Reducing the noise

A few years back I was in a pretty bad road biking accident and along with a concussion, road rash, and blown ear drum I shattered my right clavicle which required surgery. The doctors pieced it all back together installing a plate spanning my collarbone holding the fragments in place so they could grow back together and heal.

I had been told that I would eventually need to have it removed but once I healed from the accident life got hectic. There was work to be done and adventures to be had. Finally, five years later it caught up with me.

When I was on Rainier the weight of my pack and the straps grinding against my plate was too much. I would typically put a beanie between the plate and my pack but the straps wore me down. Once I got off the mountain I promised I was going to visit my doctor. Of course months went by and I never went.  The pain got worse and I finally paid my doctor a visit. Immediately it was clear the hardware would need to be removed. I debated doing the removal before or after Aconcagua but it didn’t last long. I went in for the surgery 10/26 and have fully recovered feeling even better than before.

While on the mend I was finally forced to take a break and stop moving. In the past year I have traveled out of the country to Tanzania, Zanzibar, Iceland, and Mexico. I’ve been to a number of bachelor parties and the weddings that followed. On average I’ve been on a plane once a month this year. Despite the crazy traveling I work a lot and if I’m not on a flight or working then I’m training for my next summit. Newton’s first law states that an object in motion tends to stay in motion and I am no different. The surgery required me to stop and it reminded me how important it is to slow down every now and then.

I get so wrapped up in the everyday grind in addition to this whole climbing thing and I forget to stop and enjoy the ride. Getting outside, I realized is where I get to stop. Even though I’m out on the move I’m not caught up with worrying about all the trivial things I do in the real world. Climbing and hiking is much simpler and boils down to two basic things. First don’t get hurt or injured and second keep moving in the direction of your goal. Out there I’m not thinking about paying the bills, what I said in a meeting, or the gifts I need to buy for the holidays. Outside the pursuit is simple and I’m able to reduce the background noise of modern life. Nature feels therapeutic.

I’m back training again and turning it up to get ready for Aconcagua. Taking the time off to have the plate removed set me back a bit but in the end this momentary pause will set me up to be better, stronger, and ready for the challenges ahead. It also helped me realize that sometimes in life you need to take a step back and reduce the background noise in your life so you can really focus on the most important things.