I never really thought twice about whether I would do another set of challenges in 2010. Somehow, when I put the challenge stuff together for this site back in January of '09, I didn't make any provision for ever doing another year of this stuff, everything was 2009 linked and listed. Yet, somehow, by July, I was already thinking of what I would be putting myself to this year.There is certainly a familiarity to most of these items, with a heavy emphasis on physical, outdoor activity. However, I didn't want to limit myself to that and so, there are a few bits on the list that are, decidedly, unlike the others. That is by design. If I want to explore new areas of living and experience the fantastic, I know I don't only need to seek it beyond the front door; there are good reasons to stay inside as well. Last time, "Climb Grand Teton" was on the list because I read it in a guide book. This time, "Hike Angel's Landing" got on the list for nearly the exact same reason. One goal fulfill long held dream, another is a deliberate attempt to chase down and vanquish a nightmare. However I break it down, sitting here, in the middle of January, I've already spent a long time looking at the calendar and I can honestly say, 2010 isn't very long, I've got a lot to do. So let's get busy and have a look at what I'm going to be doing.
- Climb Mt. Whitney and Mt. Shasta
- Drag my knee at a motorcycle track
- Hike Angel's Landing
- Lead a trad climb
- Log 100 dives
- Achieve OWSI certification
- Record an album of guitar music
- Dive in an ocean other than the Pacific
- Do a motorcycle tour
- Monthly mini-challenge
Challenge 2 :: Drag my knee at a motorcycle trackI've been itching to do this ever since I first saw motorcycle racing as a kid. For the uninitiated, dragging your knee occurs when you counterbalance your motorcycle in a turn in an effort to reduce the lean angle of the bike. Essentially, your bike doesn't have to lean as far, because you're leaning for it... to the point where your knee is scraping the pavement... at speed.
This is not the sort of thing I would ever attempt to teach myself. I've looked at and coveted the California Superbike School classes that are run out at Streets of Willow Springs raceway for nearly a decade. Time to put my money where my mouth is and scrape some knee pucks.
Challenge 3 :: Hike Angel's LandingAngel's Landing is a thin, tall ridge of rock in southern Utah's Zion National Park. I read about it in the Moon Guide to Zion and Bryce and thought "Oh that sounds interesting." Then a friend went there last year and told me about the trail, and I investigated some of the pictures which are jaw dropping. Then, after reading an article online (don't recall if it was the New York Times or the Los Angeles Times) about "this trail is dangerous, there should be signs, there should be walls, there should be more chains" and more drivel of that ilk, and then reading the comments underneath that validated my own opinion (climb at your own risk; take responsibility for your actions), I got the bug to go do this thing. Utah, here I come.
Challenge 4 :: Lead a trad climbFollowing up on the rock climbing training I received last year, I intend to push myself on the logical progression and be able to lead a trad climb. Some explanation: "traditional climbing", called "trad" climbing, is rock climbing where you use temporary pieces of protection (usually called "pro" or "ludicrously expensive chunk of metal and cable") to reduce the risk of a fall. To lead a trad climb, means that you are the one making your way along the rock, placing the protection as you go and clipping your rope into it. If you are only climbing one pitch, you would set a belay anchor at the top and belay the second (and however many other climbers there are) climber up, who removes the protection as they climb. With multiple pitches, you would then establish a new belay position half way up the face, and the leader would start off again from that point.
Unlike top roped climbing, where if you fall, you don't really go very far, if you are lead climbing and fall, you drop as far as twice the distance to the last piece of protection. If you fall before you've placed any protection, you crater. I'm not sure what this is like for other climbers, but for me, it will require a level of steely nerves and fear supression that I'm not sure I possess. And since I don't know if I can do it, it's time to go find out.
Challenge 5 :: Log 100 divesThat's a lot of diving. I mean, that is a lot of diving. My bet is that this will be the hardest task to accomplish. It will take a lot of time just to schedule and coordinate all that diving. I am absolutely committed to it.
Challenge 6 :: Achieve OWSI certificationOWSI: Open Water Scuba Instructor. It's all part of the grand plan. Certainly, though, the primary motiviation is to be able to share my love of the ocean with as many people as I can. This is an entirely selfish act, because if I can get you into the water in Catalina, you will see why it is important to work to preserve the environment. If I can get you thinking about your impact on the environment, you will make the water better for me to go diving in!
There are other reasons, but I'll be keepin' those confidential for the time being :)
Challenge 7 :: Record an album of guitar musicNo point only getting calluses on my fingers at Stoney Point. I've thought many times about recording some Christmas music for my grandparents, and now it's time to stop thinking about it and doing it. I've played classical guitar off and on for six years but never for a long enough period of time consecutively to really get solid. This will most likely take as much training as climbing the Grand did.
Challenge 8 :: Dive in an ocean other than the PacificThere's a whole wide water world out there. Time to go diving in it. Also, time to learn how to coordinate that sort of travel, learn how the logistics are handled, learn how to deal with dive operators, learn, learn, learn. Anyone notice a pattern here?
Challenge 9 :: Do a motorcycle tourCan it really be a full year since I rode a motorcycle full time? I used to do this all the time, and then I bought my truck. Of course, the purchasing of the truck coincided with the rapid mechanical decline of my Triumph, so I didn't really have any way of doing it. The Triumph is going into the shop soon to get her ready to be taken to far flung places again.
Challenge 10 :: Monthly mini challengeThis one is interesting. I noticed last year that from late July through the end of September, I really didn't do much of anything. I sat around a lot, got rid of cable TV, went bouldering a couple of times, dove once each month, but that was it. I want to raise the level of consistent activity this year by ensuring that there's something unique and varied that I have to do each month. That will require me to maintain focus on the challenges throughout the year. These don't have to be outdoor related, in fact, I want them to be as extremely varied as I can make them, but all of them challenging.