More real by the second!!

Today I purchased my plane tickets for my travel to South America! I still can't believe this is happening! January is right around the corner so training is about to get intense! I'll keep you posted but it looks like another 14'er is in my near future!

First Training Climb for Aconcagua!

Starting on the trail

Early this past Monday morning, two friends and I ventured into the Rocky Mountains.  We set out to climb two 14'ers, Grays Peak and Torrey's Peak.  We reached the trail head at about 6:20 A.M., threw on all our gear and started up the trail.  This would be my first cold weather 14'er.   A recent snowstorm here in Colorado left a coating of snow on most the trail and in some spots, snow drifts made travel a bit slower.  Most of the trail up Grays Peak was a gradual incline.  Watching the sunrise over the peaks was amazing and the cold air felt strangely uplifting.  This is exactly where I love to be.  It took us about 4 1/2 hours to reach the summit of Grays.  We probably could've climbed faster but the stunning views paused our ascent.  I could try and describe the incredible views from the summit but I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Sunrise on Grays Peak

We spent a few minutes on the summit of Grays Peak before continuing on to Torreys Peak.  Our descent towards the saddle between Grays and Torreys was a little hairy.  It looked like only one other person had gone this route since the snow storm and the snow completely hid the proper trail.  The rocks were icy and sometimes a step led to your foot disappearing into knee deep snow.  It difficult terrain but I was having a blast!  We made it down to the saddle between the peaks and began the trek up Torreys.


The trail up Torreys seemed short and easy but man was it steep!  To make matters even more difficult, deep snow covered most of the trail.  I had to kick in foot holds most of the way and it was exhausting but I was determined.  It only took us about 30 minutes to reach the summit of Torreys from the saddle but my legs shook from exhaustion at the summit.  The view once again was spectacular and I didn't want to leave and head down.  I could have sat there all day.  The descent was quick and easy to the saddle but then things got interesting.

Summit of Torreys Peak (14,267ft)

During the summers a skinny trail usually connects the saddle between the peaks back to the main trail.  Well...there was a problem, snow drifts hid the trail.  We began making our way through the drifts to where we believed the trail was only to find that the layer of snow made it very difficult to traverse across the mountain.  In some spots the snow was over knee deep while in others it was almost to thin to get a firm foot hold in place.  The thin spots were especially scary.  We were terrified that if we didn't have a good hold, our feet we slip and we would rocket down into the rocky mountain side below.  It took us 20 minutes to navigate this treacherous part but we made it without incident and the remainder of the decent was uneventful.  It took us two hours to reach our car, dragging our tired bodies the entire way.









It was an amazing day and we finished it off with trip to my favorite restaurant Chipotle for an awesome burrito.  Although the day was an resounding success and one of the best times I have ever experienced on a mountain, a thought about my hemophilia did pop into my mind.  Even though I am on prophy, what if I had twisted my ankle badly on the mountain?  Could I infuse with it being that cold outside.  I have now realized that my training cannot only be about physical conditioning but also my preparedness with my hemophilia.  In the upcoming months I will be attempting my infusions in cold environments to see the challenges in a more controlled situation before I leave for my trip.  I have infused outside in the mountains before but not in the frigid temperatures I may experience on some of my futures endeavors.  I will post about these experiences soon!

I hope you all enjoy the pictures of my trip here on my blog.  Check out my Facebook page for tons more!

New Training Toys!!

With winter just around the corner and my trip only a few months away I need to get started training and there is no better way to train than throwing on some brand new telemark ski boots and skinning up the mountain.  Skinning is probably the best workout I have ever had!  Basically you strap on your tele skis and boots, then you put "skins" on the bottom of your skis.  Skins let your skis slid forward but not backwards so you can basically hike up a mountain on your skis!  Awesome right!  Now I just have to wait for some snow!  I'll post pictures when I start skinning so you can get a better idea.

