There’s not much more fulfilling than a job well done. I, however, believe that I have unlocked life’s secret. I, among others, could hand you the key but it’s up to you find your lock.
I stood atop AB Mountain this past weekend. A mountain that I had once fallen short on several weeks before. It felt good to regain my momentum and break my streak of missed summit attempts.
As I stood on top of Skagway’s mountain, I looked around at all the surrounding peaks. Some where covered with snow and glaciers and others were just rugged ole peaks. A sense of accomplishment filled me. It was, after all, a relatively strenuous hike with some fun scrambling becoming necessary at times.
It certainly rivaled a few of the 14ers I’ve climbed out in Colorado. If AB was at elevation, it would certainly be a more gnarly climb. But, even as it is, it’s still a solid climb and has become one of my favorite ones to date.
Standing atop it’s summit further convinced me of my life-long ambitions of climbing mountains. When I’m at the summit, I never want to leave. I want to stay in that moment forever. But, I know that part of what makes that moment so special is that it doesn’t last forever.
That’s what continue to drives me and further drives my hunger to be in the mountains as much as I possibly can. I am proud of joining the Arctic Brotherhood, regardless of what that means to anybody else. The history behind the mountain and my history with mountains provide all the history I need.
What really excites me is the feeling I get when I turn my sites to bigger and more challenging mountains. I can only imagine the sense of accomplishment I’ll feel as I look over the horizon, eye level with the clouds. Views I’ve only seen in movies up until this point in my life.
Those moments will be surreal and I’ll desperately try to capture and hold them as tightly as I can in my memory bank.
I’m not sure that I’ll ever be able to fully express how much these moments mean to me. Physically, it’s a great accomplishment. Though many have summited AB Mountain, there have many more that have not. Mentally, the mountains have always been metaphors but nowadays they are truly physical places I wish to venture too.
I feel as though my whole life has been preparing me for this next decade or two of life. Something that I could’ve never imagined my life evolving to, merely a couple of years ago. I’ve never been more certain of my future than I am right now.
I suppose I’ve looked for ‘home’ in many different places in my life, finding temporary homes in relationships, physical places, and physical deeds. But, I believe now that I have found my home. Not in the mountains but in the pursuit of those mountains.
I have fallen in love with the mere pursuit of these grandiose visions, the preparation that they require, and the years of pursuit that bring it all to fruition.
“It’s the journey that you remember the most;
I have fallen in love with that journey.”
Stay #Relentless my friends!
– Nick
