This article was first published in the Summer 2020 edition of The Arete, the magazine for the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG). Mt. Assiniboine “Long Shadows, Tall Peaks” Photo: Paul Zizka Mental Fitness in Times of Crisis In times of high stress, we can learn something from that most excessive state, and those who…
I never really had female role models growing up. All I remember is seeing those impossibly skinny and perfect models on the cover of magazines, the same magazines you see at the grocery checkout to this day, as a matter of fact. The only models I could even remotely relate to were the ones with…
The Patriarchy hurts women in obvious and well-chronicled ways. But how it hurts men is a more covert affair, and is responsible for the uptick in male suicides, particularly in middle-aged males. There is a myth that runs through our culture, one that says a man can shut off his emotions and be an island…
I’m excited to share with you a segment that CNN did on me for their “Turning Points” series! If you like it, I’d love it if you could share it with your friends 🙂 You can watch my segment here: CNN Turning Points
Have you ever felt like you were navigating life without a compass, as though there were no absolute bearings any more, only vague signposts? Well I spent most of my teens and twenties in that state, without really knowing what the problem was. Then one night in my early thirties I was sitting in my…
There has been a recent slew of blogs and posts online about how women are portrayed in the outdoor industry by the very companies selling them products and inviting them to events. This has caused the usual backlash from women who are insulted for being portrayed for their sexuality instead of their accomplishments. There are…
Ever since I started ice climbing I’ve had to listen to people tell me that “all ice is the same.” For eighteen years, I ignored these people. But two years ago, as I was driving along the Icefields Parkway looking up at the smatterings of ice along the rock cliffs, I realized that it was…
The best word I can use for the state called suicidal depression is despair. It is a state of complete disconnection and isolation from everyone and everything, a state where life is no longer worth living. Life was monochromatic, devoid of colour or brightness. There was no beauty in the world, only pain and suffering.…
Benzodiazepines are some of the most efficacious, and addictive, pharmacological meds on the market. They are just one of a plethora of “legal drugs” that get prescribed to millions of people, all over the world, every year. The most famous drug in this category is Valium, and housewives took it in droves when it first…
I recently read Designed by Adventure: 30 Years of Outdoor Research by Topher Donahue. It’s a quick read with some great outdoor industry history, but as is usual with works of non-fiction, the best parts are not what’s in there, but what’s been left out. Let’s start with what’s in there: I was relieved to…