I'm also going to climb a 14er on Monday!  Not sure which peak yet but I'll post pictures and a little story either Monday night or Tuesday!

The Dream Continues! Aconcagua 2013

First of all, its been along time since I have posted.  Life has gotten crazy!  Summer was pretty wild.  I was able to go to hemophilia camp in Colorado again which was an absolute blast, climbed a 14er, went downhill mountain biking, flew a plane and started a small business.  Unfortunately, I lost track of my blog.  I am going to try hard to keep posting consistently and with some new news, that should be easy!

It's official!  I am continuing my quest to be the first hemophiliac to climb the Seven Summits!  I am heading to Argentina this January to climb the highest peak in South America.  The peaks name is Aconcagua and stands at a massive 22,800ft! It's the highest peak in both the southern and western hemispheres.  I'll be climbing with guides from Mountain Professionals (www.mtnprofessionals.com).  They have tons of experience on big mountains and I cannot wait to learn from them!  I have tons of training to do to prepare for this amazing adventure but I am excited for this undertaking!

The best part of this climb is probably going to be trying to raise money for a cause near and dear to my heart, Save One Life.  I have mentioned Save One Life several times on my blog and have seen first hand the needs they are trying to fulfill.  Hemophilia in the developing world is a desperate situation and I'm hoping, with your help to raise a bunch of money to further the cause.  I will be working with Save One Life to set up a web page for donations so keep checking the blog, facebook page and my twitter account for information about donating!

Also, if anyone is interested in joining the climb let me know!  Send me a message on my facebook page and I'll give you all the details of the climb.  And I'll leave you with a picture of the mountain itself!  I'll keep posting more about my training and the details of our climbing route soon!  Thanks for all your support!

Long time no blog

Hello everyone.  Sorry for such a huge gap in posts.  I wish I could say I have been super busy with crazy adventures but in reality, I have just been really busy with life in general.  Many things have changed in the last few months.  Big things!  First and probably most important was that I quit my job! AHHH!  This was an incredibly hard decision for me to make but I have been so happy with my decision.  I took some time off to relax, took a part time summer job coaching a high school baseball team, and began work on a small business with a friend.  Oh yeah and doing tons of renovation work on our house.

I have to say getting back out on the baseball field has been great.  It doesn't pay well but I really love teaching the game and seeing the guys improve.  We have some really talented players on the team too.  Our record isn't great so far but we are improving and have been playing some really tough teams.

The small business venture is probably the most exciting thing going on right now!  I can't give away to many details yet but my close friend Brandon and I are working hard on getting our idea off the ground.  Just looking for a little funding right now but hopefully you will be hearing from us in the near future!

This week I will also be heading to hemophilia camp here in Colorado.  I will be a leadership counselor and I am really excited for the week to come.  We will be doing tons of fun things but what I am looking forward to most his infusion training with the younger kids.  It's so great watching the older leadership group spend time with the younger generation, encouraging them to learn self infusion.

I'll write a post when I get home!  Hope you will all check back then!

Tough Mudder 2012!!

All clean at the beginning!

Have you heard of the Tough Mudder?  Well if you haven't just imagine the most difficult, exhausting, and rewarding challenge you could ever participate in!  This year, three of my close friends from college came all the way from Nebraska to Beaver Creek, Colorado to participate.  The course takes place over a 12 mile course that ventures almost directly up the ski slopes and then back down to the finish.  Doesn't sound challenging enough?  How about 25 crazy obstacles too?  Sounds perfect!

On this past Saturday morning we took on the challenge, and unfortunately I hadn't done much training.  I knew this race would be super difficult but an unfortunate knee issue really kept me off my feet until the race.  I wasn't where I wanted to be but I had to try.  Our heat started at 9:40 A.M. and approaching the starting line, I freaked out.  Was I completely nuts?  Good thing I have some really supportive friends that got me pumped up.  Standing at the line with several hundred other people, the starting bell sounded and we were off.  All nerves were gone as adrenaline took over.  I felt great!  As we charged down the starting hill, we ran past tons of screaming spectators, then we turned a massive corner and saw the trail.  It was going straight up the ski slope.  Not only that, the snow makers were in full effect making the slope slippery and cold.  What a great way to start!

