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Turning Points

• June 2011
• Hi Steph Simple Living Climb Training Travel

Hi Steph,
I have just found your blog recently and absolutely love and draw all kinds of inspiration from the varied and diverse posts you have. From climbing tips, recipes, home gym installations, injuries, to good old genuine life advice. Whenever I read you posts or responses I feel as if I’m amongst friends, so first and foremost thank you for that.

I’m writing to you because I feel as though I am at a big turning point in my life. I’m 29, I’m a college graduate, a grad student (who refuses to graduate!), a huge outdoor enthusiast, and completely stuck in a job that I hate. For some reason or another I got sucked into this world of oatmeal colored cubicle walls, office chatter, computer screens, horrid lighting, and mostly un-pleasant, un-inspirational, and un-happy people. I’ve been here for just over a year working on and off full-time and part-time. I know what you’re thinking, ‘A year?! It can’t be that bad…’, and indeed it isn’t terrible. I could be in a much worse situation job-wise. I guess I was lulled into complacency by the money and the benefits. However, lately, I find myself applying for jobs that are way below what I get paid now, have no benefits, but offer me a taste of getting paid to be outside and surrounded by people who share the same kind of enthusiasm I do for the outdoors and the subsequent outdoor activities that take place there.

I’ve been a climber (mostly sport and bouldering) for the last 5 years. I’ve been climbing outside for the last 4 and for the majority of those four years I was just that, a climber. The last year or so I have been absolutely drawn to other outdoor sports. I started snowboarding this year (and loved it!), hiking and camping in the backcountry, sea kayaking, and have been drawn like a magnet to get into and learn mountaineering techniques. I am absolutely enthralled with wanting to become a certified wilderness emergency medical technician. I would love nothing more than to be paid to guide, provide medical aid to people in the backcountry, and just BE outside all the time in all kinds of environments in all kinds of weather conditions. I want to learn all sorts of techniques that would allow me to feel comfortable in any of these kinds of environments and situations and be able to embrace the kinds of adventures I want to fill my life with.

Sounds good right? What is the problem you ask? I have no clue about how to go about doing this. I will be taking the WFR (wilderness first responder) course this summer, and have looked into alpine courses offered here in the PNW. But I feel grossly un-qualified to apply to even the most measly grunt jobs offered in the outdoor industry. It also seems like a lot of those jobs are given to younger guys and gals who have either been working in summer camps since they were 16 or had a hand in the outdoor world for as long as they can remember.

Climbing has not just opened me up to different ways of enjoying the outdoors, but it has instilled in me a new sense of ‘being’. A different mid state that grows and changes every time I engage in a new way of ‘being’ outside. I know, my thought process and writing about this subject can become slightly ethereal , or even spiritual, but I’m trying to convey that I’m not into these things for the look or the trendiness, or even the bad ass adrenaline rush you can get. There is something truly pulling me towards this lifestyle.
My intuition tells me to just do it, go for any job that comes along just to get some base line experience, but is that wise? It is so goddamn scary to think about leaving this ‘safe haven’ I have entombed myself in to enter the relatively ‘unknown’ world of the outdoor ‘industry’(a nasty attachment to something quite beautiful if not treacherous and majestic in and of itself).

I guess what it really boils down to is a lack of confidence in myself and my abilities. I also have this weird hang up about being too ‘old’ to start now, or there being some weird timeline that I was supposed to follow and have missed out on completely. What I do know is this: every day, hour, minute, second more that I spend behind these walls in this oppressive, drab, and angular office building I feel is a waste of very precious time and a detriment to what I should be filling my life with.

I apologize for the emotional roller coaster I seem to be on and wanting to wave other people to come over and watch as I spin and twirl and grow green in the face. What I would love some feedback on is whether or not you think this is an obtainable goal? Have you ever been faced with a life changing kind of decision that stemmed from some realization in your life that ultimately was about waking up to this moment, this second? Well, the momentum really dies down and melts away when I realize that rent is due, I haven’t paid my internet bill yet, and all of these course, certifications, and classes are really expensive. In any event, input or not, I really appreciate the chance to share (probably too much) and see this written on paper. Maybe that in itself is a good start.
Thanks Steph.
-Micah
Olympia, Washington

Dear Micah,
Thanks for writing to me. Your questions are so relevant and universal to everyone who gets caught in those choices and worries! I had a lot of similar conversations with my friend Brady Robinson many years ago. We went on an expedition together with Jimmy Chin and Dave Anderson to the Kondus Valley in Pakistan, in 2000. We traveled in jeeps from Islamabad to the Kondus, and then we climbed big wall style, so we had lots of time on bumpy roads and in portaledges to ponder life and discuss things.

