Several years ago we took a family trip to the Canadian Rockies. We hiked and biked from Banff to Jasper, enjoying a stunning section of the Rockies. We even took a small two-hour walk on the Athabasca Glacier, and though we were stereotypical tourists, we fell in love with the experience. At the end of the trip, we took a rock-climbing lesson and got introduced to Yamnuska, one of the finest mountaineering schools in Canada.
So a few years later we hired a guide from Yamnuska to lead us on a two week hiking and glacier climbing expedition. It became the foundation experience of our work. Todd, our guide, shared a simple, but profound wisdom of outdoor adventure. We talked about climbing, dealing with physical challenges—both of the terrain and of our own making—and the philosophy of being connected to the beauty of the mountains.
Banff National Park, Alberta, CanadaWe learned so much about ourselves, our bodies, and our willingness to take risks. The climb continues to serve as a metaphor for our work. The journey never ends, each time we take on an adventure, no matter how similar it seems, it is always different, because we are different when we tackle it.
Our goal is to continue climbing, and to visit as many of the remaining glaciers as we can before our bones get too weary and the glaciers melt away. New stories will continue to unfold as we find new glaciers to climb, clear mountain water to taste, and blue skies to ponder.
