Kevo
Active member
Probably the biggest one I've had since choosing what college to go to. Here it is-
I have the opportunity to go to a remote area in Patagonia for a month this December/January for a mountaineering expedition with some climbing partners. We'd be attempting some first ascents (climbing unclimbed peaks). My good friend (also one of the climbing partners) has land down there that we would be staying on for a sort of staging pre-basecamp area. Besides just the attempts on first ascents, we would be kayak touring, running some whitewater, and also hanging out at the base camp of another team of climbers who are attempting a big wall first ascent. This is the kind of opportunity that most climbers dream of.
This trip comes at a cost though-
-Not being able to visit my family for Christmas. I only see my parents maybe twice a year as it is, and this would be the first christmas I've ever spent away from them. I'd also not get to see my older brother, who I also only see a few times a year.
And
-I would need to get a job for at least the first semester of this school year. I get fridays off, which I normally use for skiing, but I might need to spend my weekends working in order to have enough money to get through second semester after this trip.
And
- I would be missing out on a ton of skiing. Another climbing partner and I have talked about devoting that month to skiing 14ers, similar to Chris Davenports "ski the 14ers" mission.
I guess I am just at a strange time in my life and in my climbing/outdoor career where I have to chose whether or not to make huge sacrifices to feed my passion. This came earlier in life than I expected.
So what do you think? Should I go for it and make the sacrifices required to go on the trip or should I just wait until I'm a little older?
I have the opportunity to go to a remote area in Patagonia for a month this December/January for a mountaineering expedition with some climbing partners. We'd be attempting some first ascents (climbing unclimbed peaks). My good friend (also one of the climbing partners) has land down there that we would be staying on for a sort of staging pre-basecamp area. Besides just the attempts on first ascents, we would be kayak touring, running some whitewater, and also hanging out at the base camp of another team of climbers who are attempting a big wall first ascent. This is the kind of opportunity that most climbers dream of.
This trip comes at a cost though-
-Not being able to visit my family for Christmas. I only see my parents maybe twice a year as it is, and this would be the first christmas I've ever spent away from them. I'd also not get to see my older brother, who I also only see a few times a year.
And
-I would need to get a job for at least the first semester of this school year. I get fridays off, which I normally use for skiing, but I might need to spend my weekends working in order to have enough money to get through second semester after this trip.
And
- I would be missing out on a ton of skiing. Another climbing partner and I have talked about devoting that month to skiing 14ers, similar to Chris Davenports "ski the 14ers" mission.
I guess I am just at a strange time in my life and in my climbing/outdoor career where I have to chose whether or not to make huge sacrifices to feed my passion. This came earlier in life than I expected.
So what do you think? Should I go for it and make the sacrifices required to go on the trip or should I just wait until I'm a little older?
