TA's Weekly Update: October 28, 2011

Howdy,

Another big week...

Thanks,

TA

Antarctica Countdown 33 Days and Counting: Much Gratitude

Posted on October 28, 2011 by TA Loeffler

This morning as I pulled my tire up the hill, I looked over at Natelle in the early morning light and said, "We're cracked." Natelle answered, "No, I am the truly cracked one." It's true…I had left a perfectly warm bed but I had a good reason. Natelle, on the other hand, left hers to support me. And for that I am very grateful. I'm also thankful to all who've ordered T-shirts, purchased toques, and sent donations. Each step of support gives me a deeper well of strength to draw on when the going gets tough.

I am very pleased to welcome the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union as a sponsor for Mount Vinson 2011. I enjoyed our partnership during Everest 2010 and I look forward to sharing the journey with their clients and employees.

I'm off to soak up some sun and some warmth in Florida for the next week while attending a conference. When I return, I'll be all eyes forward to "Number Six."

Visual Soliloquy #362 The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra…

Posted on October 27, 2011 by TA Loeffler

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra. ~Jimmy Johnson

Antarctica Countdown 35 Days and Counting: Another Day, Another Hill

Posted on October 26, 2011 by TA Loeffler

I didn't expect to get out on a hill today. Rather I thought I would be cooped up in a stuffy hotel conference room all day. Luckily for me, we had a few hours off from the AUCC 100th Anniversary conference today to get out and explore Montreal. I, of course, headed directed to Mount Royal. If I lived here, it would definitely be on my training agenda. I enjoyed climbing all the stairs to the top, circumnavigating the trails at the top, and watching all the folks getting out and active on a lovely fall day. The maples are in full red glory and I was reminded that fall is my favourite season.

35 days…five weeks…wasn't it just 49 days and 7 weeks a few days ago? Now 35 days sounds longer than five weeks. I continue to fill the tug of the tension between "It's coming on way too fast and I won't be ready" and "Alright already…I'm ready-let's go." I hear the weather hasn't been very cooperative yet and few polar expeditions have made it to the ice yet. Vinson expeditions will begin in about three weeks or so.

Visual Soliloquy #361 Do what you can, with what you have, where you are…

Posted on October 26, 2011 by TA Loeffler

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. ~Theodore Roosevelt

Visual Soliloquy #360 Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win…

Posted on October 25, 2011 by TA Loeffler

Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win. ~Jonathan Kozel

Antarctica Countdown 37 Days and Counting: Someone Please Steal This Idea

Posted on October 24, 2011 by TA Loeffler

The Dreaded 100 Stair Staircase on Signal Hill

I've had this idea before. And I am sure many others have as well (it's hard to have a truly original idea I think)…but anyone, I hope someone will see this post, seize this idea, and run with it. You don't even need to cite me

So there I was, pulling my tire up Signal Hill, littering the hill with sweat droplets because the sun decided to shine today for only the 32 minutes during which I was working very hard to take my tire for a walk up the hill. Then the re-eureka moment (as I said I've had the thought before)…"I wish pulling this tire up the hill was doing some good. Some real good."

There it is…the birth of a new exercise movement…"Working Out for Good." On so many occasions, I've lamented that much of all the working out we do in North America is good for ourselves but not good for others (it is good for others in some ways-the exercise keeps us healthy and keeps us out of the health care system, etc…). So as I was labouring hard up the hill, I wished my labour was doing some good like carrying serum to Nome to fight diphtheria (The Iditarod Races commemorate that historic overland trip), heaving huge bags of food relief across a refuge camp, sledge-hauling towards the South Pole like Amundsen and Scott, or building houses with Habitat for Humanity.

Yes, my labour was getting me ready for the rigours of Antarctica but I wondered if it could be doing more…

I dream of a clearing house for Working Out for Good…perhaps a website…where folks who need manual labour done could register and folks who need to do manual labour (i.e. most of us…we usually call it exercise or fitness or training) could be brought together to have our workouts work for good. When I was in boot camp last spring, we used to hit a big tire with a sledge hammer…imagine if I was driving posts for a community garden instead of just whacking the tire. Last week when I was doing sand bag get-ups and moved over 2000 pounds of sand in ten minutes-might it have been better if I moved than ton across a Habitat build site. Now, I admit the logistics would be tricky…and we all like to have our work-out/training routines…I get that…it helps me get them done too…but I'm sure there is some bright creative people out there who can solve these tricky little hitches and have me carrying someone's groceries up seven flights of stairs instead of my backpack up the Signal Hill stairs.

