Most people think of an alpine start when talking about alpine climbs; but this summer, a group of dedicated climbers took the alpine start to their local crag. I don't know when it first started, but I do know this is the 2nd summer I've participated in this. And, not just participated, the morning sessions became a rhythym in my daily life. In fact, we took the early sessions to a new level from the previous year. It used to be a 6am start, but this year it was 4:30am and even one time, we met at 4. These early morning sessions proved to be another way I have adapted to life back in the corporate world while craving the outdoors.

The few that started this trend have grown into a slightly larger group with very little turnover. Over time, I found myself becoming dependent on this small group for climbing partners. I had nearly forgotten a whole community of climbers in the area because of my climbing time preference. If someone wasn't going out from the morning group, I would start to panick. I might not get out to climb. Afterall, who would I find willing to climb at that hour other than them?

Although I have tended to be more of a morning person all my life, I would not say that morning climbing is easy. Thinking back, I've done triathlons, running races (5k's) and even grown up with insane training times to beat the heat of the day when I lived in the midwest. Maybe that makes me better suited to getting into the spirit of things. Still, it wasn't automatic to get used to getting the body to perform at that hour.

With this summer being particularly dry there was this constant vigilance to the time. 9am and the sun would hit the wall and climbing would quickly disintegrate. Except for the fact that the routes we were trying were harder than previous years and often much longer, we could get in a few pitches each and still get into the office by 10am. It was the perfect climbing arrangement.

I work fulltime in a very demanding field and I and my team work with another team in Asia. Therefore, not only am I fully consumed by my duties with work, many of our meetings run into the late afternoon or evening to accommmodate those on the other side of the globe. Even with daylight lasting longer in the summer, leaving work early enough to get in the same amount of climbing time was difficult.

By the time the late afternoon would arrive, there were definitely times when I was exhausted, ready for a nap. There was one stretch where I absolutely had to put my head down on my desk and rest for 15 minutes in between meetings. Some mornings following this were equally difficult to motivate to get up. But, these moments were few and the payoffs overshadowed them, anyway.

Some of the payoffs were in my work, where, after sessioning, I arrived invigorated and refreshed; ready to tackle the day. Some of my best days at work followed a good session outdoors. Similarly, even after a long week, climbing would take the edge off and bring a different kind of focus to mind. Maybe it's the endorphines, maybe it's the extra drive, or maybe it's the people I've been climbing with, but I've had a very successful summer at the crag this year. I owe that, in part, to the people who make the morning sessions happen; without them, I would not be climbing nearly as much as I have.

For this, I am very lucky to have found others who for similar and dissimilar reasons are driven to such an extreme as this. I work hard to not let my work or my climbing interfere with each other, but it's not easy. Such differing passions can not co-exist. And yet, I have found another way to adapt and provide myself the climbing lifestyle I desire and still keep me plugged into the corporate space. Sometimes our group is as large as a dozen or so people, but there still remains the more consistent core group. In the community, other climbers identify us as the Morning Posse and for that reason we were coined the Breakfast Club.

With the days geting shorter and the temperatures cooling off, we may still get in a few morning sessions. But time will be tigheter and soon, the allure will fade. As this is already beginning to happen, I'm noticing a distinct symptom of withdrawal. This has been a unique experience and I'm going to miss it when it ends.

Pictured in the photo: Greg Olsen, Daniil Magdalin, Glen Anderson, Greg Gibson, Nathan Wilfert, Audrey Sniezek. Missing are Clint Weber and his climbing partner Jason.