Photo Gallery
Climbing Pictures
I began climbing in 1991, after my back surgery. A friend of mine whom I had worked with at the beverage distributorship came to visit me in April, about four months after the operation and asked me to go for a walk with him. We hiked out into the desert to the base of a local crag and he took me to an incredible place in the middle of the cliff. This good friend, Tommy, showed me the basics of climbing, and the activity suited me just fine. The walking was very good for my lower back, as was the reaching and stretching necessary for climbing. The thrill of clinging to the face of a rock escarpment, trying to solve the puzzle of getting to the top was absolutely addictive. That day opened a whole new chapter in my life--no, it added a whole new dimension and perspective to my existence.
Tommy shortly introduced me to the fellow who had gotten him into the sport, Tim O'Connor. Tim had a club known as the Leaping Lizard Tribe that was comprised of a few like-minded "desert rats" who enjoyed the out-of-doors type of partying. As I was not working at the time, I had plenty of time to go out in the desert, and Tim and I soon began spending nearly every weekend together either in the Hualapai Mountains during the summer or hiking and climbing locally when the weather was cooler. We shared an insatiable passion for "getting vertical" and soon began to expand the limits of the club, looking at more serious climbing. We found that our differing strengths seemed to create a balance that worked quite well. I learned quickly from Tim's apt teaching methods -- hands on, of course. Tim's knowledge of the local desert was astounding, and I listened intently as we walked--sometimes for endless hours--through the desert.
While most of the other members of the Tribe have gone their separate ways, Tim and I maintain our close relationship and continue to explore our surroundings and our limits. When we look back over the past ten years, we have accomplished quite a lot. We have been to virtually every peak in the skyline surrounding Lake Havasu City; we have established several first ascents and set up routes on local crags and in the Hualapais; we have established and built remote campsites in the desert and built the Lizard Camp in the Hualapais. However, we have many more unfulfilled goals--as many as there are mountains in the world. Tim and I have logged countless hours and traversed endless miles together; I value his friendship expressly and trust him implicitly. I believe that the feeling is mutual.
While I have climbed rather extensively throughout the west, I've discovered, as I have searched for photos to include on this page, that it is hard to get good climbing pictures when you are either climbing or belaying. I've included pictures here from Tim's photo library, and I will solicit some shots from some of the other guys as well.
