I stand on the rocks of the Rio Grande Trail in the John Denver Sanctuary and read the words of Rocky Mountain High and Annie's Song etched in to the surrounding stones. I stare down at my hiking boots and think of how many trails and mountain peaks I have walked, climbed and skied to arrive here at this moment. The words ring clear in my mind and are part of the reason that I looked to the open road in search of sunrises, snowflakes and sunsets. It is a lot like reading Walt Whitman and Poems like Song of the Open Road. Each word, note or phrase touching a part of me and reaffirming everything that I believed in. All the reasons to continue on to another winter and another town or mountain to ski. "Aspen Colorado," I say to myself in my mind. Twenty Years in a town I thought I would never set ski boot in. It wasn't the Lure, the mountain is not king here, although beautiful and challenging in places, I can't put my finger on what has kept me here. Why didn't I go Chamonix, France. The draw was there. The lure of extreme skiing. The ever deeper snow and steeper mountains. It is the thing. Is it age? I am in my late 60's. I only went to Colorado to take Film and Screenwriting courses in the early 90's. A ski bum looking for a way to salvage a career from a mis-pent youth. In 1973 I took a year off from an Engineering Degree to go skiing, I never went back. Too late to be an extreme skier in Valdez, Alaska, too old. Part of the heart wants to carry on, even now, but the body refuses to. So you entertain other options. Ah! Aspen, the other option. The words to Rocky Mountain High pass before my eyes as I begin my walk down the Rio Grande Trail. I reflect on my time in Aspen now as I have left it. I am all right with that. It was time. It is unique and there was no other ski town in the world like it. I know I have tried them all. While I never cared much for the mountains there myself. This place has been a home and friend. It has allowed me the success for the freedom I wish in the future. Perhaps It is time to pick up my screenplay that I began here about Arapahoe Basin and complete it. I do not underestimate the work and I understand the challenge of getting it to market. The difficulty of Publishing Mountain writing will be a challenge. A challenge that others have faced and overcome. A young Nepalese Mountaineer Nimsdai Purja just conquered all of the world's 14- 8,000 meter peaks in seven months. (To put this into perspective Mount Everest, which was one, is 8,848.86 meters. Reinhold Messner an Italian Mountaineer, considered the World's Greatest Mountaineer, took 16 years to accomplish this. In all fairness Messner accomplished it without supplemental oxygen. Nimsdai used it above 8000 meters. Youth knows no limits. The will to accomplish what you were put on Earth to do cannot be denied at any age once it is realized and acted on. You do not often realize your goal or mission in life when you do you should not deny it. Accept the challenge and conquer it.) Reinhold has expressed a desire to make a film about a mountain which is encouraging and he is also the author of 80 books, however many are not published in the U.S. The difficulty is great but I believe not insurmountable.
14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible This is an absolute Incredible Inspiration for anyone who ever dreamed of accomplishing any Great Feat.
On my way from the park I look up into Oklahoma Flats at the big log mansion that Kathy and I managed and lived in. It is dusk and I marvel at the beauty and the expense. I find joy in the freedom of not being a slave to it. I own my soul, my backpack, my hiking boots, and my Mac Air stuffed with my latest project. I have two tickets to Awake: The life of Yogananda, for Monday night in Carbondale. I still climb peaks to sit and meditate on. Even though they may be smaller hills these days. I am looking forward to an evening with my Guru and with my family. Things for me now are simpler. Maybe I look at things differently these days.
I smile when I sit on the cliffs of Encinitas, California and meditate on the benches at Swamii's overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and Thank God that I was shown this Ashram by my wife. Although it is now somewhat commercialized it is still the most Beautiful Ocean Cliff in Southern California." Carpet of the Sun" became my song of the open road.
"Carpet of the Sun", Renaissance