So let's harness all this good working out we're doing for good…let's start generating energy with all those treadmills, stationary bikes, and rowing ergs. Let's move building supplies, fertilizer, and groceries instead of barbells. Let's get working out for good. Some please steal this idea…I'll be the first to sign up! And if you know of any such programs like this-please send the info my way. I'll pass the info around.

You can view the full blog entries at
http://taloeffler.com/tas-blog/

You are receiving this email per your subscription. You can unsubscribe at
any time by clicking here and sending a message with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

Thanks for following my adventures and remember that comments are always welcome.

******************************************************************************

TA Loeffler Ph.D.,  Professor

3M National Teaching Fellow

School of Human Kinetics and Recreation

Memorial University of Newfoundland

St. John's, NL A1C 5S7

TA's Website:  www.taloeffler.com

Phone: 709-864-8670

Fax: 709-864-3979

Office:  PE 2011A

Email Office:  taloeffler@mun.ca

Email Home:  taloeffler@gmail.com

Those who lose dreaming are lost.

Australian Aboriginal Proverb

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.  The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things; Knows not the livid loneliness of fear, nor mountain heights where bitter joy can hear the sound of wings.

Amelia Earhart

This electronic communication is governed by the terms and conditions at http://www.mun.ca/cc/policies/electronic_communications_disclaimer_2011.php

TA's Weekly Update September 5, 2011

On the Eddy Line

Posted on September 5, 2011 by TA Loeffler

September is always a transition month…from summer to fall, vacation to school, summer camp back to work…and now, for me, from the wilds of Labrador to the clamor of the city. I always hated coming home from camp after spending the summer living outdoors with intimate knowledge of the moon's phase and light, the timing of the stars' appearance in the night sky and the dampness of dew on the grass in the morning.

In whitewater paddling, we're always on the lookout for eddies, a reversal of current caused by an object (usually a rock) in the river that creates an obstruction behind which the water quiets and changes direction of flow. There is a line, the eddy line, that marks the transition between current going one way and current going the other. This line, if not paid strict attention to, can cause trouble and even capsize your boat if you are not careful to heed the change in the water's flow.

As you cross over the eddy line, it is critical that you change the tilt of the boat…when running down river you often maintain a downstream tilt but as you turn into the eddy, downstream becomes upstream and vice versa.

I feel like I am on the eddy line between the Labrador wilderness and my urban existence. Water is going both directions around me and I am hesitant and grieving to leave the simplicity of river life behind and plunge into the complexities of modern urban life. The world seems awfully stimulating after seeing no sign of other humans for 16 days while descending the Notakwanon River. When the floatplane dropped us off on that small beach in a lake near the headwaters, our team of six knew the only way out was down the river, ideally together and upright. As the plane buzzed us, a profound silence descended and we were all alone.

Except for the bear. We spotted it just as we left the beach. It followed along for short while-the wilderness welcome wagon. Trading blackberries for blueberries and fishing poles for the Internet, we set out into "unknown" Labrador. Not nearly as unknown as in the Hubbards' days but unknown in terms of how difficult the whitewater would be, how the group would come together, how the adventure would unfold.

There would be three bears in total and a whole bunch of bear scat. Tracks in each camp but no close encounters. Instead, there were close connections with black flies and mosquitoes and caribou moss so thick you could forego a mattress. Light that changed in a heart beat and fire smoke that danced along the shore shunting the bugs to other targets. Eyes swollen shut and eyes wide open as the land spoke. Loudly and sometimes a whisper. Changing each of us subtly and profoundly with each paddle stroke, each glance at untold mountains, each moment of grace reflecting in the deep pool of wildness that enveloped and cradled us so totally.

Rapids, some utterly terrifying and others that pulsed exhilaration through us faster that our hearts could beat. Some close calls, some deeply trying times of fighting the current upstream or downstream from a tentative perch along the shore. Or in the water. Along side the canoe. Swallowed by both the river and land. Water whisked into blood faster that the black flies could suck it out. Intense days followed by deep sleep. The night sky ablaze with the aurora's dance of light–could it get much better? I doubt it.

I've fallen in love once more. With Labrador. With a river. With a remoteness that begs both questions and answers in the same moment yet gives just loud silence. I am changed for having come down this river from its source to the sea but I don't yet comprehend all the ways how as I'm still on the eddy line between there and here–wishing and wanting to be there but knowing it's time to be here…to seek and find what is there, here.

You can view the full blog entries at
http://taloeffler.com/tas-blog/

You are receiving this email per your subscription. You can unsubscribe at
any time by clicking here and sending a message with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

Thanks for following my adventures and remember that comments are always welcome.

