#98 Rock climb. Done and done.

Climber: JR Lindsey Photographer: Kelley Lindsey

Years of attending BANFF Film Festival has hooked me on watching the adrenaline packed and motivating edits of rock climbing. However, until about a month ago, the recourses to engage in my own rock climbing adventure were not available. The time came. Were the nerves a little out of control? You bet. Was the stoke level sky high? Definitely.

Approaching the first climb up American Fork Canyon, Josh explained it was a 5.5 climb, which, as he and Christy put it, is like climbing a ladder. After flying up the rock, we graduated and moved on to the a 5.7 climb. Gaining confidence and comfort, each of us cruised up about half way, where it started to get tricky, only slowing us down momentarily. It was challenging, and challenges shoot adrenaline through you, which releases endorphins. In other words, I was pumped! It is an incredible feeling, being able to see how far you can push yourself in different and new ways.

Following the 5.7 climb, the hype getting more intense, we pushed on to a 5.9 climb. Approaching the backside of the rock wall, opinions were voiced of how short the climb looked compared to the others. Coming around the to the front, it was clearer as to why it was rated a 5.9 climb. There was a crack. Was that what we were supposed to climb? I had never done anything remotely close to this before. After watching Josh lead the climb, going the hardest route possible, a new surge of adrenaline was pumping through my veins.

Kelley, K, and Christy all mastered the climb in no time, repelling with a permanent cheesy grins on their faces. My turn. The second after starting the climb, I knew undoubtedly this was going to be my favorite. Climbing the crack was an astonishingly strange feeling, and I soaked every second of it up. There were some stumbles, which only made the stoke level even higher, and my addiction to this sport even stronger. The day ended, smiles never fading as we hiked back down while discussing what we had accomplished.

Though rock climbing is now crossed off the list, it will definitely not be the last time I indulge in the sport. There is something about pushing our bodies in unfamiliar ways and to higher levels, that keeps us coming back, time and time again, for more. The feeling is dangerously addicting.

Written By JR Lindsey

#11 Feed the Homeless, Complete.

Piggy banks are meant for kids right? I am currently twenty-one years young and I proudly own one. However, it is shaped like a soccer ball, not like a big, round, baby pink pig. For the past several years I have been placing any spare change I have into it, merely as a place to get coins out of the way. I did not think there would come a day where it might make someone’s day, in turn, enriching mine.

Today, thursday June 10, started like any other regular summer day. Not having to work untill 11 p.m., I was able to spend time with a new, incredible friend, Peter. My stokage level was refreshed and climbing. As we were trying to figure out what to do for the day, he choose the random number of 11. Looking it up on my list I saw “Feed the Homeless”. That is when the epiphany came, my piggy bank.

The amount of money on the screen of the change-counter at Harmon was shocking. $83.45. I was in awe that I had collected over eighty dollars worth of change over the years, only hoping for twenty-fine, if that. The choice was before me, would I really give all that money to the homeless? Would you?

Walking to the crossroads at Gateway Mall in SLC, UT, where I knew there would be several homeless people, I pulled out my wallet. Inside was a $50, a $20, and a $10. Looking up I saw two guys on opposite corners with “help” signs. Flipping a coin, we chose to give one a $50, and the other the $20.

While approaching the one to my right, I took in his appearance. Younger, tan, rugged and worn clothes, yet full of life. He was strumming an unrecognizable tune on the guitar, with a bag next to him littered with coins and a few one dollar bills. I held out the fifty dollar bill, “You may want to hold onto this one”. After taking the bill in his hands and turning it over in his fingers as if making sure it was real, a smile lit up his face and reached his crystal blue eyes. Thanking me several times, he then told me that I was the first person to ever give him a fifty dollar bill. The things he said in response to my act, made every penny worth it. His radiating smile was infectious. We introduced ourselves, then Peter took a picture of Ronny and I together.

The other gentleman was a Veteran in a wheelchair. He was shy on approach and after placing the twenty dollar bill in his weathered, experienced hands, he thanked me. Though he was not as actively enthused as Ronny, I could feel the gratitude from the look in his eyes.

Most people in our day walk right past those people with dirty clothes and signs on our streets. Some judge them, scoff at them. Why? They are people with feelings just like anyone else. You do not know there story, but I dare you to find out. Thank you Ronny and the Veteran for being there that day, thank you for effecting my life.

