THE Top 10 Rock and Sky 2010 Gear Awards! 12/19/2010
 Time for what you've all been waiting for! The 2010 Rock and Sky Gear awards!
Since this is the first time I've done them, I doubt you've actually been waiting, but I had to make the intro sound exciting somehow. It's the time of year where everyone is posting their favorite gear reviews, awards, and gift suggestions. I feel left out, so I've decided to do my own gear award post. Unlike those big web sites where brands send them free products to review, I have to buy my own gear. That's why the awards are going to normal person gear, and not the newest stuff on the market. I purchased it myself after doing tons of research and thought it was worthy of mention. So without further excuse or explanation - THE 2010 ROCK AND SKY GEAR AWARDS!! Ps. If anyone wants to send me free gear to review, that'd be awesome too. :-D 4 Comments  Group Sponsor Photo This is going to sound gross, but tonight, three days after I got home, I put BACK ON the base layer I wore for THREE DAYS in a row at JTree and went running.
I found the leftover campfire smell soothing. Don't judge me. Last Wednesday I hopped a plane and flew to California. To clarify, there was a lot more thought and planning involved. Twenty-five climbers, linked by twitter, met in the desert for a long weekend of climbing and bonding. I now call "Face Collecting" my official hobby. In the past year and a half I've met more amazing people than in the previous five combined. My "know in real life" list is long and out of date and I love it. My life is richer, and I am braver than I was before. This week in Joshua Tree was epic, and I wouldn't have experienced it without these amazing people. Bailing at The Gunks 11/09/2010
So far this year the Shawangunks, or the "Gunks" of NY have been a pivotal part of my climbing season. This past weekend marked my third trip out this year, the first trip holding my very first trad lead (No, I haven't written about that yet. It's stewing... give me time!) and this past weekend hosting a mini east coast tweetup - or #NovGunksEx according to @ajsilver...  Photo by Dave F. NASATweetup Contest! #STS133 10/31/2010
 Aleya at the STS-132 Tweetup STS-133 is launching this week and twitter is flooded with the #NASATweetup hash tag. About a hundred tweeps are participating in the actual tweetup, while a bunch more are going down just to watch and revel in the nerdiness - and most likely to revel in the buckets of rum at Fish Lips as well.
This is my jealous face: >< (not the one in the photo, the one I'm making right now. And yes I know I used the same pic in two posts in a row...) I am: A Human of Influence. 10/23/2010
Today I found yet another AWESOME thing from MooseJaw: The October Contest
They are accepting applications for their Human of Influence program. I couldn't help but think that this is the PERFECT program for me. I exactly meet one of the two requirements (being human). That's half credit right there. After pumping myself up in the mirror and repeating my self-worth mantra, I'd like to make my case for the influence part. Please read my submission below. Comments are welcome, though if they are mean I'll probably cry. This means a lot to me. *Sniffle* Ok, here we go... Summit for Someone 2011 10/07/2010
 I've picked a climb!
On July 17th 2011 I will start a 5 day trek into the Wind River Mountain Range to summit the Wyoming high point: Gannett Peak. Almost one year ago I entered the Champion "What's Your Everest?" contest. Their question was, "What would you overcome if you had the means?" While I have lots of issues (we all know this) I chose to address my fear of heights. Climbing can be expensive, and east coast is a bit "low" compared to the mountains you find out west. I'd use the prize money to give myself opportunities to overcome my fear through exposure and training. Through Twitter I heard about an organization called Summit for Someone. #cuemusic It was perfect. The human spirit 10/04/2010
I just finished watching the video below, and it moved me to tears. I'm not sure why exactly, but the feeling I got deeply resonated with another experience I had. I'd like to share both and how I think they are connected. The video is nearly 30 minutes long, but in my opinion worth the investment of your time.
 It came. It went. The event we've been waiting and planning for these many many months. I first heard about the EMS Nor'easter Festival around May of this year from the @EasternMntn twitter account, dutifully manned by Jim Darroch. It sounded like a blast: Music, sports, conservation themed - all green with TONS of vendors. A blast it was - made doubly so by the willingness of EMS to allow us to arrange a small tweetup the first night.
If there ever was an example of social media being used effectively by brands this is it. @Easternmntn has been talking (and I mean actually interacting) with me since January when Katie and I took their Three Day Mountaineering Course. I've been a loyal REI buyer for years, and a huge fan of Marmot, but ever since I started using twitter my image of the two has slipped a tad. It's not that there is anything wrong with their products or service - it's that they aren't "real." They don't talk back - they blast. They don't connect, they advertise. More and more of my money has been going to EMS this year, simply because I feel like they hear me when I speak. What was just a festival became an investment for me. So here's how it went... SpaceUp DC Project 09/20/2010
Here is a quick write up about the project my team and I did in prep for the SpaceUp DC 2010 conference. Thanks everyone for helping!!  Ben, Jen, Carriann, Tiffany and Tim on the Mall Devils Tower: Butterflies (The way up) 09/09/2010
 Our trip out to Wyoming began with some hesitation. Patrick had a rather unsettling lead in Boulder Canyon which shook his confidence (and my nerve), and I wasn’t sure I could change my flight home. Bill brought it into perspective though: “I came out here with the intention of climbing the Tower, and that’s what I think we should do.” I moved my flight and off we went, flying into the Wyoming-ness encased in a shell of fiberglass and chrome, watching the sun set for what seemed like hours. We arrived at the KOA campground outside the park at 11pm. Up went our tents and off went our lights. When darkness closed in around our eyes we were treated to the black outline of the tower, engulfed in the most stunning sky I’ve ever seen. The milky way was perfectly visible, banding the sky with millions of stars. We saw three shooting stars while we stood, gaping in awe. I didn’t want to go to bed.  7am on 8/9/10 | Aleya Littleton:
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