******************************************************************************

TA Loeffler Ph.D.,  Professor

3M National Teaching Fellow

School of Human Kinetics and Recreation

Memorial University of Newfoundland

St. John's, NL A1C 5S7

TA's Website:  www.taloeffler.com

Phone: 709-864-8670

Fax: 709-864-3979

Office:  PE 2011A

Email Office:  taloeffler@mun.ca

Email Home:  taloeffler@gmail.com

Those who lose dreaming are lost.

Australian Aboriginal Proverb

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.  The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things; Knows not the livid loneliness of fear, nor mountain heights where bitter joy can hear the sound of wings.

Amelia Earhart

This electronic communication is governed by the terms and conditions at http://www.mun.ca/cc/policies/electronic_communications_disclaimer_2011.php

TA's Weekly Update March 26, 2011

Hello All,

Here's to another big week...hope you all are well.

TA

A Season for Both Peaks and Valleys

For everything there is a season,

a time for every activity under heaven.

A time to be born and a time to die.

A time to plant and a time to harvest.

A time to kill and a time to heal.

A time to tear down and a time to build up.

A time to cry and a time to laugh.

A time to grieve and a time to dance.

A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.

A time to embrace and a time to turn away.

A time to search and a time to quit searching.

A time to keep and a time to throw away.

A time to tear and a time to mend.

A time to be quiet and a time to speak.

A time to love and a time to hate.

A time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3, 1-8

This was the first reading at Jeff's funeral mass this week. I'd chosen the same verses for my dad's funeral as well. As do many others, because I think, it reminds us that both peaks and valleys are necessarily a part of our lives. We have joy and we have grief. Times of quiet and times of great noise. Times to hold close and times to let go. A comforting reminder that in the hardest times, things will change–that everything, including this hard moment is impermanent. The verses also send a warning that we can't stay on the summit forever, that we will must come down to the valley again. And again.

I taught Jeff Galant in my winter outdoor activities class during the winter of 2009. He was about to graduate with his BPE and head off to the University of New Brunswick to pursue his education degree and play varsity volleyball. I enjoyed his great enthusiasm in my class–he was always the first to pick up a shovel and mound up the snow. Shortly after the course, I received an email from him, asking where he might pick up a copy of my book. I wrote back and learned he was in the hospital. I offered to deliver a copy to him. He had just been diagnosed with cancer and was looking for inspiration for the journey ahead.

I met his mom the day I visited and we all talked of climbing mountains, pushing hard for the summit, the power of competition and how much sports meant to Jeff. Over the past two years we kept in touch, Jeff fought hard–winning many games against the cancer but in the end, the disease took the series and Jeff died a few weeks past his 24th birthday. A gentle, athletic soul struck down well before his could give the world all of his talents and gifts–he would have been an excellent teacher.

After Jeff's funeral, I had an hour or so before I had to head off to the airport to fly back to St. John's. I wondered how best to honour Jeff's spirit with that time and realized that C.C. Loughlin School was just down from the cathedral. I decided to stop in and see if I could spend some time with some of the children I'd met the year before. I was nervous just showing up because such visits are usually organized well in advance but I took a deep breath and presented myself to the office. They welcomed me and took me to Patricia's classroom. She and her class were unavailable so I asked for the Grade Fours. I walked into a chorus of "TA!" and was instantly surrounded by the group. They were thrilled to see me and I took solace from my grief in their precious energy. We sat in a small circle and talked of explorers and exploring and what they were learning in social studies. When it was time to head to the other Grade Four class, the first group didn't want to let go so they came along to the next room to keep asking questions.

I had wondered if it were "appropriate" to go visit a school right after the funeral but I knew instantly as soon as I arrived in that first class, that it was. It was a time to laugh and a time to build up, a time to mend and a time to speak. Jeff would have loved the look on one Grade Three's face when she exclaimed, "I've never stood so close to a mountain climber before." I was teaching in that moment with Jeff firmly planted in my heart. Rest in peace Jeff.

Visual Soliloquy #151 Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome…

Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome. – Samuel Johnson

Snow Day: Skiing Downtown St. John's

My latest helmet cam adventure…Skiing Downtown St. John's on a snow day! The conditions were quite good except for where the snow plows had been!

Visual Soliloquy #150 There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day…

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woollcott

Visual Soliloquy #149 There are two ways to spread happiness; either be the light who shines it or be the mirror who reflects it…

"There are two ways to spread happiness; either be the light who shines it or be the mirror who reflects it." – Edith Wharton

Visual Soliloquy #148 If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it…

If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work. –Nhat Hanh

Visual Soliloquy # 147 Every choice you make has an end result…

Every choice you make has an end result. – Zig Ziglar

Visual Soliloquy #146 Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go…

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. – T. S. Elliot

You can view the full blog entries at
http://taloeffler.com/tas-blog/

You are receiving this email per your subscription. You can unsubscribe at
any time by clicking here and sending a message with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

Thanks for following my adventures and remember that comments are always welcome.

