A reflection of two separate trips that served as canon events in my maturity as a person with a Native American identity and a vocation involving mentorship. I hope you enjoy. Numerous papers and articles have been written about “mentorship” in mountain pedagogy—I even have a few drafts in my Google Drive. Rather than putContinue reading “Opening the door and walking through it with you”
Author Archives: calsmithctgr
Pahto-Tieton Slam
Pahto’s SW Chute at Sunset and more Tieton fun with Carter! 4/8 – 4/16 Throughout March, Amber had been traveling in Pakistan visitng her family so I was dog-dad for a few weeks. Upon her return, she bopped down to Santa Fe to visit our good friend Lauren and to work on her dissertation. RelievedContinue reading “Pahto-Tieton Slam”
Getting Rocked in Smith Rock
4/3 – 4/5 A quick 2.5 hours away from my mother’s house on the Yakam Reservation is Smith Rock. Feeling bad for missing her birthday (St. Patrick’s Day), I carved time out to visit on Easter Sunday. After enjoying some freshly caught Yakama Salmon, I bopped down to Smith Rock with Aloo (my husky), toContinue reading “Getting Rocked in Smith Rock”
Pahto SW Chute!
Normally, I like to spend much more time on these, although the necessity to keep up with current events and happenings dictates that I grind this out now in some new and odd floral coffee shop in Yakima. As Spring pops, the weather bursts open and closes just as quickly. I am remembering why IContinue reading “Pahto SW Chute!”
A Summer’s Madness
Through swirling hazes of candy bar wrappers, granola bar crumbs, and sticky pockets of old snacks, I have spent most of my summer in mountain clothes – painfully dull in style, their only reprieve is function and application. Sixty-nine days between May and September, to be exact, and these are only the work days. IContinue reading “A Summer’s Madness”
Dancing with Takhoma
Opening up our new pajamas on Christmas Eve, elaborate Halloween decorations throughout the house, there some things my family just does. Most of us play volleyball, basketball or were runners in high school. I fell into this last category as I have poor hand-eye coordination. Competing in Track and Field in Spring and CrossContinue reading “Dancing with Takhoma”
The Pride from Wy’east
Under the tutelage of elders who carried us into times which make us proud to be Indian – we must serve those to come by making everyone accepting of Indians. Resting easy over the Yakama Nation, Pahto has provided for our people since time immemorial. Standing at 12,280’, Pahto’s gentle Southern rising slopes attractContinue reading “The Pride from Wy’east”
A Letter to those Seeking Takhoma’s Summit
The allure of Takhoma has long preceded the brutal conquest that replaced names of its features with names adapted for the English tongue. Ascending its trails and traversing its glaciers with these adapted names lures us into forgetting the history carried in this land. Naming is a central act of building a long-standing connectionContinue reading “A Letter to those Seeking Takhoma’s Summit”
Yakama Alpinism 