The Guide

As any careful followers can see, I’m behind at blogging. Two months ago in November 2014 I found myself in an unexpected position. A couple friends flew to Vegas from Fargo and we all traveled up to Moab Utah with Ancient Art as our target. The idea was that all three of us would climb to the pinnacle, my base jumping friends would jump off and my other friend and I would rappel down. As the time for the climb approached we added a 4^th climber/base jumper to our party, and I got nervous. I suddenly realized that I was going to be a “guide” taking my friends up a tower and I wasn’t sure whether or not I had enough gear. I knew how to climb safely and handle the ropes, but I had always climbed with other people who knew these skills as well.

Fortunately we were staying at a hostel along with a couple of Swiss guides. They worked for a company, leading a variety of outdoor adventure trips. They had also completed the climb a couple days earlier. With their assistance I learned how I could better utilize my gear so that they we could all complete the climb. They also eased my nerves regarding what to expect along the route.

Our group at the start of the climb

So, the day arrived and we knew it was now or never. We were slow getting packed up, and left the hostel about an hour after our target. Then we racked up our gear and started hiking to the start of the climb. We lined up the rope and I made certain that everyone was properly tied in, then I started up the route. The climb itself wasn’t extremely difficult, but I never had a chance to turn my brain off and take a breath. The whole time I was either climbing, belaying, managing the rope, or making sure people were properly anchored in. When we were at the last pitch the base jumpers made a slight change of plans. The wind looked like it was increasing and they didn’t want to spend the time to reach the pinnacle, so we lined everything up for them to jump from the ledge. They jumped off, and I made my way to the summit.

Ancient Art from the base jumpers landing area

It felt amazing to stand on that summit, but a little bit bittersweet because I was the only one who reached the summit. You see, the base jumpers both exited lower, and my climbing partner was cold, thirsty, and concerned about making her way to the top. I had been so focused on technical aspects of the climb and everyone’s safety that I didn’t consider the basics. We hiked/climbed the whole thing without any food or water. And my partner climbed to the top of the last pitch, into the wind, with only a t-shirt.

Two days later my climbing partner and I went back up, just the two of us. It was way more relaxed, and we both had our moment to stand on the pinnacle. It was the first climbed that I had repeated on the trip, and I enjoyed the second trip up much more than the first.

From the top of Ancient Art

This experience taught me a lot about what it means to be a guide. It requires more than just a technical knowledge of what needs to be done, it requires attention to people as well. It requires reading people, and seeing their needs and making sure that they have all their needs. I found out after the climb that the base jumpers were both a little freaked out because they had never rock climbed outdoors. They didn’t know what I was doing with the ropes or why, they were blindly trusting me. I didn’t recognize their fear, in my mind I didn’t expect to see that fear because they jump off stuff and ropes are safe. I did not take time to really show them what I was doing and why so that they could have more than just blind trust.

My guiding experience also made me think about my guide in life. Jesus Christ is the ultimate guide as we are traveling through life, but he never forgets the basic needs. He sees and knows our needs before we do. He has a plan for us, even though we aren’t necessarily privy to all the details. We have to be a little like my base jumping friends, blindly trusting that he will take care of us wherever the journey leads.