gay, uhm blind, rock climber conquers mt. everest

this makes me giggle.

wsj gives newclimber.com a shout-out

in today's technology section of the wall street journal online, editor keith huang writes about newclimber.com. holy wowa! his recurring blogwatch section highlights cool things in the blogosphere.

you can read the story online over the next 7 days or you can find a PDF copy here.

excerpt:

the diary of a [newbie] rock climber
newclimber.com

after moving to colorado in 1999, it took david mejias nearly six years to work up the nerve to give rock climbing a try.

"when i started, i was very afraid of heights," he says. "now, I'm still afraid of heights but can manage my fear better."

after his first climb, in July 2005, mr. mejias began his blog, largely to document his personal growth in the sport. within a month he described "pumping out," or overexerting himself: "i have grudgingly concluded that i should curb my enthusiasm a bit. i'm trying to be patient and listen to my body." nearly two years later and still hooked on the sport, mr. mejias can now lead an ascent, whereas before he could only "top rope"—follow routes that others had established on a rock formation.

mr. mejias, a free-lance photographer, also provides a stunning look at the sport through his camera's lens.

newbie introduces newbie

in today's denver post, my columnist friend cindy rodriguez writes about her first climbing experience. i took her to a local climbing gym this week:

maniacal sport? no, but climbing is addictive

"last week i got a taste of why so many people in this state are obsessed with rock climbing.

it was a dip-your-toe-in-the-water approach: my friend david mejías took me to rock'n & jam'n, a climbing gym in thornton."

you can read the whole column here: http://www.denverpost.com/rodriguez/ci_4033723