Even then, Brady was always very thoughtful about life choices and the balance between adventure and career. He used to be living in his truck and climbing all the time while he did many different jobs in the outdoor industry, and now he is married with a lovely little girl (Tessa), and works as the Executive Director of the Access Fund–climbing the rest of the time. He also has a very nice cat.

I consider Brady a role model for figuring out how to have it all with the balance in his life, and contributing a lot to the community as well. (His facebook status update today was: “Got up early to climb the Naked Edge before work this morning, Feels good!”)
So I asked him if he might want to give you some insights.
Thanks Brady!!
🙂 Steph

Micah,
I’m honored to make a guest appearance here on Steph’s blog. She asked me to share a few thoughts on your letter.

I’m 38 and am currently the Executive Director of the Access Fund, the organization that keeps climbing areas open and conserves the climbing environment. Before that I worked at Outward Bound for over a decade, spent some time guiding, working for NOLS, Nicros and a few summers at a boy’s camp. I’ve seen a lot of people come and go in the outdoor education world over the years, so it is from this basis that I offer my thoughts.

But first a bit of more fundamental advice: you need to take a risk. If you are unhappy, then change something. You’re still young and relatively unencumbered – it is only going to get harder! There are consequences to all of our decisions, including the decision to do nothing. Make a move. Even if it doesn’t turn out as you hope, it will be an essential step towards who you are to become.

When I was hiring or managing those who were hiring at Outward Bound, I always valued “life experience”. That basically meant people who weren’t fresh out of college, who had struggled some, perhaps dealt with discontent and were looking for meaning in their lives. I looked for people who had the spark of passion, believed in human potential, had some sort of teaching experience (however humble) and were compassionate. That last part is very important. I valued those who had some education in the outdoors (more value on those who came from experiential programs, less on those who had traditional BAs in outdoor ed), but I was also looking for evidence of a go-for-it, I’m just going to teach myself sort of attitude. People who can teach themselves things while remaining aware of their own limitations, who aren’t always waiting for someone to show them what to do usually have the best judgment in the field. The flip side of that is I would never hire anyone who exhibited signs of arrogance. The line between well founded self-confidence and arrogance can sometime be fine, but it is often the line that separates those who have accidents from those who do not. At least that was my personal bias. I just might have been looking for someone like you, who knows. But don’t defeat yourself before you start.

I was also looking for people who were interested in serving others. It is important to remember that outdoor education and medicine are fundamentally about serving other people, which often means putting their needs before your own, maybe for days, weeks or even months at a time. People who are primarily looking to fill a hole in themselves or feed their egos through the outdoors make crummy employees. People who are confident in who they are but are unhappy with their current situation, who want to take action to better themselves and serve others in the process – that’s more like it.

I would recommend thinking about the sorts of jobs you are looking for. What would be your dream job? OK, now what sorts of qualifications would it require to get that job? Which qualifications do you have, which do you lack? Now make a plan. Maybe you should take a NOLS course. They have excellent educator courses, and while they aren’t cheap, they do offer scholarships. Having a good personal background of outdoor adventures, a NOLS educator course and some formal wilderness medical training (such as a WFR or WEMT) will put you in a great position to get hired as an instructor. Maybe you want to become a backcountry ranger? Volunteering is always a great way to gain experience and get your foot in the door too. The plan is less important than the action.

I could NEVER have predicted how my career would unfold, but in hindsight I can see how so many decisions I made and risks I took are essential to who I am. For years I lived out of my truck and people’s couches, program basecamps and the occasional girlfriend’s apartment. For a while I was making six figures, when you count the digits on both sides of the decimal point. I always kept my truck and my health insured. Those were my two fixed costs. And I admittedly had the safety net of my middle class family back in Minnesota. But the point is, you don’t need nearly as much as you think you do. Steph and I have a friend who only owns 15 things (not including his bank account, mind you). Now I happily have a family, a mortgage, a (mostly) desk job and the like, but I wouldn’t trade my more austere days for anything.

Make a move, Micah. You can’t know what will happen if you go for it, whatever it is, but you’re certain of the outcome if you don’t. When you realize that fear and discomfort are often the precursors to the best things in life, you start to seek them out in good ways. Go for it!

Best,
Brady Robinson
Executive Director | The Access Fund