Ain't no thang

Come one, come all,

The time is upon me to update this old thing and I have some very interesting things to tell. Let me fill you in on where I have been since I last wrote. I signed on with the NCC (as staff and not an AmeriCorps member) until the middle of Nov. I have had two 8 day tours so far. One was spraying weeds near Elko, NV and the other was a chainsaw tour near Susanville, CA. This first picture is what I woke up to one morning in Elko. This other picture is what I went to sleep to one night in Elko. It isnt listed as such but I think moments like this ought to be listed in the job benefits for the NCC.

This is just a cool picture I thought (right). I didn't edit the colors or anything, that is literally just how it looked. And this picture (below) is of the Columbia river (I think). This is the river that divides OR and WA. I was blown away by this view. Portland is amazing. If you haven't been there you should make sure to get there.

So there is a brief description of what I have been up to but now let me tell you about the things to come for me. So basically the next couple of months look like this for me... I am doing one more 8 day tour for the NCC in Idaho (which is kinda exciting cause I haven't really been to Idaho). Then I have about a week of rest and relaxation. Then comes the exciting part. I am going to be taking a class for a week to get certified to do something called rope access work. This picture of the wind turbine is the type of work that this certification would allow me to do. With my experience in rock climbing, I already have a pretty good understanding of most of these concepts. But once I get a certification I have the potential to get a job doing something like washing windows on skyscrapers, or maintenance on wind turbines, or bridge/dam inspection. Pretty much anything that requires you to be high off the ground is what I could do. Naturally you could see why this might be a perfect fit for me.

After my class I am going to be heading back down to Vegas for a few days to climb in Red Rock Canyon and see some old friends. Then I will fly home for a few weeks for Thanksgiving. I will fly back to Vegas (to do a bit more climbing) and then comes another adventure. So starting Dec. 11 I will be working at a ski hill called Crested Butte, CO. I am going to be a lift operator, so nothing too technical, but still fun. I have a house lined up to live in with 6 other people (from all around the world). And guess what... Crested Butte is nestled in some of Colorados finest climbing. You know what that means... when the snowboarding season ends, the climbing season begins. Damn, it aint easy living the life I do, but someones gotta do it.

Anywho, that about catches ya up on the goings on in my life. I imagine the next time I post a blog it will be around Thanksgiving when I am back at home and done with my class. I hope life is smiling upon you all as it does on me.

Truly, madly, deeply,

Dan

Count Your Blessings

Hello, hello, hello,

It has been quite a while, so I thought I might keep ya up to date, should you be so interested. I am technically done with my AmeriCorps term for the NCC. I thought my sawyer days were behind me, but it seems I was mistaken. At the point in time it is looking like I will be working and living out here until the middle of November. Here is a picture of my last week of work. It wasnt the greatest tour but it still beats working inside. That lake is called Eagle Lake.






Here is just a neat picture I liked. The trees are watching you.















What a surprise... climbing. This here is a picture of Lovers Leap (one of the coolest places I have ever climbed). This route is called Bears Reach. It took about an hour and a half to climb. It is about 400' tall. If you want to see a wildman climb it in 4 minutes go to youtube and check out "Dan Osman speed climbing". It is pretty impressive, even if you arent a climber.












This was a place I went climbing around Lake Tahoe called Eagle Creek (not to be confused with Eagle lake, where I was working). Just another alpine lake all to myself to play on.












After my last week of work I had a very good friend of mine come out to visit. We ended up taking a climbing trip, which turned out to be the climb of a lifetime. Here again is Lovers Leap. You can see that it is beautiful in its own right, but you cant even imagine how this looks to a climber. I know I have an addiction, but I just cant quit the rock.







After the Leap we headed to Yosemite. We climbed one of the most classic moderate climbs perhaps in the world, if not just North America. The climb is called Cathedral Peak. John Muir climbed in around 1869 and said that it was the first time that he had been to church in California. I know exactly what he meant. We got there early and had the route to ourselves. We had splitter blue skies and beautiful fall weather. It had been snowing and blowing pretty hard the day before, so we got pretty lucky. This picture to the right is not from Yosemite. It is from climbing around San Fransisco. This is on Mt. Tam. It might be hard to see, but there is thick fog rolling into the bay. One of the most beautiful places I have climbed.


