About

Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici

I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more is none.

I intend to do all the good I can…

by all the means I can
in all the ways I can
in all the places I can
at all the times I can
to all the people I can

…and I intend to do so as long as I can!

I will not waste myself in rejection, nor bark against the bad. I will not speak of the evils of this world, but chant the good and foster the love.

I will be an instrument for peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
I pray that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love.

I pray that I may be given appropriate difficulties and sufferings on this journey so that my heart may be truly awakened and my practice of liberation and universal compassion may be truly fulfilled. I pray I am given grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

I will dedicate and devote my life to His service by service to others. Understanding that by being led by pure principles I may be the better enabled to display the beauties of holiness to the honor of His holy name.

Ad maiorem Dei gloriam

Gnōthi Seauton

V.I.T.R.I.O.L.  V.M.!

ABOUT ME

The youngest of four boys, I was the only one born in Utah. I spent my young life exploring and climbing in the back country of the Wasatch. At the age of 7, I think, my parents divorced. I didn’t see a lot of my dad after that (more on that relationship to come), and my mom worked a lot to support us. I’m not sure if that was ‘tough’ or if that’s just the way it is. Regardless, I had a relatively normal childhood I think. School was uneventful for the most part; however, I feel like I excelled in sports (soccer mostly), writing and creative logic. At the age of 16 I was first published into a small local book of poems and short stories. At 17 I received my first Rock climbing sponsor, 5.10. Later I would add Black Diamond, Vortex, Mountain Hardwear, Gravel, La Sportiva and Petzel to this list of sponsors and be published three more times .  By the age of 19 I had won three regional Rock / Ice climbing competitions and competed nationally in Colorado and California, learned the trade of and worked as a carpenter (rough framing mostly, but some finish), and had obtained educational and sporting awards.

During my last year as a teenager, I decided to serve a service mission for my Church and was sent to the Eastern part of Germany, spending time in Dresden mostly. During the final months, and shortly after the end of this two year mission, I temporarily studied Theology and Philosophy at the Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena. I received high marks and brought home nothing that would transfer to a US school, so that was that. After that I moved to Alaska with one of my brothers to chase one of my dreams – of becoming a mountaineering guide. While there, I studied Earth Science, Geology, Glaciology and Snow Science at the University of Alaska Southeast.  During the summer years, I worked for North Star Trekking and Above and Beyond Alaska while volunteering for the Juneau Mountain Rescue Team. In the winter I would travel back to Utah and teach Rock Climbing 1 and 2 for UVSC as well as private training. Meanwhile I would plan, train and prepare for climbing major peaks around the world and continue DSCN0726to hone my rock and ice climbing skills. I participated in multiple marathons (4 in total) and triathlons (6 in total, one was the Iornman in SoCal) as a training tool. My knowledge of the outdoors and adventures has been fine-tuned by a lifetime of experience, both leisure-time and professional. My confidence and competency have never overpowerd my caution and mathematical safety. As a result of my experience in the desert, alpine and glacier environments, I have become familiar with and have used a wide variety of gear and climbing techniques. I earned the Alpinist Climbing Guide certification from the American Mountaineering Guide Association in 2004. I also carried Wilderness Medic and Glacier Travel and Rescue certifications from  various organizations (AMGA, UVSC, Quarry, North Star, JMR and ABAK).

During these years, while I was living in Utah, my older brother Michael died in a Mountaineering accident in Alaska. Regardless of the personal struggle through this, I decided to continue to climb.

mike.2Mike would feel it a loss if his death took from me more than just a brother and friend. If it took from me the chance I had to visit the great art of God in the temple of nature, it would surely be a tragedy. Before Mike’s death he had written, “Go to the mountains, the rivers and forests. Go to the wilderness. There you will find me.” I still find comfort in the wilderness and the experiences I have there bring me closer to the spirit of God and my brother. Through this time, I meet my first wife and had my first kid – Alexia Rain. That marriage was short lived and ended in divorce shortly after. I married again and it was even shorter than the first.

In 2005 I began working at an internet company as a low-level employee. I eventually climbed my way up the corporate latter and worked as the Vice President of Customer Relations and Technology till the closure of the company in 2010. During those years, I studied International Business at BYU, but never graduated. At the close of  that company I rededicated myself to his lifelong dream of medicine. At the end of that, I met my third wife, who was a big supporter of my return to school despite the financial hurdles that would create for us.

12029751_10153505311678869_7102817440587119414_o.jpgI was an active member of the Freemasons. I started my career working as a Registered Nurse in the local hospital’s Trauma 2 Emergency Department. I moved on and became an emergency trained Nurse Practitioner in the state’s largest Trauma 1 Emergency Department. Now I work in the county’s Urgent Care clinics. I am an experienced and skilled public speaker and has been given many opportunities to speak internationally on various subjects.

