Memoirs Of A Mountain High :: essays research papers

It was the summer of 94when I took a Wilderness Leadership Semester from theColorado Outward Bound School . Needless to consecrate that itwas the most emotional, challenging, and rewardingexperience that I countenance had in all of my 19 ears of existence.One week spent running the Upper Green River inwesternColorado and northern Utah. Through The Gatesof the Ladour Canyon and Dinosaur National Monument,we floated to end where the Green meets the ColoradoRiver just beyond Echo Canyon. The high desert canyonsechoed with rapids ovarious classes Hells Half cc andDisaster Falls were the most memorable. Upon completionwe headed to climbing camp in Wyoming at a place calledVedauwoo (va-da-vu).Two weeks of vigorous climbingthese granite towers left many scars some(prenominal) physically andemotionally for this rock was indeed as sharp as knives.Somehow no matter hard climbed even if successful, thisrock always imagemed to have the last say. By this time amonth had passed and I was ver y grateful to have that oneshower on the way to the Gore get down in Colorado. Thissection of the course was by far the most demanding, themountaineering section. Stepping off the bus in Frisco,Colorado we looked back knowing that we were not tosee civilization for at least a month. There were 8 men andwomen in my group from all over the country. Each onehad a grotesque personality not knowing that we would allbecome closer to each other than family, possibly beingdependent during life threatening situations which weexperienced on many occasions. This in itself could beanother long story. By the end of this section we wererequired to do what they call a solo. In addition to proportion upfor the 15 mile marathon and finals, (a week of travel) thiswas also used for reflecting on our experiences. The solowas for three days. During these three days we were all tobe illogical about a quarter to half mile apart, alone. Allof our flashlights, candles, and watches were injectn awayalon g with any books which were left at base camp. All wewere allowed to take was our clothes, a tarp(not a tent)which wasnt but 5ft by 2ft, a water bottle, a pencil, paper,and our iodine to purify the water.I also want to note thatwe had the choice to fast or take a survival pack whichconsisted of a few crackers and raisins. I wanted the fullexperience so I chose to fast. This was a set off in itself, nofood for three days. My spot on this solo was at around