Here is another place we climbed around San Fran. This place is called Mickeys Beach. The climbing wasnt much to write home about, but the climbing was literally right over the ocean. It was so amazing, and again we had great weather.

So that is about all for now. I will probably be in Reno until the middle of Nov. and then I am hoping to be working at a ski hill in Colorado. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I hope life is well for you all.












Remember me this way.

Love in abundance,
Dan the man Van Janssen

Where does the time go?

Ello, ello, ello,

Time again for another one of these. Seems like it has been a bit, so let me catch you up. Summer time is drawing to an end, or so it seems. I have one last tour with my crew and then they all go back to school. My time with the NCC is also dwindling. I am in the process of figuring out what to do with myself next and have some promising leads. I'll keep you posted. Anywho, I was recently home for my sisters marriage. You'll have to wait til next time to see photos from it, but it was an awfully good time. It is always so nice to go home and see family.








These first bunch of photos are from my buddy Carl's cabin. It was truly the classic american cabin experience. Shootin' guns, drinkin' beer, and riding. 'Twas my first time on a dirt bike, but I had a blast. Went over the handles bars once, but did it with relative style. This picture here (if you look close) is my buddy and I hanging from our feet on a bridge. It was a liberating feeling





This here is the paw print of a big ol' bear we spooked up while we were riding. We were going up this old logging road and this bear (which must have weighed in at over 500 lbs.) takes off running. I have never seen a bear run before, but it is pretty impressive.








This is a picture of the Sierra Buttes. Some of the most impressive peaks that I have seen in the Sierra's and this was pretty much the view from my buddy's grandparent's cabin. It was the most beautiful, hand built cabin that I have ever seen.









This is an area we were camped at for a week of work. Beautiful as this picture might be, dont be deceived. This area was hell to camp in. There were no trees or shade, relentless sun, and a wide variety of bugs that bit at all times of the day. It made for a long week, but I still wouldn't trade it for an office job.







I finally made another pilgrimage to mecca. I have been to Yosemite a handful of times, but this was my first time climbing there. Oh, goodness gracious. I went with my friends Greg and Angela. We spent three days there and got really lucky with some camping sites. This is a picture of Yosemite falls. It is the fifth largest waterfall in the world (I think). Down in the lower left corner you can see a smaller waterfall that is called lower Yosemite falls.





I did get to do a bit of climbing. Greg and I did this classic easy crack. We didnt do anything too epic, but I shall return to Yosemite many more times in my life. We went out one day with intentions of doing this mega-classic climb but ended up getting lost on the approach. The day wasn't a total loss. We were still in the middle of back country Yosemite with no one else around. Just another alpine lake all to myself.

Well, thats about all for now, folks. Next time I post one of these bad boys up, I will make sure to have some photos of the wedding, and hopefully some good news about my job situation. Til then...

Relentlessly,

Dan

The freedom of the hills

Howdy pals and gals,

Time again for another blog entry. Where to begin... Well I am currently leading a chainsaw crew for the summer. We will be working mostly in eastern NV on an 8 day work schedule. That leaves me with 6 day vacations... how am I ever going to fill up my time?

This first picture here is from a climbing trip I took to south lake Tahoe. This area is called sugarloaf and that is the desolation wilderness behind me. Ironically the desolation wilderness is one of the most used wilderness areas in the united states.






This here picture is from Bishop, CA. These rocks are some of the most famous boulders in american climbing. These are called the buttermilks, and you can see the setting is amazing. My friend brad and I went to bishop for a few days and did as much climbing as we could. We also hit up the most beautiful hot spring that I have ever been to.








In the background of this photo is Mt. Whittney. This is the highest peak in the lower 48. The day we were climbing here was freezing and winds gusting at about 50 mph. I climbed this one route, snapped this photo and we were done climbing. The unpleasant climb was worth this awesome photo. As usual these photos can hardly do it justice... those peaks in the background are over 14000 ft tall. I am hoping to make it back out there in better weather and climb a big route going up Mt. Whittney.








