Climbing heals with Ti Conkle in Alaska

Part II

A1

Ti Conkle works full time as an internal auditor/investigator for the government in Alaska but every chance she gets, she find ways to get outdoors and explore the world outside from every angle. And she means every chance ... she commutes to and from work on her bike during the spring, summer, fall and parts of winter until it gets colder than -20F/-29C. She blogs at Element 22. 

Talking to Ti about climbing, a simple question about cameras showed me just how inspirational she is. 

Why climb with a camera? 

So along with all the gear we talked about here Ti always takes her camera along. And it's for much more than the family album. She says: "A series of traumas over a span of several years left me coping with long term memory loss and experiencing gaping holes in my own personal space-time continuum.  By accident, I discovered that photography helped store memories and allowed me access to my own recollection." 

She explains without her photographs she would have "little memory" of what happens from day to day. And of course that loss would block conversations, exchanges, all the intimate things between us that we rely on memory for without ever appreciating it. "Twelve years went by in which I did not write at all and, in fact, spoke rather little as well. In discovering photography, I found my voice."

All the amazing photographs on her blog are not just for us as readers but a key part of who she is. It makes you look again at these shots doesn't it? She says "I enjoy sharing my photos, my window to the world. My hope is that I can bring just a bit of the experience, the moment, the nuance of light and shadow to others."

Italy's boot AK

Climbing with the next generation

Ti blogs beautifully on the joys of introducing her daughter to kayaking and climbing. So why should adventurous parents should make the effort to induct their kids into that love of the outdoors? She says "Largely, my job as a mother is to provide an environment where my daughter can learn to assess risk, make informed choices and explore the world outside and within herself with absolute confidence." Explaining her idea that risks are just "unexplored adventures" she says people are always afraid or nervous of the unknown and aren't able to properly assess risk until we have all the information. So I guess that's why the whole notion of "winging it" freaks most of us out so much.

Ti finishes by saying "There will be failures. There will be mishaps. There will be falls and drops and missing toenails and blistered hands. There will be rainy, stormy days and days overflowing with sunshine and laughter. If I have done my work properly, she will know that all of these things are a healthy, normal, required part of life. The most inspiring way to encourage is to lead by example, to simply go and do."

Winter Biking

Tips for new climbers

But if you don't have a climber mum to get you op the ridges, where to start? Ti says "the best way to train for climbing is to climb." Before worrying about the technical aspects or equipment, she says you need "strength, endurance and cardiovascular stamina" from some other sport - presumably to get up the rock-face in the first place. But there's something even more important than that "More than just carrying your own weight, physically and existentially, a good climber needs to understand the team dynamic, foster excellent (verbal and non-verbal) communication skills and be prepared to give more than they take," says Ti.

•     Prepare, prepare and prepare; mentally, physically, emotionally.
•     Know your gear, inside and out.
•     Rehearse and practice your knots, anchors, belay and ice axe technique.
•     Under duress, we do what we have memorized. The simpler you make things, the better.
•     Don’t wait. If you have the desire to climb, the interest, a spark of longing… don’t wait. Do it.

And her final word on why climbing simply rocks (pun intended):
"Climbing will not bring you happiness, but you can bring happiness to climbing- or any other endeavor you undertake. The mountain does not care if you climb it, nor does it care if you fail in the undertaking. Mountains are the perfect foil for the ego, as they simply are."

Ice fall

The first part of this interview is available here on ISW.