Last month, I wrote about a climbing road trip that Doug and I took to Idaho and Oregon. We finally completed a video highlighting the vacation. It is a long film at 30 minutes, but there was a lot to cover on this 17-day adventure.
Getting out and traveling with your ostomy provides some very significant confidence-building opportunities. You have to change and empty your appliance in unfamiliar surroundings and you must learn how to adapt to having an ostomy in unique situations. Unknowns abound with each bend in the road and each new town on the map. Dealing with each of these new situations stretches your comfort zone and leads to growth and tenacity. So, if you are just recovering from surgery, plan a trip if you can — even if it is just a weekend getaway. If you have had your surgery for a while, get out on a longer excursion and try something new.
Ostomy Outdoors 
Heidi this is an incredible video. So many great things I want to say, but I don’t want to write to much here, you covered a lot of topics which are so important and helpful for so many. One thing I did notice is the difference in the rating system from the East Coast areas like the Gunks or Rummney haha. I’ve done 5.6’s and 5.7’s with overhangs back here. Climbing in Moab and seeing how it is out West was a great experience as well. So happy for you in more ways then I can fit here. Keep on climbing and go vertical! Brian
Brian,
Glad you liked the video! You are so right about the variation in ratings. My friend recently got back from a trip to the Gunks and commented on how stiff the ratings are. And sport routes usually seem to feel so much easier than trad routes with the same ratings– even at the same climbing area. This is why I was so psyched to find these long four-pitch moderate sport routes—it isn’t a route type that is that easy to come by. Some of the routes I did had bolts that were closely spaced too which made things feel even better as I eased back into leading.
Unfortunately, I have had to stop rock climbing temporarily due to some pain that has developed in one of my shoulder joints recently. My shoulders were great on the trip, so this has been a disappointing setback. I have an orthopedic appointment coming up in a couple of weeks to decipher some recent MRI results, but hopefully it is nothing that some more hard work in PT can’t fix up. Being off the rock again makes the climbs that I was able to do feel so much sweeter. I am so thankful I was able to get out there to enjoy those moments. Thank goodness snowboarding season is starting and there are lots of winter peaks to hike while my shoulder heal up:).
Hope you are having a great autumn/winter. I don’t always get a chance to comment, but all the work you do with Intense Intestines is amazing. Nice job!
-Heidi