Pick up any publication pertaining to the sport of rock climbing, and chances are, you will see a smattering of descriptive chronicles highlighting the travels and adventures of the prolific scribe Abbey Smith. A climber and writer for over 10 years, Abbey travels extensively, financing her jet set lifestyle though her writing, allowing her more opportunities to pursue her love of adventure. Abbey has reported on a myriad of topics. From the exclusive hobby of vintage motor racing, to sassy, healthy-savvy posts on BeThree.com, to being on the editorial staff of the independent green publication elephant journal, a quarterly magazine devoted to living the "mindful life" through conscious consumerism, sustainability, eco-fashion and non new-aged spirituality.
Abbey's energy for writing is ravenous. When she speaks of it, her article ideas roll out of mouth in constant barrage without commas, periods, or other punctuation, but when placed in front of a computer, the word stream subsides into descriptive prose reminiscent of Joanne Harris. Dead Point Magazine is privileged to have her as a contributing blogger.
Do you ever feel like Bill Murray in the 1993 comedy Groundhog day, where he was forced to relive the same day over and over again? I do. Last month I disconnected from my program to participate in three separate photo shoots that took me out of the state -- and my comfort zone. Being in front of the camera brings back nightmares of embarrassment by an unruly hair day during elementary school pictures. I prefer to remain behind the scenes. During my four year stint at elephant journal, I orchestrated a 6-8 page ecofashion feature for each quarterly issue with my friend and photographer Caroline Treadway. We had strict eco guidelines and infinite location and model possibilities. At first it was a chaotic swam of our most sassy and photogenic friends, stylists from Urban Pearl, a box of samples, and overly complicated locations. Even though we were relatively inexperienced, the photos turned out and somehow the editor/publisher Waylon Lewis continued to publish my work as I explored my creative side for over 2.5 years. With a constantly evolving cast of characters and unexpected hazards, there was always a new lesson to be learned.
As climbers, we're fortunate have a lifestyle that takes us across physical, mental, and cultural borders and opens our eyes to the complexity world. Our experience on the rock within new surroundings enrich the palette of our imagination. The same creativity we use to envision a climbable line on a rock is often expressed by climbers in other art forms like sculpture, painting, climbing holds, fine carpentry, writing and photography. I spent the month of August collaborating with friends and talented photographers scrambling around Colorado's high alpine, trespassing to a dilapidated house on private property, and buildering on Seattle's grimmy city structures. With every photo shoot, I learned something new.
Before Caroline split for her last semester of grad school in DC and Colette McInerney on her European climbing vacation, we combined our creative juices for a quick and dirty photo shoot of Chad Greedy's homespun tee shirt designs dubbed Island Wear. Aside from being Boulder's gregarious greeter, Chad is also a visual artist unhindered by material or application. Like climbing, he manipulates any medium he can get his hands on from film to oil, acrylic, pen, pencil, collage, spray paint, and now new and used cotton tee shirts. Chad's edgy designs are influenced by his youth as a skateboarder in Oklahoma -- spray painted graffiti-style, sketches with Sharpie markers, and stencils made from leaves and other natural materials. As the antithesis to supermodels sitting on sexy cars, we experimented with an assorted blend of hipster, grunge, and hip hop edge in a decidedly downtown, grungy alley way, on the rooftops above the Pearl Street mall, and at a decaying two-story victorian home surrounded by a chain link fence with "No Trespassing" signs. We had two entertaining days of shooting with friends, didn't get arrested, satisfied our hunger for fashion, and captured a collection of images with a gritty Nylon-esque feel.
Lesson Learned: With too many cooks in the kitchen it's hard to get the right shot. But as the author of Winnie-the-Pooh Alan Alexander Milne once said, "One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries." It's important to be comfortable with chaos and impromptu changes when trying to harness creativity.
Earlier this summer, I joined Marmot's athlete team. Over the past year, Ace Kvale, Marmot's contract photographer for the last 15 years, has been collecting imagery of each athlete's lifestyle at their home crag, cafe and favorite hang. In mid-August, Ace traveled from Southern Utah to Boulder with his dog Genghis to capture images of Pete Takeda and I. Marmot sent two large boxes of brightly colored fall/winter outerwear, shells, base-layers and packs, as well as feather weight jackets for spring. Taking genuine photos of cold weather clothes during what's typically the hottest month of the year can be tricky. To truly expose Marmot's extensive line to the appropriate elements, Ace, Pete, Jason and I climbed above tree line at Area D at Mount Evans, where we encountered all four seasons in the span of eight hours. Luckily, with a dozen sample coats, I always had something to wear for the weather. Even though I was still nursing my injured ankle, Colorado was in its prime and climbing on the massive granite boulders in an open valley surrounded by towering walls -- absent of crowds -- is the crème de la crème.
Lesson Learned: I never knew it, but I tend to pucker my lips when someone takes my photo. Ace explained that people, mostly women, hide their tension in their mouth when reacting to the camera. With playful humor, sincere eye contact, and a relaxed attitude, Ace breaks down all barriers and establishes trust to get people to relax. By the end of the weekend, you don't even notice the is there.
Three days after the Marmot photo shoot, I traded my down jacket for jeans and sticky rubber sneakers and flew to Seattle with Jason and Pete for a Native Eyewear catalog shoot. When we boarded the plane landed we had no idea what to expect, and upon arrival were greeted by a 10 person production team, an old school RV, and a swanky room at the W Hotel. Native's marketing manager, tri-athlete and now climber, Jacqueline "Jax" Mariash invited their sponsored athletes Jeff Lenosky, a freerider and trials mountain biker, parkour traceur Ryan Ford, and Jason Kehl, Pete Takeda and I to represent rock climbing on an "urban expedition" through Seattle. Our mission was to interpret the urban terrain as we would in the natural environment to find the line that most inspires us. For Ryan, that meant efficiently overcoming a complex route of concrete pillars, railings, and piers. Jeff bunny hopped man-made obstacles, balanced on guardrails, and blazed down concrete retaining walls. Jason found inspiration in Seattle's urban highballs, and bat-hanging abstract sculptures. Despite the filth and pain, Pete desired to find the best hand to fist concrete crack. I was drawn to squeezey freestanding pillars and the overhanging honey-combed wall of the public library. Seattle's compact architecture, steep and narrow hills, temperate climate, and variety of featured terrain turned out to be an exciting urban jungle.
Lesson Learned: During a video interview I was asked, "What does it mean to be on an urban expedition?" After five days of buildering, I realized an urban expedition is no different than conventional expeditions with challenges like travel logistics, group dynamics, exposure to elements, and finding that perfect line. The hazards in the city are different and less organic -- broken glass, cigarette butts, human waste, pigeon poop, cement landings, and dodging traffic, police and security guards. In the end the same techniques, tools, movement, and motivation are required to find that ultimate source of inspiration.
