Sad News

Those of you who have been down to Kentucky in the past couple of years have enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of Red River Outdoors, and Matt and Amy.
Well, last night tragedy struck and Red River Outdoors burnt down. A few personal effects were rescued after the fire was out, but unfortunately their beloved dog, River did not make it out. Amy was home when it happened and is physically okay. They are both devastated having lost their dog, their home and their business.
Within an hour, there were 25 people at Red River to support them, some driving down from Ohio. Within 24 hours, the cleanup had been started, outpourings of support showed up on redriverclimbing.com including many asking what they could do or send, gear, clothes, food. The cleanup had started and many promises of money, tools and skills to rebuild.
It is an overwhelming time for them, but amazing to see how quickly the community mobilized and came together. They are not alone.
For those of you who can, a donation account has been set up through paypal. Check out redriverclimbing.com for details on how to support or updates on what is going on.
More to follow.

Happy Easter

So, it snowed last night, and there is still snow on the ground. It's -4 and freezing with biting winds. I feel like I'm in Montreal, but alas, I am still in Kentucky. We went from 25 degree sun for a week to -4 degrees, almost overnight. We actually had a whiteout last night.
Little climbing in past week, or since I've been back from Montreal. Between a nasty cold, my sisters visit, busy days at the hostel and other spicy events, it has been a bit difficult to get out. I have however vowed for that to change starting Monday and feel my motivation rising. Friends from Montreal are here, my desire is back up and I'm ready for the exercise.
Went out biking through the gorge at sunset the other day and though it was beautiful, I truly miss climbing, something I hadn't felt in a while and was happy to feel again. Getting back into shape has been more difficult than I thought, and more frustrating. I hadn't climbed much in a while, felt like I couldn't climb much, which led to feeling badly when I couldn't complete climbs I used to warm up on. I found it hard to find places where my friends wanted to go and I could train. I found myself saying one day, I just need a gym for about a week. I quickly however corrected myself and changed that to an outdoor gym.
However, I feel like I'm on the right track.
More stories to follow, life is just moving along day by day.