Quick update

Before I get started, we did in fact summit Quandary and it was amazing.

A lot has happened since I was here last. I mean, a lot in addition to summitting my first 14er. 

In fact... wow. Okay, seriously it's been nuts. Let's just do a list:

• July: summitted Quandary in Colorado
• August: 2 week river cruise with my mom up the Rhine--Switzerland, France, Germany, and the Netherlands
• August, part 2: started climbing. 
• September: interviewed for and landed an internship as a policy analyst with the Indiana Senate Democrats
• September, part 2: broke my ankle and almost re-broke my toe climbing
• October: became a CC--considering carnivore (the food lifestyle)

See, there's a reason I haven't been around.

Quandary was hard but not crazy. The last 1000ft were rough, both in terms of it being at the end of the summiting and because it was STEEEEEEEP. But truth, the descent is just awful. It's harder on your body, harder on your joints, you're already super tired from the ascent, and there's no longer any payoff for you other than I suppose the cheeseburger that you are living for at the base.

The river cruise deserves it's own post. I saw and did so much I have trouble thinking through it all. And so many pictures. Yes, I'll post all the pics with captions.

That's my mama! This was an amazing trip all because of her <3

After coming back from Europe I got it into my head that I wanted to try climbing. Legit due to seeing climbers in the Alps and thinking "Hey that looks cool, I could probably do that." I knew that Lucy has been chomping at the bit to try climbing and I'd been the one who was highly resistant, so when I broke I think it only took us a week to get to a climbing gym for the first time. The very first climb I did was absolutely terrifying. I made it to the top of the route on an auto-belay and could not possibly fathom just letting go and letting the belay let me down. I was literally shaking, almost crying. I finally just counted backward from 3 and let go and, sure enough, the belay worked as it was supposed to and I was perfectly safe. And from there on I was pretty hooked. We went at least once a week from then... until I  had an uncontrolled (and really awful) fall off the top of a 15' bouldering wall broke my ankle, because of course I did. 

Free foot pic.

I'm working on healing my ankle, which is going well. It's a minor fracture in a low weight-bearing part of the fibula, and stable (i.e., didn't need pins or other craziness). It's been 3 weeks, probably 2-3 weeks more before I'm fully up and out of my walking cast, but I'm no longer on crutches and generally not in pain. Reading Dave MacLeod's Make or Break: don't let climbing injuries dictate your success, partially to learn how to continue working and progressing in climbing while injured, but mostly to do some deep dives into avoiding future injuries through better technique, risk assessment, and posture. 

In December I will be leaving my position with IU Health and joining the Indiana Senate Democrats to finish a full-time internship for the Spring session to finish my MSW. I'll be doing policy analysis. Hopefully I'll be impressive enough to land a real paying job at the end of that, cause I will have to pay those student loans off.

At the end of December I will be heading to Hawaii for Christmas, and then to Denver/Breckenridge to go skiing, then I come back to Indiana, move to Indianapolis with my in-laws, and start my new position as a policy analyst at the statehouse. By May I should have my Masters in Social Work. Maybe someday I will even be able to get back out on trail?

So that's where I'm at. Told you I had a lot going on.

Things I'll have more to say about soon:

• Carnivore eating
• Climbing & healing
• Skiing
• Traveling