Gorge offers some some spectacular water-smoothed quartzite boulders in a truly remarkable setting. I love the gorge for its big, airy, and wild multi-pitch but it was rad to experience the place from a new perspective. The bouldering is every bit as adventurous -- maybe more so -- as the towering cliffs above them.

Using word of mouth and screenshot topos, Jamie and I slogged through 1,400 to 1,600 feet of bushwhacking and boulderhopping straight down into the gorge to find a High Country heaven.
I can't wait to come back.

A very fun boulder in the Wonderland sector

Jamie cut her multi-pitch teeth at Table Rock -- eight pitches of 5.fun climbing culminating with the super fun, mega classic "North Ridge." Here she shotguns a well-deserved Busch after topping out while the "uh-oh clouds" storm across the valley.

The North Ridge (5.5)

A year ago, Josh and I traveled around the Mountain West climbing rocks together. I was guiding a trip on his birthday so I made it up to him with a PBR. This year, I earned my buddy-points by belaying him on 27 different routes for his 27th birthday. It was hard. It was ugly. There was grunting, cursing, aiding, hanging, and of course, sending. It was awesome. At the end of the day, this is what joy looks like.

Josh at the end of a birthday sufferfest.

Dixie Craggers Summer 2015 Mixtape

North Clear Creek swimming hole at the Obed

 

At my mother's behest, I played "Country Roads" at my very first guitar recital. When you grow up in a house where Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, and The Statler Brothers fight for stereo time, you don't have much choice in the matter. Shortly after that recital, I began to take my guitar to the basement of our church where on Tuesday nights, old men with aged stringed instruments sat in an enormous circle pickin' and grinnin' music from the mountains. They were called the Skillet Lickers.  I struggled to keep up.

But I came of age rebelling against the music of my mother. The discovery of Sham 69, Minor Threat, and The Buzzcocks set my ears on a path that lasted well over a decade of my young life. The effects were deep and lasting. These days though, if I listen to music in my truck at all, I'm more prone to listen to Doc Watson or Uncle Tupelo than Reagan Youth. Like circles, we end up where we began, "but only in leaving can they ever come back round."

This summer's mixtape pays homage to the music of my roots. It opens with a blazing fury of Appalachian fiddle that will set the feet to tapping on even the most jaded urban ears. Acts like Benjamin Booker and Lee Bains III successfully cross the streams of Chuck Berry and Creedence Clearwater Revival with the likes of Bad Brains and Black Flag, respectively. But it all remains heavily anchored by country purist revivalists like Melissa Payne, Nick Ferrio, and Sturgill Simpson. In a time when country radio has not only neglected but totally turned its back on traditional country music, what could be more punk? Listen to it HERE.

Enjoy!

1. Possessed By Paul James - There Will Be Nights When I'm Lonely Intro (TWBNWIL)
2. Possessed By Paul James - There Will Be Nights When I'm Lonely (TWBNWIL)
3. Diarrhea Planet - Heat Wave (Aliens in the Outfield)
4. Nick Ferrio and His Feelings - Night Garden (Nick Ferrio and His Feelings)
5. Melissa Payne - High and Dry (High and Dry)
6. Sera Cahoone - Shakin' Hands (Deer Creek Canyon)
7. Jason Isbell - Different Days (Southeastern)
8. John Moreland - Heart's Too Heavy (High On Tulsa Heat)
9. Brandi Carlisle - Wherever is Your Heart (The Firewatcher)
10. Lee Bains III and the Glory Fires - The Kudzu and the Concrete (Dereconstructed)
11. Sturgill Simpson - Just Let Go (Metamodern Sounds in Country Music)
12. The Drive-By Truckers - Mama Bake a Pie, Daddy Kill a Chicken (The Fine Print)
13. Benjamin Booker - Violent Shiver (Benjamin Booker)
14. Dresses - Blew My Mind (Sun Shy)
15. Manchester Orchestra - I Can Feel a Hot One (Mean Everything to Nothing)

Listen to it HERE.

