Each of us as a human has the right to our own vision(s). Through these vision(s), I believe, we find the opportunity to discover who we are. As a rock climber my vision is to continue to allow the places in which I climb to shape me into the best human being I can be. My vision is to walk a humble path of strength and power, but not power in a take over sort of way. Power in a way of personal freedom, the freedom to be me and express it as best I can.

Traditionally, it seems, societies had a sort of rights of passage for the people to assist them in their visions and aid them in their path of growing up. As a Yosemite climber one of the "traditional" rights of passage is climbing El Capitan. As a free climber my personal rights of passage is not only climbing El Cap but free climbing it. This brings us to today.

It's a rainy day Tuesday here in Yosemite. And a rest day to boot! Yesterday Ben Ditto and I went up on The Nose to fix our ropes up a ways. The general idea is to free climb our way up there or "French Free" if need be and check out the route.; to become familiar with the terrain and the systems, etc. I've had my fair share of long routes but I've never done a wall in full wall style. Meaning, mostly that I've never hauled before. Yesterday was my intro to hauling!

This was very interesting aspect. Throwing one's weight around in order to haul up a large bag full of gear and water and food is a bit of a burly task, especially if you are trying to free climb. Needless to say I was a wee bit worked by the day's end. But, it felt great and it had me (it has me) excited about the whole goal, about the vision.

So, the rest day, rainy day is welcome. As of this moment the weather is looking like rain and possible snow until Friday. Come Sunday its sunny skies and we'll most likely take up residence on The Nose for a few days. This will be step three in the whole process and something I anticipate greatly. The climbing will be interesting, the hauling will be tough, the view will be breath-taking and by the time we reach the summit I'm pretty sure I'll be exhausted. It's going to be a good journey and I look forward to seeing what lies on the other side.

The skiing here in Gulmarg, Kashmir, India has been great. Typical high pressure over the Pir Panjal mountains has given us blazing sun, mild temps and big smiles. Views of Nanga Parbat’s Rupal face are seen between face shots and the twin pyramids of Nun and Kun beg for a future visit. Now as a series of small storms move through the area we have some down time to find out what is going on in the rest of the world. Gulmarg is so peaceful and mellow, I sometimes forget about the struggles of the people that live in the valley.
Kashmir is the site of the longest standing land conflict in history. India, Pakistan and China all claim Kashmir as their own, and because of this, there is a heavy military presence. It is not uncommon to load the gondola and have a soldier squeeze in beside you with an AK-47 over his shoulder.

A while back the Indian army was blocking the entrance to a mosque in Srinagar, naturally there was a protest. A young man was killed by soldiers and the protest escalated into a riot. Over the past week there have been several instances where violence has broken out throughout the city and even in the surrounding villages resulting in more deaths.

Up in the mountains we don’t hear of these things and we certainly don’t have to deal with these matters. In the world we create for ourselves it is easy to become self-absorbed and not pay attention to the hardship of others in far off lands. Here in the villages, life is hard. It is apparent as we ski down through these villages just how different our lives are, fat skis, gore-tex, ipods, expensive airfare all for a selfish pursuit of pleasure as they deal with damaged crops, insufficient medical care, cold homes and soldiers imposing on their freedoms. Saddening to think that so many people live like this and makes one feel super lucky (and foolishly lame) that our concerns are with where the good snow is and not where the next meal is coming from.

Kashmir is an interesting place, incredible natural beauty, friendly people, extreme poverty. I first came here to ski down powdery mountain faces. As I spend more time here, my personal skiing has become a distant concern. Trying to find an effective and self sustaining way to help the locals has become the primary focus. Promoting tourism and training local ski guides has been a good start, but I hope to find a way to have a positive impact on a larger portion of the population.

A few weeks ago I had another opportunity to head over to the Ruby Mountains to make some turns and socialize with the Ruby Heli crew. My trip was brief. In actuality it was less than 24hrs, but we made quality use of the time. The intention of my visit was to see if we could get in a few last season photos. The owner of the heli outfit, Joe Royer, is a fabulous photographer and has some of the most stunning terrain at his disposal. Generally Joe is swamped with managing the heli operation. Yet occasionally windows of opportunity present themselves for shooting photos. Such circumstances necessitate a lull in heli work and the weather’s cooperation. These periods are rare and usually short, but certainly worth taking advantage of. Up until a few weeks ago there had been no such openings, as the Rubies had suffered from minimal snowfall and tumultuous weather all winter. However, the benevolent heavens developed sympathy for the range and chose to show some love. Plenty of angel dust and sunshine ensued. My brother called and I was on the road the next morning. It was time to go play in the Rubies’ heavenly gift.

We all set out at 5 am in the cats, geared up for making some quality photos and having some fun in the snow. Mother nature had already provided the ultimate backdrop, as the weather, snow and terrain couldn’t have been more ideal. It was then up to us to do the rest. In addition to Joe, Jon Marshall, another gifted photographer, decided to join the photo escapade. Jon was visiting from Montana and working as a guest guide. With that there were 5 of us in total: myself, my brother (Jamie), Joe, Jon and Francy (Joe’s lovely wife). We had a fabulous time and the results of our efforts are provided below. Jon Marshall captured all of these photos. I have yet to see Joe’s pics, but I imagine they are strong, like always, and will surface eventually.

Enjoy!

Erica Laidlaw

Erica Laidlaw

Photographer: Jon Marshall

Erica Laidlaw

Photographer: Jon Marshall

Erica Laidlaw

Photographer: Jon Marshall

Jamie Laidlaw

Photographer: Jon Marshall

Jamie Laidlaw

Photographer: Jon Marshall