• May 23, 2007
• Posted by Jannine

American Guides to Teach Climbing to Pakistani Women This Summer

Golden, Colorado – May, 2007 – “So…how will a shalwar kameez fit into a harness?”

That is one common question to Pakistani Women’s Climbing Camp team members. The answer, like the answer to many questions about the ground-breaking project, is “we’ll see”.

The Pakistani Women’s Climbing Camp is a joint project of Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) and The American Alpine Club (AAC). A team of AAC representatives comprised of guides, a photographer and cinematographer–all of them women–will travel to Pakistan in July to facilitate a mountaineering course for up to 100 Pakistani women. The goal of the project, as set by the host, the ACP, is to expose women to the world of climbing and mountaineering. The women’s experiences may lead to careers not previously available to them in a growing tourism industry, in mountain rescue or guiding.

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• May 21, 2005
• Posted by Jannine

A Taste of Mongolia

Written by Sarah Post-Holmberg. Sarah, Sarah Carpenter, and Jannine Witte spent two months in 2002 riding their bicycles in this amazing country.

I will never replace my bike with a horse or serve boiled goat at a dinner party. However, I will live more sensitively knowing
people who have. After two months of biking in Mongolia the one thing that is certain in my mind is that it is easier to smile with a little bit of dirt on your face.

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• May 15, 2007
• Posted by Jannine

Girls Love Dirt...Just Don't Want To Pay For It!

Guest blog submitted by Lauri Harris.

My obsession of late is to fill my flower beds and vegetable garden with more dirt. I usually use some kind of filler (i.e. organic soils, llama dung) each year to fill out and mix in with older soil from previous years. This year, I decided that I was not going to buy dirt or soil enhancers. What a silly concept to buy something that surrounds you yet it comes in a plastic bag.

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• May 02, 2007
• Posted by Jannine

My Friend Alan

When you live a life that revolves around outdoor endeavors you are bound to cross that moment in time when the reality of risk hits home. As climbers, cyclists, paddlers and such we take on a certain amount of risk each time we go out. Some of us even go that extra step to assume a bit more risk. We do these things because we feel free and at peace when we are doing it.

I keep trying to remind myself of WHY we do the things we do as I grieve for Alan. Alan IS my friend. Alan is a friend to many. Alan is an artist, an architect, an adventurer, a musician, a human, a mechanic, a dancer, a climber, a lover, a son, a risk taker, a companion, a partner, a beautiful soul, an angel…

We lost our friend Alan along with his partner Jonathon in a climbing accident here in the Tetons. Being part of a mountain community we have grieved before for the lose of such adventurous souls. This is part of the cycle of life. This is part of why we do and live the life we lead. I know this…though it does not help the pain in my heart.

Next time you are in the mountains, on the water, or on the trail, please give a shout out to our friend Alan. Is a great little guy and just as in life, Alan will do anything for someone who needs him.

”If adventure has a final and all-embracing motive, it is surely this: we go out because it is our nature to go out, to climb mountains, and to paddle rivers, to fly to the planets and plunge into the depths of the oceans… When man ceases to do these things, he is no longer man.” — Wilfrid Noyce.

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