Shirts-On and Shirts-Off Climbers

Alex Puccio crushing  it (via tumblr)

Ever gone to the gym to get a few laps in after a long day at school or work? You feel slightly lethargic, maybe a bit pudgy because you splurged for the $5 footlong instead of just getting the six-inch sub. Nevertheless, you're psyched to work on that 11d that worked you on your last visit only to find some shirtless, perfectly chiseled specimen with exquisite hair-to-body ratio effortlessly cruising up its microcrimps as if it were a 5.8 jug haul. Suddenly you're not so psyched to climb anymore.

Why does he have his shirt off anyway? It's a cool night outside. Air-conditioned inside. Massive utility fans blowing chalk in every direction. There are two types of climbers in this world: shirts-on climbers and shirts-off climbers.

"shirts off" climbers Anderson and Kyle spotting Jamie in Little River Canyon, AL.

Shirts-off climbers are those gym gods who crush 5.13; they've earned their stripes.Those stripes outline every trapezius and latissimus, every abdominal muscle bulging forth like a constant reminder that you ate Taco Bell yesterday. It's clear these climbers live at the gym, do juice cleanses regularly, and crush on the weekends. Horse Pens' sandbagged slopers? No problem. The Obed's horizontal roofs? They can do it and they do it sexier than you.

And this is the movement of modern climbing, right? Ondra, Woods, Puccio, et. al. Nobody's interested in Joe Climber running up West Ridge on Pigeon Spire. But the truth is shirts-off climbers don't always have their shirts off. And shirts-off climbers also include those who want to be shirtless. The gym bros who think they can crush 5.13 but then struggle on a 5.10. Or think that if they take their shirt off, they go from climbing 5.10 to climbing 5.13. 

Barrett and I on top Torreys Peak, CO; definitely "shirts-on" climbers

I'll be honest, I want to push myself to my climbing limits and look halfway decent with my shirt off too. But I also want to eat a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. 

I know that I am just a lat guy living in an ab guy's world and I definitely don't have a perfect body hair ratio. Any given day at a southeastern crag, it is very likely that I'm the only dude with a shirt on. And that's as true in June as it is in December. In fact, it might even be my desire to keep my shirt on that pushes me towards the mountains where layering up is not only the norm but the necessity.

It's probable that the lure of mountains is more significant than that. But the point is, that's where you'll find shirts-on climbers. On an airy pitch in the high country, sweating it out on what would otherwise be a warmup route if it were closer to the ground. Don't get me wrong, I love a hard sport route just as much as the next guy; I just really love jackets and the places a jacket, a rope, and basic rock craft will take you.

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Summer 2013 Mixtape

somewhere in Kansas (via instagram)

Seasonal mixtapes are a nearly three year tradition around these parts. If you've been a downloader in the past you probably get the gist. I pick a mix of songs I think would (a) make a good movie soundtrack (b) a perfect roadtrip playlist (c) mostly comprised of country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, and old guy punk rock that I find fitting for the season.

I think you'll find this summer's final cut to be a perfect blend for driving with the windows down (Joe Strummer, The Special Goodness), pursuing summer romance (Chicken Chokers, Lucero, Vetiver), or forgetting summer heartbreak (Ryan Adams, Doc Dailey). And I think you're going to like it.  Download it HERE. 

1. The Menzingers - Burn After Writing (On the Impossible Past)
2. Cordelia's Dad - The Traveler (Awake My Soul and Help Me to Sing)
3. Lucero - Chain Length Fence (Tennessee)
4. Vetiver - The Swimming Song (Thing of the Past)
5. Jason Choi & the Sea - Leave the Night Behind (Leave the Night Behind)
6. Fake Problems - Dream Team (Daytrotter Session)
7. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Coma Girl (Streetcore)
8. The Special Goodness - Life Goes By (Land, Air, Sea)
9. Iron and Wine & Calexico - History of Lovers (In the Reins)
10. The Chicken Chokers - Shady Grove (07)
11. Doc Dailey & Magnolia Devil - She Has Her Moments (Catch the Presidents)
12. Ryan Adams - Pick Me Up (Heartbreaker)
13. Gregory Alan Isakov - If I Go, I'm Going (This Empty Northern Hemisphere)
14. Fistful of Beard - 5th Ave (Until We Know Better)
15. John Denver - Prisoners (Rocky Mountain High)

Fall 2011

Fall 2012

Summer 2012

Winter 2012