Some Major Climbing Accomplishments:

5.7 Alpine, Lone Peak, UT. Established Route, solo.
5.7 Alpine, Middle Teaton, WY. Established Route.
5.7 Alpine, Middle Teaton, WY. South West Coulir-winter ascent, solo.
5.8 Alpine, Main Teaton, WY. “Exum Ridge”
5.8 Alpine, Main Teaton, WY. “North Face”-winter ascent, solo.
5.8 Alpine, Mendenhall Towers, AK. “Main” and “Midget”, established routes (speed record, 4.2 hours)
5.8 Trad ascent, Fisher Towers, UT. “Ancient Art”
5.10b Trad red-point ascent, Moab, UT. “Another Roadside Distraction”
5.13b Sport red-point ascent, Maple Canyon, UT. “Kiss the Cobble”
5.13b Sport red-point ascent, American Fork Canyon, UT. “Burning”
5.12b Sport on-sight ascent, American Fork Canyon, UT. “Too young to be Human”
WI5 On-sight ascent, British Columbia, Canada, “Angel of Fear”
WI6 Red-point ascent, British Columbia, Canada, “Wings of Hell”
v10 Bouldering, Joe’s Valley, UT. “All Thumbs”

Some Major Peaks:

cropped-dscn0804.jpgMt. McKinnly, AK. 6193m (20318)
Mt. Alpamyao, Peru 5957m (19543) [Alpine style, solo ascent – 36 hours]
Mt. Hunter, AK 4442m (14573)
Mt. Elbert, CO. 4399m (14433) [solo]
Mt. Massive, CO. 4395m (14421) [solo]
Mt. Rainier, WA. 4393m (14412) [DC, Fuehrer Fingers, Gibraltar Rocks – solo]
Uncompahgre Peak, CO. 4361m (14309) [solo]
Mt. Lincoln, CO. 4354m (14286) [solo]
Gray’s Peak, CO. 4349m (14270) [solo]
Torrey’s Peak, CO. 4348m (14267) [solo]
Mt. Evans, CO. 4347m (14264) [solo]
Longs Peak, CO. 4344m (14246) [solo]
Mt. Wilson, CO. 4342m (14246) [solo]
Mt. Cameron, CO. 4339m (14238) [solo]
Kings Peak, UT. 4123m (13528) [solo]
Mt. Nebo, UT. 3620m (11876) [solo]
Mt. Timpanogos, UT. 3582m (11751) [solo], training peak, “Everest Ridge”

Here’s the thing:

I started this blog as a way to kind of journal some things since I’m not on Facebook anymore (update, 2019, I’m back on the book of faces). This serves as a way to put my thoughts out there. It’s also part of my personal “Happiness Project.” I read Gretchen Rubin’s book and thought, “yea… I’ll do that, and that, and that too.” One of those was a blog. So here it is.

Here are some of my random notes for my personal happiness project:

Be me.
Let go. Lighten up.
Act the way I want to feel.
Do it now.
Be polite and be fair.
Enjoy the process.
Identify the problem.
Do what ought to be done.
No calculation.
There is only love.

“The days are long, but the years are short” LOVE that. I have three kids, and boy is this true.

Here are my steps:

  1. Physical
    1. Declutter
    2. Workout
    3. Stretch
    4. Eat better
    5. Sleep better
  2. Relationships
    1. Remember love
    2. Choice
      1. You can’t make anyone do/feel anything; no one can make you do/feel something
    3. Change
      1. You can’t change anyone, only yourself
    4. Serve
      1. Do more around the house
      2. Working for family and friends is more important than entertainment
    5. Communicate
    6. Ask
      1. For help
      2. For what you need
    7. Be nice to everyone
    8. Never gossip
    9. Laugh more, laugh out loud
  3. Success
    1. Money
      1. Budget
        1. You manage what you measure
      2. Give someone some for no reason
    2. Blog
    3. Finish a book
    4. Big play
      1. Be a kid again
        1. Take time to be silly
          1. Dance
        2. Go off the beaten path
      2. Find happiness/success in everything you do
        1. Start a gratitude journal
          1. Three things (different things) daily
        2. Faith
          1. Meditate
            1. Take time to contemplate the eternities
          2. Read
            1. Scriptures (all faiths)
            2. Philosophy
            3. Wisdom
  1. Imitate
    1. Find a master and be like them
  2. Live in the moment
  3. Mindfulness

Places I will climb, things I will do:

Italy
Switzerland
Chile
Argentina
New Zealand
Nepal

Visit all national parks in Utah

play in Peekaboo, Spooky, Davis Gultch

Zion/Havasupai

Grand Teton

Mt. Rainier

Climb in Thailand

Climb Mt. Denali

Climb Mt Whitney, face

Climb Kahn Tengri in Kazakhstan