Suprise, suprise, another climbing trip. This time to a place called Echo Lake. This is another alpine lake in the sierras that had just gotten a bunch of snow. My friend and I had other plans for climbing that weekend, but weather lead us to this spot. The climbing wasnt all that great but with the fresh snow was limited access. We hiked in about two miles on this pleasantly warm day and had the entire lake to ourselves. The lake was still frozen and the mountains that surrounded us were covered in snow. We hiked the PCT trail to get to our climb.



This is us coming down from the climb. The climbing may not have been that great but the adventure in itself was amazing. When was the last time you had an alpine lake to yourself? Sorry dont mean to rub it in.... yes I do. I am loving life and not ashamed to it.






I just had a berfday and turned 23, but spent it working sadly. My most recent work trip brought me to a new part of NV and I was so excited to go. We were doing chainsaw work in the Ruby mountains in eastern NV. This is a mountain lion print that i found on the ridge just above our camp... you ever get that feeling that something is watching you?






Here is a picture of what i look at while i work.
We were cutting down small trees to promote the growth of bushes that sustain the huge mule deer population. There are over 25,000 mule deer in this park so they do everything they can to accomodate such an enormous amount.




These are the Ruby mountains. This is the wettest part of NV. This is where the great basin is, and it is so great. I wish that you guys could experiance these places the way that I do.

So that about catches ya up. I am hoping to go to yosemite on the next days off for some climbing. In case you dont know, yosemite is mecca for climbers in the usa. Anywho, until next time gang....











Yo ho, yo hum, my life for me.

The changing of the seasons

Greetings friends,

So much to talk about, so little time. Well first off, I have moved out of Las Vegas (thank god) and am currently residing in Reno. It has been a drastic change, but a good one. This first group of photos is from my last few weeks in Vegas. Surprise, surprise... climbing photos. This first one is from when some old friends of mine came out from the Balck Hills for a week in Red Rock Canyon. It was really a chance encounter. I had no idea they were in the area and luckily we were able to swing a great day of climbing. Sometimes a familiar face is good medicine.


These next two pictures are of an adventure of a lifetime. I knew the climbing would never be quite so opportune as they were in Vegas, so I had to get it while the gettin was good. So Bradley and I had been planning this big climb. It was a 1700' climb. There was a big ledge about halfway up and we intended to sleep on it over night and finish the climb in the morning. It is a very big climb (the biggest one I have done so far) but pretty easy climbing. It is called Solar Slab and is a pretty renown moderate climb worldwide.

This picture here is from where we camped. We climbing about half the route one day and played around on a few smaller climbs. This is me having a celebration smoke with a view I wont ever forget.





When you go out climbing for the day, it is nice because its only for the day. You can get coffee in the morning, have a good day of climbing and get a beer when it is all done. When you are on the rock with someone for an extended time it can be trying. While on a bigger trip like this one, you see people in moments of fear, frustration, and ecstacy. So despite any minor setbacks in our climb, we came and we conquered. This is Brad and I grinning like idiots and saying goodbye to lady Red Rock (for now). The climb we did is in the back round on the big flat looking face to our right.


This was a cool photo I took on my last tour around lake mead. Nothing too exciting about it, I just liked the pattern the sand had made.



Here are a few other things the desert harbors that the average bear might not ever see. This is a blooming beaver tail cactus. While we were working around lake mead, tons and tons of wild flowers were blooming. They may look beautiful, but they have these tiny little hairs that can blow around in the wind and they are mean little bastards.







This hear is a snake of some variety. We were hiking to the work site and I damn near kicked this guy in the head. I walked right over him, but he seemed too sluggish to care. It had some beautiful color on it though.




Well, that sums up the end of my Vegas experiance. Allow me to show the contrast of a new place. I am currently living with 3 roommates, all of which happen to be on my crew. We have a nice little apartment right off of the Trukee river and a cool bike path. It is pretty cold here yet. This is a picture of me drinking a bottle of cheap wine on top of Chikidee ridge. Some friends and I snowshoed up to the top and had lunch. What you may not quite be able to see is Lake Tahoe behind me. It was an amazing view. It was pretty cool too because the chikidee's were so friendly up there that they would eat peanuts right out of your hand. I got a promotion, so when the summer crews come out I will be a crew leader. I am pretty excited about where I am at. There is tons of climbing to be had out here (much of which I am sure will be posted in the future on this blog). So that about does it. I am digging what I do in both work and play. I hope that you too, reader, find joy in this strange journey called life. Until next time...

