New member introduction

Post general questions and discuss issues related to climbing.
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xkarenmariex

 
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New member introduction

by xkarenmariex » Mon May 05, 2014 9:26 pm

I have spent my entire adult life abusing hard drugs and living with abusive men. For the last year I have been getting my act together. I didn't think about mountains until I got clean. I grew up in the city and could have cared less about anything outside my block. When I was introduced to mountains via movies and the internet I became obsessed. When times get really hard and I think I might use, I remember there is a mountain in the Himalayas called K2. I practice picturing it perfectly in my mind. I try to comprehend its size; I try to understand how remote it is. I remember mountains exist and therefore I am going to be okay.

Over the last few weeks I started obsessing about actually climbing mountains. I have no idea where to start and understand I will probably never attempt any of the big ones. I am on this forum to make new friends and to learn more about mountaineering. The closest mountains to me are the Appalachians. I am going to start by hiking around them. Most outdoor people in this area enjoy caves, but I have spent enough time underground in the dark.

Anyway, advice and support are welcome. Thanks in advance!

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John Duffield, lcarreau, macintosh

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Augie Medina

 
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Re: New member introduction

by Augie Medina » Mon May 05, 2014 11:18 pm

Karen,

Welcome to this community. I think you could not have found a better diversion from your past than love of mountains. You said it best yourself and very poetically: "I remember mountains exist and therefore I am going to be okay." Hopefully, you can find someone with experience to help you get started. Hiking may seem like a simple endeavor but to have the best experiences, you will need to accumulate some knowledge about what to wear, essential gear depending upon where you'll be hiking, navigation, weather, safety considerations and many other things. I can't help you regarding the Appalachians but I'm sure there are plenty of people on this forum who can. Start moderately and build up such as the progression from day hiking to overnight backpacking and on and on. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that moving through beautiful mountain terrain provides a natural high and a sense of escape from the constraints of life down below. Better yet, you carry back down the hill with you that which revives your mind and body up above.

Good luck and once you get started, don't forget to post some trip reports.

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ChrisJahn

 
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Re: New member introduction

by ChrisJahn » Tue May 06, 2014 12:37 am

Hello Karen,

Let me be one of the first to give you a warm welcome! You're going to be okay, mountains are where we take care of ourselves and others.

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JHH60

 
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Re: New member introduction

by JHH60 » Tue May 06, 2014 3:36 am

Welcome! The Appalachians offer spectacular natural beauty, and some challenging hiking and climbing. I first got hooked on hiking and mountains going up Old Rag mountain in Virginia with my parents, and would still like to hike the entire Appalachian Trail someday, even though I now live in California. If you think you might be interested in rock climbing, which is a great way to enjoy nature and train both your body and mind, you are only two hours away from a world-class climbing destination, the Red River Gorge.

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Marmaduke

 
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Re: New member introduction

by Marmaduke » Tue May 06, 2014 6:44 am

Welcome! And some great advice for you.......DO NOT venture off into the forum search and onto "Sound and Fury", stay away from that wasteland of vile. Only the crazies and nut jobs are there and you'll never get out. For your own well being......I'm warning you.

Again welcome.

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lcarreau

 
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Re: New member introduction

by lcarreau » Tue May 06, 2014 1:37 pm

No, no ... she mentioned becoming "obsessed with mountains" after watching internet and movies .... which is the Right path, as opposed to the LEFT.


She's becoming one of us now. Self-exploration is the key ---- Let's celebrate by watching a "Steely Dan" video ....


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf81ZxINQkQ[/youtube]
"Turkey Vultures always vomit when they get nervous."

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xkarenmariex

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Marmaduke

 
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Re: New member introduction

by Marmaduke » Tue May 06, 2014 2:52 pm

Catamount wrote:Don't be so hard on yourself, Marmaduke. None of us judge you for your past.

Image


Not just me but you and the whole bunch of us over in OR :wink: I judge all equally......well maybe not equally, when mrchad was participating he was a bigger horses-ass than me. And Griswold....oh don't get me started with him.