103 Adventures to Live

A month or so ago, I was sitting at work, with my mind going at one-hundred miles an hour. What was I thinking about? Life. Everything. That is when I decided I was not very happy with the way I had been living. Yes, there have undoubtedly been beyond incredible experiences. However, when reflecting back on the whole picture my life had painted so far, it was nothing but a blur of dull colors, with highlighted spots here and there. I want my life picture to be elaborate and full of creativity, adventure, and euphoria. This is where the 103 Adventures to Live comes into play. I decided to make a list of 103 things I absolutely have to do before I die, preferably sooner than later. Over the past month I finalized my list, and now I can start living it. I will not be planning these events out, except for the ones that require it such as traveling over seas. Hopefully I will be able to record pictures or video from each, to make it even more real for those who may read this and think it is impossible. Life is short, go live it. Keep in mind, these are in no order or importance, just what came to my mind.

103 Adventures to Live:

1. Learn a language

2. Do a 540 off a cliff (skiing)

3. Do a dub 9 into a foam pit

4. Get certified in cpr (again)

5. Hang out with Sammy Carlson

6. Write for a ski magazine

7. Sleep at a golf course

8. Live on the streets for at least 1 day/1 night

9. Compete in big mountain comp (skiing)

10. Compete in rail jam (skiing)

11. Feed the homeless

12. Blow bubbles on a populated street

13. Save a life

14. Be funny

15. Start a successful clothing line

16. Tag a train

17. Write a song

18. Write a book

19. Graduate college

20. Backpack europe

21. Become ambidextrous

22. Borrow a street sign to decorate my room

23. Go jogging in swimsuits

24. Do a back tuck successfully

25. Donate blood

26. Help someone spiritually

27. Have a massive food fight

28. Change a life

29. Inspire someone

30. Learn to breakdance

31. Take an art class

32. Heli-ski

33. Ski all continents

34. Go to yankees game

35. Make a ski edit

36. Attend summer ski camp

37. Paint something meaningful

38. Have a fight night (fight club style)

39. Ski Mt. Hood

40. Invent something

41. Teach

42. Take a gymnastics class

43. Get a tattoo (permanent or temp.)

44. Start a dance in public place

45. Bull ride

46. Destroy a TV

47. Help build a house

48. Approach a stranger and kiss him

49. Road trip the USA

50. Give a stranger a $100 bill

51. Scream at the top of my lungs

52. Send a message in a bottle

53. Get a chairlift named after me

54. Pay for someone’s groceries

55. Sleep in haunted house

56. Take a stranger to dinner

57. Spend a day in silence

58. Throw a surprise party

59. Make music video

60. Go dog sledding

61. Have a sacrificial bonfire to the snow lords (burn skis/snowboards)

62. Fall in love

63. Win an award at a ski comp

64. Street preform and make $100

65. Compete in Triathlon

66. Experience zero gravity

67. Go on a dirt biking trip

68. Party with a rockstar

69. Ski all resorts in UT

70. Learn to weld

71. Design ski’s for a ski company

72. Take cooking class

73. Make a marble booby trap

74. Live in an ice cave for a week

75. Prove doubters wrong

76. Road trip the Pacific Coast Highway

77. Ride an elephant

78. Do a Grand Canyon river run trip

79. Learn to skate (skateboard)

80. Learn to BMX

81. Take a trip to Bend, OR

82. Hike Timpanogous Mtn, UT

83. Land a backflip wakeboarding

84. Go to a haunted castle in Europe

85. Walk the Great Wall of China

86. Paraglide/skydive

87. Go paintballing

88. Do a glow in the dark mission

89. Swim to get golf balls at a course

90. Build a quarter pipe (skateboard)

91. Race through Sand dunes on dune buggy

92. Take guitar lessons

93. Build a fort and play video games all day

94. Play miniature golf in public (set up own course)

95. Sew a hoodie

96. Make someone happy

97. Kayak

98. Rockclimb

99. Scubadive

100. Go to a Chicago Blackhawks playoff game (NHL)

101. Do the PC Water Ramps (park city, ut)

102. Ride a bullet bike

103. Do parkour (well)

There is the list. Look for future posts of my 103 Adventures to Live to see how this changes my life, as I know it will.

Cheers.