Peace, love, and understanding,

Saint Daniel William Janssen the First and Last

Living the dream

Greetings earthlings,

Been a fair while since I put up a blog, so it seems I am overdue.

March will be my last month spent in Vegas. I wont miss the town any, but I will miss the climbing and beautiful parks. This first picture is from a day trip spent in the Valley of Fire. This is a really cool park near Lake Mead.






Here is me (and my new haircut) on top of a climb in Red Rock Canyon. This climb is called Olive Oil. My friend and I have been going out as much as possible to get as much time in on the rock as we can before the move. If I have a true addiction, its rock.










This here is just one of so many amazing views I get while I am eating lunch. What do you get to look at? This is in a place called Christmas tree pass. Each week is a new place and a new adventure. We just returned from an 8 day tour out in Death Valley. We were out in the middle of nowhere... about 50 miles away from anyone in any direction. The view was amazing from our camp and the weather was awesome. The only downside was the biting flies... tons of 'em. We were using chainsaws to remove an invasive species in the park



This here was an AWESOME climb. This one is called Tunnel Vision and this picture here is why. Up above is about 100 feet of cave climbing that shoots you out onto the rest of the route. The climbing was pretty easy here, but it was unlike any climb I have ever done before.







And finally this here is just another one of my badass lunchtime views. This is just some place south of Las Vegas. I think on this work tour we were picking up trash. Some tours the work is awesome, others arent that great, but I still love the new adventure that each week brings.



So I probably wont post anything until after the move, but I would guess that I will have some awesome pictures. I hope to all those reading this that life is well and you are having as much fun as I am. Keep reaching for more!

Danjerous

Greetings and a Merry new year to all,

It has been a while since I have put up a new blog because I didnt have a camera to call my own. These are all photos by friends on trips I have been. These first three photos are all from my Thanksgiving trip to Joshua tree. We had beautiful weather and a big crew. The second photo is of most of the people who were there with me, and it just so happens all of them are my roommates (there are a few missing from the photo). Yeah... I have seven roommates. We were fortunate enough though to have some truly patriotic americans camping with us. We had ourselves a true thanksgiving dinner. Turkey cooked on an open fire, vege's, mashed pataters, and even some pumpkin pie. It was without a doubt one of the most delicious thanksgiving dinners that I have ever had.

















The rock climbing in Joshua tree is to die for. It is a mecca for climbers in the US. It was so warm at the end of November that I was climbing in just a pair of shorts. (Where's waldo? --->)


On my last tour before I came back to MN for x-mas, my crew and I were out in Death Valley. It is a beautiful place, and we had amazing weather. There were days where it was in the 70's and nights in the 50's. You could imagine my transition back to Minnesnowta was difficult. Death Valley was definately my favorite tour. We got to clean up the one, the only... Barker ranch. For those who might not know what Barker ranch is.... it was the hang out of your friend and mine, Charlie Manson and family. It was pretty surreal to be at that place. It had a strange feel to it, but what better album to listen to to calm the soul than the white album? We had to do some back country, four by four, high clearance type driving through this slot canyon to get to Barker ranch. It was an adventure I wont soon forget.




This here is a place called Potosi Camp. It was where we got our training when we first arrived in NV. Every work week is an adventure in a new place, just like the weekends. Jealous?









Praying not to fall. A cool photo from a climb in Red Rock Canyon.










This is also an older photo. This is at the top of a hike in Zion called Angels Landing. A steep hike on big cliffs.... well worth it. Taking a hearty lunch break of spam and chips.


That about catches ya up on the happenings in my world. I leave MN to go back to NV this sunday, so I am enjoying a little relaxing and solitude. I do have a new camera now, so hopefully I can get another post up sooner than later. I hope life is well for all those reading this. But until next time....

Truly, madly, deeply,

(Pirate) Dan