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xkarenmariex

 
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Re: New member introduction

by xkarenmariex » Tue May 06, 2014 3:11 pm

Thank you everyone for your kind words!

I have decided to go to Cumberland Gap this weekend!!!! I can't tell you how excited I am. It won't be a 'real' outdoor adventure, but I have never been camping so I need to figure that part out before I go off the beaten path. I found some gear on craigslist - backpack, tent, other stuff. I am getting shoes and a sleeping bag today (I have been researching shoes all night...WOW) Anyway, I will post pictures when I return.

http://www.nps.gov/cuga/index.htm

@Catamount - I don't know the person you speak of

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macintosh

 
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Re: New member introduction

by macintosh » Tue May 06, 2014 3:29 pm

jesu, joy of man's desiring wrote:Image
^^^^ New SP role model ???-


Morons and their idiots jokes are back, pay attention to them, Karen. jesu, joy of man's desiring is one of them ;)

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ChrisJahn

 
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Re: New member introduction

by ChrisJahn » Tue May 06, 2014 4:45 pm

In 2002, a BBC poll placed Crowley seventy-third in a list of the 100 Greatest Britons.

If you cut off a man's head, he dies. Why? Because it kills him. That is really the whole answer. Aleister Crowley

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Chris Simpson

 
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Re: New member introduction

by Chris Simpson » Tue May 06, 2014 11:07 pm

I discovered mountains almost 2 yrs ago. My gf at the time had made me horribly depressed and very unhealthy. I found Everest Beyond the Limit on Netflix. I became obsessed. I started hiking the next day. A few months later I ran into Tim Medvetz on Baldy. He's one of the main personalities on the show. Since then, I've been volunteering for him and his Heroes Project Organization. I've climbed Orizaba, Hood, Shasta, Whitney x 3, Dana, Baldy x 80, countless other peaks and am on my way to Ama Dablam in 2015. Its a lot more doable than you think. Start hiking steep trails. Find friends with the same interest and carpool to your destination. Learn everything you can on your own. I knew jack shit. Now I race Tim down the mountain side while he rides his quad on the fire road. Its all within reach. You just have to want it bad enough.

As for K2 - The Savage Mountain
On February 4th, 1943, Wanda Rutkiewicz, a Polish mountaineer and the first woman to successfully summit and descend K2, was born. Known to climbers as the "Savage Mountain" due to the technical nature of its sheer faces and the deaths that it has delivered to its suitors, K2 is the second highest mountain on earth. For every four people that have reached its summit, one has died trying. Not only was Rutkiewicz the first woman to summit and descend the treacherous mountain, she did so without the use of supplemental oxygen, a monumental feat.

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xkarenmariex

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lcarreau

 
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Re: New member introduction

by lcarreau » Wed May 07, 2014 2:29 pm

ChrisJahn wrote:In 2002, a BBC poll placed Crowley seventy-third in a list of the 100 Greatest Britons.



Hey Mister Crowley ....



[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu0ockJXOHw[/youtube]
"Turkey Vultures always vomit when they get nervous."

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markisonfire

 
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Re: New member introduction

by markisonfire » Thu May 08, 2014 8:26 am

xkarenmariex wrote:I have spent my entire adult life abusing hard drugs and living with abusive men. For the last year I have been getting my act together. I didn't think about mountains until I got clean. I grew up in the city and could have cared less about anything outside my block. When I was introduced to mountains via movies and the internet I became obsessed. When times get really hard and I think I might use, I remember there is a mountain in the Himalayas called K2. I practice picturing it perfectly in my mind. I try to comprehend its size; I try to understand how remote it is. I remember mountains exist and therefore I am going to be okay.

Over the last few weeks I started obsessing about actually climbing mountains. I have no idea where to start and understand I will probably never attempt any of the big ones. I am on this forum to make new friends and to learn more about mountaineering. The closest mountains to me are the Appalachians. I am going to start by hiking around them. Most outdoor people in this area enjoy caves, but I have spent enough time underground in the dark.

Anyway, advice and support are welcome. Thanks in advance!


Why not? No better time than right now to set some long-term and short-term goals for yourself.

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