******************************************************************************

TA Loeffler Ph.D.,  Professor

3M National Teaching Fellow

School of Human Kinetics and Recreation

Memorial University of Newfoundland

St. John's, NL A1C 5S7

TA's Website:  www.taloeffler.com

Phone: 709-864-8670

Fax: 709-864-3979

Office:  PE 2011A

Email Office:  taloeffler@mun.ca

Email Home:  taloeffler@gmail.com

Those who lose dreaming are lost.

Australian Aboriginal Proverb

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.  The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things; Knows not the livid loneliness of fear, nor mountain heights where bitter joy can hear the sound of wings.

Amelia Earhart

TA's Weekly Update March 14, 2011

Hi All,

Here is a partial view on this week's posting...as I was hosting a "What's TA climbing Next?" Contest, I was worried if I sent them all out, the email would be too big...so if you want to see all the clues, please visit my website at www.taloeffler.com

Take good care,

TA

Visual Soliloquy #139 Courage is knowing what not to fear…

Posted on March 14, 2011 by TA Loeffler

Courage is knowing what not to fear.
–Plato

Visual Soliloqut #138 Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony…

Posted on March 13, 2011 by TA Loeffler

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. – Mahatma Gandhi

What's TA Climbing Next? Hvannadalshnúkur, Yding-skovhoj, and Mont Blanc

Posted on March 12, 2011 by TA Loeffler

TA on the summit of Mount Elbrus in July 2009 (the last time I climbed in Europe)

Congrats to Trien…She's taken my set of wild clues and solved the puzzle. I'm climbing to three (no, actually four) country high points in the next few months. In April, Marian and I will be climbing Hvannadalshnúkur (the highest peak in Iceland). In July as part of an International Outdoor Education conference, I will venture to Yding-skovhoj (the highest point in Denmark.) After the conference, I'll head over to Chamonix to climb Mont Blanc (the highest peak in France and Italy). Mont Blanc has been on my list for many years and I'm using the proximity of the conference to make it happen. Both Mont Blanc and Hvannadalshnúkur have long summit days so I'll be stepping up the training over the next while. Trien wins a signed summit photo (from the most photogenic summit) for her efforts.

Visual Soliloquy #137 As we develop more love for others, we'll have more confidence in ourselves…

Posted on March 12, 2011 by TA Loeffler

As we develop more love for others, we'll have more confidence in ourselves; the more courage we have, the more relaxed and serene we'll be.
–Dalai Lama

What's TA Climbing Next II? Clue 9

Posted on March 11, 2011 by TA Loeffler

So put what's going on in this picture together with yesterday's clue and I'm hoping it will lead you to the first high point…what's on the go in this pic? Put on those thinking caps, put google to the test…bing until you bonk…what's the first high point I'm trying to reach next?

Visual Soliloquy #136 Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance…

Posted on March 11, 2011 by TA Loeffler

Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance. – Samuel Johnson

What's TA Climbing Next II? Clue 8

Posted on March 10, 2011 by TA Loeffler

Another clue for the first climb…glad folks have started to work together because this is being harder to crack than I imagined it would be…on the plus side, we're breaking records for site visitations left, right, and centre. I had a great time speaking at Roncalli Central High School today and training is going well. Was back on Signal Hill beginning the first of many ascents of the next six weeks…until climb number one, two, and three…keep guessing!

Visual Soliloquy #135 The most common way people give up their power…

Posted on March 10, 2011 by TA Loeffler

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.

- Alice Walker

What's TA Climbing Next II? Clue 7

Posted on March 9, 2011 by TA Loeffler

OK…thinking that I need to get a bit more concrete with the clues…here's a chance to put two and two together to come up with peak number two…or at least a significant clue towards peak/high point number two…guess away!

Visual Soliloquy #134 It is hard to fail, but it is worse never have tried to succeed…

Posted on March 9, 2011 by TA Loeffler

It is hard to fail, but it is worse never have tried to succeed. – Theodore Roosevelt

You can view the full blog entries at
http://taloeffler.com/tas-blog/

You are receiving this email per your subscription. You can unsubscribe at
any time by clicking here and sending a message with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

Thanks for following my adventures and remember that comments are always welcome.

