My 2012 in Review...Awesome

2012 has come to an end (and maybe even the world as we know it) and it's hard to not reflect on the year that you have created for yourself, especially since Facebook has that "Year of Review" app. Looking back at 2011, that was a tough year to top: having such an epic year of snowboarding with 850"+ of snow, going on a 6 month-rock-climbing-road-trip, meeting so many new people, and feeling like the old thought of "life is over after college" is total bullshit. Well, to sum up, 2012 didn't disappoint.

After our Most Epic Trip, I was left broke. So broke, that I had to move back home with the parents in Cleveland, Ohio during the winter. Leaving a winter in Utah is torture, but luckily, the winter sucked so everyone suffered. I landed a job working at Cleveland Rock Gym (and I can't say enough how grateful I am to work there) doing odd jobs, working the desk, fixing holds, etc etc. What I loved most, is meeting the surprisingly strong Cleveland climbing community and being able to climb with some of the toughest climbers I know. My climbing skills improved so much from that experience. Believe it or not, there is a guy who is bouldering V12 and he's from Ohio. Weird right?

During some time in March, while working a temp job in a factory for my uncle I get a text from Gina Begin, saying "Welcome to the team, so stoked!" I just thought, "What the hell are you talking about?" She had assumed I saw an email from Columbia.

The email was an invitation to join Columbia's #OmniTen team, described in the email as a team of influential social media outdoors people who would get hooked up throughout the Spring/Fall season with gear and other "epic adventures". Well, about two days later I get a phone call from Gina, while at work.

Gina: "Did you see the email?!"
Me: Ummm no?
Gina: Columbia offered up a FREE heli-ski trip through Points North Heli in Cordova, Alaska.
Me: Uh, what?!
Gina: But, they won't pay to get there.
Me: Um, ok (me thinking I literally have $1400 in my account now from working the temp job)
Gina: It's limited to only 4 spots, I think we should just say yes and figure out the details later.
Me: Shit...um...yeah...fuck it, let's go. I can't miss this.
Gina: Oh yeah and it's in 10 days.
Me: Perrrrfect.

A quick note: if you Google Map Cordova, Alaska you will see that there are no roads going to it. You are forced to either take a pond jumper over or a ferry.

After about 2 hours of looking up flights, realizing there is no way either of us can afford to fly (because I would have to fly from Cleveland to Valdez then take a ferry to the small offshore island of Cordova) we were forced to drive.


Yep, drive 4,663 miles totaling 78 hours and spending literally the last dime that I have to my name but hey, it's for heli-skiing. Lucky for Gina, she was in Salt Lake already. It would be the 2nd time I've been to Alaska in nearly 6 months. The drive was miserable. One night it dropped to -13°F but it paid off to sleep in the car, seeing a most intense aurora borealis. Also, when you realize that all of this is for this, it's worth it.




The Alaska trip was great and after about 2 months of doing my thing in Ohio, I get another package from Columbia describing the new trip that Columbia is going to pay in full this time! This lead to a sick trip to Sedona, Arizona where we got to preview Columbia's new Omni-Zero gear, go mountain biking, and hike around the Native American sacred land of Havasu Falls. It was a great trip and I finally got to meet the entire #OmniTen crew, a slew of very influential people in the media ranging from Wired Magazine to ESPN to Backpacker, and the entire Columbia crew as well.


After about 6 months of being in Ohio I got an interview which would lead to my now current position with Niche Snowboards retaining the title, Social Media Manager. Working sucks, but working for a company, selling a product that you get giddy over is a nice trade off.

Living in Salt Lake, you are nearly 15 minutes from the closest climbing areas so I was going nearly everyday. Climbing with friends (full-time partner Josh Riggins, Nick Tibbs, and my roommates who don't care if I mention them or not) has helped me improve greatly. I even got into trad climbing thanks to Haley Dale and Nick Como. I didn't get a chance to push into the .12s but the fact I am comfortably leading .11s is a huge stride for me.

I've been doing a lot more traveling to climb as well. Climbing, all over Salt Lake but also in Ogden, Utah, in Golden, Colorado, the iconic area of Joe's Valley, Utah, and the alpine area of the Uintas. It's grown my, already very stoked to be here appreciation for choosing to live in Utah.

Then winter hit and I was fully prepared this year to completely rely on human-power instead of chairlifts buying a complete splitboard setup and nerding out on snow crystals getting that Avalanche Certification. It has been on my mind to do this for a year and feels so good to be in the backcountry. Already, I've put in a total (about) of 20 days and I don't have an ounce of regret. It hurts, it takes long to get up, you get one run, but I love it.

To end the year right, some of the #OmniTen crew from my group are coming to Salt Lake for New Years to party and ski! Pretty stoked about this whole idea.

For what is to come in 2013, who knows. I have plans that entail more travel, more backcountry snowboarding, more pain, more fun. I'd like to continue this trend that every year is awesome, because who knows, this might be the year it ends. So take it all in, live it up, and spend money when you want to because really, it has no value when you're dead.