Almost half way!

I really wish I could remember every single obstacle we faced but exhaustion over the long day has made everything run together.  The first obstacle I remember clearly involved water and a bit of electricity.  Yep that's right, electricity.  Basically we had to do an army crawl for 30ft in a couple inches of water with wires hanging down.  And some of those wires were electrified!  And they hurt!  I crawled past the first wire and BANG!  I got a big shock!  Same thing with the second wire.  Bang! Shocked again.  I have never crawled so fast in my life!  We all had a good laugh about it when we got out but I was not looking forward to it again.  The next big obstacle that I remember and will absolutely never forget was called the "Arctic Enema".  It's as awful as it sounds.  Basically huge roll away dumpsters were filled with shoulder deep ice water.  And we jumped in.  And then swam under a wall in the middle and tried to crawl out the other side.  I was wondering why it was so quiet near this area.  I thought people would be screaming after going into the frigid water but you can't.  The cold sucks the breath from your lungs.  It was invigorating in a strange way.


Continuing up the mountain sides we traveled over ice walls, huge wooden walls, over and under logs until we reached the peak after 7.5 miles.  We were wiped out and only barely half way done.  The descent was much better.  We climbed through more water, under barbed wire, over rings, up snowy cliffs, under more electrified wired, over balance beams, up a huge quarter pipe and finally through the gauntlet.  I was super proud of making it over all the obstacles except for falling off the balance beam and getting soaked all over again.  I even made it over the monkey bar obstacle with what seemed like 1000 rungs!

The last and final obstacle was hundreds of wires hanging over a 30ft muddy pit.  Many of which were electrified.  As our team of four was joined by a random contestant we took of running for the finish.  We made it most of the way through then it looked like a car wreck.  Four of us running through went down in a heap.  A pile in the mud.  My friend Matt tripped in front of me and as I went to jump over him, BAM! Shocked big time in the hip.  I went down right next to him but we made it.  We gathered together and finished the race as a team.  I don't think I have been that tired ever before or more elated to finish a challenge.  I would compare this feeling to climbing Kilimanjaro.  I had a great team to help me finish this course and as of right now, only one bleed to show for it.  I know doing this with hemophilia probably wasn't the best idea but I will never regret the experience.

Victory beer!

THE TEAM! Kyle Fritz, Phil Williams, Matt Rediger, and Me

Check out more pictures of my facebook page and keep posted for more videos!  I need to edit the GoPro footage so you don't have to watch hours of running and can just see the obstacles.

Wheels for the World!

Have you heard?  Barry Haarde is going to bike across America to raise money for Save One Life! Want to know what makes this even more amazing?  He has hemophilia A, hepatitis, and HIV and is going to ride his bike across America!  Talk about inspirational.

He is starting his ride in Astoria, Oregon and will ride across the northern part of our country and finish up in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  That's 3,667 miles of pedaling!  The best part of this story is that Barry is taking this time off of work to help those in need with hemophilia. 

As many of you know, I am on the board for Save One Life and after my trips to Kenya, I have really realized the importance of Save One Life.  In most of the developing world hemophilia is unheard of.  Not because people don't have hemophilia in these places but because no one has even heard of it.  They just think people with hemophilia are sick.  In some places hemophilia can be diagnosed...if you are lucky enough to be around people that have heard of it but treatment will be non-existent or minimal.  When I finish my blog post on my latest Africa trip it will be full of examples of this.

Barry will be starting his bike ride June 17th so check out all the links below and donate if you possibly can!  Any amount helps a ton and will go towards helping those with hemophilia in need!

http://saveonelife.net/wheels-for-the-world-fundraiser-biking.php#path
http://www.americabybicycle.com/AAN/