******************************************************************************

TA Loeffler Ph.D.,  Professor

3M National Teaching Fellow

School of Human Kinetics and Recreation

Memorial University of Newfoundland

St. John's, NL A1C 5S7

TA's Website:  www.taloeffler.com

Phone: 709-864-8670

Fax: 709-864-3979

Office:  PE 2011A

Email Office:  taloeffler@mun.ca

Email Home:  taloeffler@gmail.com

Those who lose dreaming are lost.

Australian Aboriginal Proverb

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.  The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things; Knows not the livid loneliness of fear, nor mountain heights where bitter joy can hear the sound of wings.

Amelia Earhart

Asleep in the cold

Asleep in the cold

In search of discipline? Borrow it | TheIndependent.ca

In search of discipline? Borrow it | TheIndependent.ca

Of Maps and Sweat Equity TA's Weekly Update 10-10-10

Happy 10.10.10 and Happy Thanksgiving,

 

I don't think I was all that clear last week when I announcing my new approach to weekly updates.  For those folks who've been receiving your updates via gmail, you don't need to join Facebook-sorry for any confusion.  You can just visit my website and click on TA's Blog and you'll see any updates I've posted there.  If you'd like to receive those updates as they are posted, you can subscribe on the site and chose to have them sent out to you daily, weekly or monthly.  My blog's web address is http://taloeffler.com/tas-blog/ (and for the next while, I'm keep sending out updates until I'm confident folks have found their feet with the new system...do visit the blog as it's loaded with photos and links that I can't send out in an email because it would  be too many megabytes).

 

I'm loving the new creative possibilities of my new site and have been celebrating for now with a daily post called "Visual Soliloquy" where I talk to myself with both words and pictures.  I'm working to organize my digital photo library into a more manageable scene-with over 25,000 images, I need a robust system that makes is easy to find images as well as back them up.  So along with revisiting much of the writing I've done over the past six years, I've been seeing images in all new ways and am enjoying sharing them.

 

I spent much of Monday hiking around the Tilton Barrens on Monday helping Marian and Nolan map out a new orienteering course.  I tagged along as photographer.  In the process, I remembered how much I love maps and how my relationship to a map changes once I have traversed the terrain it symbolizes.  Topographical maps contain such a wealth of information that it's hard to totally take in that bounty until you experience the place first hand.  In both my work and play, I've had the privilege of creating an intimate knowledge and relationship with so many landscapes.  In looking through so many images of late, I realize that I try to capture, explore, and share the nuances of those relationships through photography (and through words as well).

 

Thursday, Marian and I drove the Irish Loop along the Southern Shore to pay a visit to Jacinta McGrath and Stella Maris Academy in Trepassey.  During the spring of 2006, Jacinta (of Bachelor of Physical Education, Grand Canyon backpack and Everest base camp fame) invited me down to speak at her school.  She knew I was aiming for Everest the following year and wanted her students to learn about what it takes to attempt the world's highest peak.  It was the first school I spoke at in the province and had no idea, four years ago, that that engagement would lead me into sixty-five other schools in three different countries.  I often say that when we identify and take on our personal "Everests", we have no idea where they will lead us (and that's half the fun).

 

Jacinta's students sent me off both in 2006 and 2010 with hand drawn greeting cards that deliver mountains of inspiration to me to keep climbing and training hard.  Given my current phase of looking forward and back right now, I so appreciated the opportunity to come full circle and be back at Stella Maris.  In four years, their student numbers have almost dropped by half so I spoke to the entire K-12 school in one group.  Of course, after the presentation, most of the questions came from the elementary students (it's not "cool" for the older students to ask questions in an assembly.)  After the presentation, one of the kids who'd asked a number of questions said to Jacinta, "Miss, I think I got a puffer fish inside me, I want to be a top chef and cook really good food - I think I can!"  One "pufferfish" moment makes it ALL worth it!

Yesterday, Marian and I finished up our reclaimed wood deck project and then headed over the Hilary and Adrian's new house to attend a painting party.  Both Hilary and Adrian have been working incredibly hard all summer to renovate the house they bought last spring.  They invited friends and family to come help move the painting along in one big collective effort.  Seeing the transformation of both the entire house and the walls since I'd last been there, I thought a bunch about "sweat equity."  I suspect the hours and hours of work the new homeowners have put into their abode will deepen their relationship to the place/their place, (just as hiking through a landscape nurtures a different level of knowing and commitment than driving through it). 

 

It reminds me of why I define an expedition as starting the moment I commit to it–why I spent a year on Denali rather than just the month of the actual climb–that I recognize(d) the critical importance of the journey, of sweat equity, of the process being as much the goal (or perhaps much more than) the product/summit.

 

Have a great week.  I'm thankful to have you all cheering me on.  With much gratitude,

 

TA