The unDefined Blog

Inspiration and stories from the mountains, cultures, peoples, and perspectives of our world.

Morromico Bay, Chocó, Colombia | July, 2018

Featured Posts & Collections

Tracee Metcalfe: No Creation Myth Needed

I remember when I first heard the term. Charley Mace and I were a couple pitches up a mellow, fun route in Clear Creek Canyon, trying unsuccessfully to outclimb thunderstorms, and talking about climbing, ego, and the like. One mutual climbing acquaintance kept coming up, one whose ego had come to define his persona, his […]

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Juneteenth Greatness

My paternal great-great grandfather, James T. Norton (1844-1883), was a man of few words. Or, at least that’s what his journal from 1865 indicates. It’s been sitting near my desk for years. I’ve scanned the pages, faded scribbles in pencil recording minute datapoints about each day with little fanfare: weather, movement, rations, commands, engagements. Even […]

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Xenon and Zen

Mesmerized. There’s no other way to put it. The scene unfolding before me was captivating, subtle hues of warming a jagged Himalayan sea, blues morphing, glimmers of amber and crimson flashing on distant ridges, shadows etching an impossible landscape. It was still frigid here, sunlight not yet penetrating the frigid shadows of the West Ridge […]

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More articles and essays…

Half a Century, a Few Things Learned, and a Challenge

Note: This was written somewhat on the fly in a couple hours this afternoon, based on thoughts germinating for days. As such, it's likely not the most eloquent bit I've shared. But, hope it makes some sense, and thanks for your literary compassion! Funny how the years seem to creep up, silently, stealthily, lionesque, a […]

ESSAYS & INSPIRATION

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Mountains Matter Every Day

Mountains matter. They matter to me, they should matter to you, they matter to us all, and not just on one day, but every single day.

MOUNTAINS & ADVENTURE

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Me Say War

Strangely, reggae pulsed through my brain as I hiked through the snow to our yurt this morning. No, South Park, Colorado, was not having a reggae fest, and I was not listening to music. (I never do in the hills, as nature’s music is more than enough.) This was internal music, a soundtrack of the […]

ESSAYS & INSPIRATION

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Giving Tuesday: dZi Foundation

A few weeks back, I gazed across a great gorge, that of the mighty, raging Hunku Khola. Rushing waters coursing from the glaciers of Chamlang, Baruntse, Mera, and innumerable other high peaks carved the valley below me over eons. A spectacular feat of geology and hydrology, and an intimidating one for a trekker. As I […]

ESSAYS & INSPIRATION MOUNTAINS & ADVENTURE

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