I am officially a climber-freelancer-blogger, or CFB, for short. I wrote up the reviews and the article. I got the photos for the reviews and the article. I blogged about my progress. Last, but not least, I climbed! I climbed in those Lowa Rocket climbing shoes and I landed on those Petzl Alto and Petzl Cirro crash pads, and I climbed the Bozeman Six as a member of the Bozeman Bombers…and it was GREAT! I may have an ice-climbing trip, a bouldering road trip, and a historic bouldering sites tour in my future, as well as having some more reviews and some interview spotlights coming my way. Is that exciting or what?! It is all through MyClimb, founded by Bill Brooks. Though I have not yet met Bill in person, I have had plenty of interaction with him through our MyClimb Challenges over the last year. Bill is a super fellow and has created, with Lou Renner’s and Maggie Hellmann’s help, a fantastic website and an unbeatable climbing app for the climbing masses! MyClimb can be found at http://www.myclimb.com and I urge you to check it out. Bill just had his site reworked, and it flows really well! There are articles, reviews, member interviews, and links to the MyClimb App for both Android and iOS systems! You cannot go wrong with this site! New articles and reviews coming soon!
Working with my friends and mentors at MyClimb has really been an unexpected turn for the better in my life. I am honored that professionals would recognize my work as worthy of their time and effort, and that they would want to present it to the world (quite literally) as representative of their business face and who they are. It is a very humbling experience and it makes me feel so grateful for the talents I have been given and that I am developing through these experiences. Most of all, it has proven to me that I can make something of myself just by being myself – a climber and a blogger – and that I am not just a Disabled Veteran who cannot do anything worthwhile in life. People actually like me. Not only that, but I am living proof that PTSD does not have to win the battle for my mind; climbing can help me win the battle, and blogging about that climbing can turn into a freelance writing and photography bloom, which in turn may circle back into some sponsored climbing for more freelancing! To Bill and Lou, I say, “Thank you, my friends, for the opportunity of a lifetime, and a lifetime of opportunities! You have changed my life forever and provided a new and better path for my life!” Others are to be thanked, too, like my dear friend Leon, whose inspiring determination cannot be matched. Leon does not engage in social media, so hopefully someone will tell this to Leon for me, haha. I would not want to talk behind his back, especially whilst complimenting him!
Locally, there are many people to thank for my recent successes and my progress in managing my PTSD. Dr. Mark Nicholson, my psychiatrist, is one. He is the person who first sent me down to the bouldering gym in Billings, MT because he thought that climbing might help with my PTSD. Thanks, Doc! My friends Emily, AJ, Lucas, McKenzie, Taylor, Brian, Chad, Dian, Mike, Meagan, James, Tony, Hayden, Michelle, Mack, Jim, Heath, Scott, and the list goes on of people who support and help me to reach ever greater accomplishments on my climbing journey – I want to thank you all!
This list of thank-you’s would not be complete without thanking the members of my MyClimb Challenge Team! Lou, Bill, Iggi, Maggie, Gregg, Sophie, Liz, and the rest of the MyClimb Challenge Team are invaluable in my progress and my opportunities to further my climbing goals and successes in life!
In short, if you’ve climbed with me or read my blog, I want to offer you A GREAT BIG THANK YOU!!! I would not be as healthy as I am without you! You have truly influenced my life for the better, and I thank you for that!
CLIMBING 4 THE REST OF US 