161 | In Memoriam

It pains me to write this, but over the weekend, the skiing community lost an amazing person that touched the lives of so many in the best way possible. Lacy Meadows taught many of us the lighter side of life that we will always appreciate and never forget. His passion was second to none and his sense of humor was always lively, entertaining, and engaging. While I didn't ski with him all that much, when I did, it was always the best part of that day.

May you rest in peace and enjoy endless blower powder days under bluebird skies.


The video below put together by Brittany Walker and Lacy's friends highlights not only the kind of person he was, but the kind of person we should all aspire to be.

In Loving Memory of Lacy Meadows from 14erskiers on Vimeo.

160 | Bergen Peak

One of the great things about living in Denver is having quick access to plenty of parks and open spaces to enjoy hiking, mountain biking, and trail running. The only downfall is that everyone else that lives here appreciates the same activities, and why not? When you look outside at your surroundings, it's damn near impossible to not take advantage, so often you'll find yourself sharing the same hike with many other people which can hamper the experience a bit. One easy to way to overcome this is by waking up that much earlier, and yesterday I found myself out of bed at five in the morning and on my way to Elk Meadow Park just north of Evergreen.

From the trailhead, Bergen Peak rises 2,000 feet to an elevation of 9,708 over 5.6 miles before looping back down for a total roundtrip of 10.3 miles. The majority of the climb up is very gradual before steepening towards the end. Three hours after leaving the trailhead, I found myself at the top with very rewarding 360-degree views before jogging back down and reaching the parking lot an hour later. Unfortunately, the sun was already up high and all too powerful to capture any decent photographs, but I did manage to take some of the aspen trees that I think came out great.

159 | Update

Anyone who's followed this blog in the past knows how active I am in maintaining consistent updates. A quick look around shows the last post in late January of this year. I have since gone skiing more than a few times and have gone on numerous hikes with breathtaking views that I should be sharing with everyone, yet it wasn't until recently that I was able to push myself out of a long depression that sucked every desire I've ever had in living life to the extreme (or as close as possible without falling off the edge).

No one ever knows how he will ultimately handle receiving horrible news that will undoubtedly impact the rest of his life. We tend to think that we have endured enough small speed bumps along the way that will help prepare us for the worst, but truth be told, when the worst arrives, we are left without any road maps to lead us back to our normal selves.

You begin to question everything you've done in the past and surround yourself with "Why me?" questions almost constantly. Even with a strong support system from friends and family, I was left listless. Perhaps I needed more time to reflect; perhaps I needed to feel what it was like to be dejected to appreciate what my life was like once before. Whatever the case was, I have since battled back from the depths of a very grave emotion that was taking over my soul to now become more proactive and positive in every aspect of my life.

For all we know, we only have one crack at this journey, and I'm now realizing that it is far too short to be hung up on everything that doesn't quite go your way. With no preaching intentions, to devote any measurable amount of time and energy to any pernicious thought is incredibly wasteful and nefarious. Sadly, it is very easy to follow that path, but why focus in such a way while watching everything else fly by you without room for appreciation? Always remember that if you think you're having a bad day, someone out there has it a hell of a lot worse so dig deep for something to be thankful for and embrace it with the people surrounding you.