Scott Rowley South Sister Summit
On 5/11/13 I set out to ski climb South Sister. My adventure quickly went off course. I ended up on top of Devils Hill, where an epiphany smacked me square in the face. Sitting on top of the hill something in my head told me that if I am to continue living a life that is largely absorbed by alcohol and pot then I will quickly end up in a very dark place. To put things simply..... I am not a person whom can handle these kinds of habits. That morning I packed up, went back to town and entered myself into AA and NA. Not by another persons will or demand, but rather my own. This journey has just begun. I will continue to travel peaks and valleys. Some days will be harder than others, but with hope, faith, love and the right tools I will conquer this inner demon. Today, I went back back to South Sister. This time with a clearer head and different mindset. I no longer felt alone. My friend Rex and I left the trail head at 2:15 am and we were quickly thrown off route. It was as if my demon wanted us to go back to Devils Hill. This side track resulted in an additional 700 feet vertical of climbing, wasted energy and a doubt that we were going to make the summit. Voices in my head persisted to tell me that I was not alone and we were going to conquer the mountain. I was not going back to the same dark place I was three days prior. The sun began to rise as we scaled the ridge that drops into Moraine Lake. We were back on track and the summit was in sight. Thousands of feet above us sat a peak that would be our destiny for this day. En route to the top I kept hearing people telling me things about myself that i'd never thought before. I kept thinking about all the moments that i'd messed up and people i'd hurt along the way. We reached the summit, skis and all at roughly 10 am. We were climbing for 8 hours. Exhaustion felt like an understatement, but for the first time in a long time I was at peace. I had absorbed myself into something far greater than myself and started to regain hope in a life that is truly amazing. It was reaffirming to sit on the summit and reflect on my decision to get sober and stay sober for the rest of my life. "A powerful, positive day awaits! Rise up!"
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Today, I began seeking balance in my life. I will seek out those whom have found balance in an effort to help. Funny that balance is a 7 letter word. Are we ever truly balanced?
Ryan, Drew and Scott. Photo: Black and Red Photography Backcountry skiing in Central Oregon has slowly become an integral part of my lifestyle. It is far different than resort riding. You are in the wild, powering yourself up the mountain and there is a huge sense of freedom. Freedom from daily stresses, work thoughts and pretty much everything other than the moment. After months of talking about it my friend Drew Bryant and I finally had a window of opportunity to get deep into the Three Sisters Wilderness and enjoy a day of skiing on Ball Butte and Broken Top. Our plan was set in motion the instant the head ski coach of MBSEF Freeride said the two of us could have the day off to enjoy an adventure. That Saturday Drew came up to me at lunch! "Scott we are snowmobiling into the base of Ball Butte tomorrow!" Sunday morning we rose early to get ahead of the weekend sled traffic. We met our friends Ryan Lazzeri and Paul Clark from Black and Red Photography at our home in Bend, OR, fired up the truck and rallied to Dutchman Flats. - https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=44.00007,-121.66370&ll=44.00007,-121.66370&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1 Drew fires up his sled. Photo: Black and Red Photography After warming up the sleds, checking our beacons and tightening our loose knots we were mashing down the trail towards the forest service boundary line. We parked the snowmobiles at the base of Ball Butte. From here we would hike to the top of Ball Butte and press further to the east facing saddle on Broken Top. Ball Butte was no small accomplishment. Many people chose to stop hiking at this point - http://goo.gl/auPZO, but we chose to continue our adventure to the true summit allowing us to ski The North Face of Ball Butte. We towered the true summit around 1145AM. Obviously plenty of daylight to continue our adventure deeper into the Sisters Wilderness. After much contimplation we decided that North was a good direction to take. Are turns down Ball Butte's North Face were steep and variable. We were stoked! In the hours that followed we hiked from roughly 7000 feet to 8600 feet on Broken Top. It was at this point where we had far too many choices to make a split moment decision. After more than 15 minutes of conversation we decided the conditions were far too variable to press on to the summit of Broken Top. We settled for a few hours at 8600 feet, built a small jump off a natural feature and hiked a few lines. As a result of this session Drew Bryant From Don Bryant Painting got the shot of the day. And, believe it or not...... This shot was from his first hit on the jump. Yeah boy! The jump was sent for an hour or so then we were off. Back to the sleds we traveled. Another Awesome Adventure in the books and great learning experiences for all. Post By: Scott Rowley My place of Zen is the mountains. Yours is likely somewhere else, but you can relate. Days like today make me feel truly blessed to live the life I live. I work hard to live it to the fullest, and trust me, some days are hard. Today, for example, I could have easily slept until 9am, went to work, then cruised home on my bike like usual. Instead, I opted for the early bird route. I got out of bed before the sun was up to be at the mountain at 645am; far before the chair lifts were even running. Why? Just to shred some fresh powder snow before 9 hours of work. Every moment of mental and physical agony was worth the joy I experienced on the way down. I do not know what happens in my mind, but as soon as gravity starts pulling me down the mountain I forget about everything except what is in front of me. Sometimes what awaits is a soft deep pow turn, but often it is a tree, death cookie or other obstacle that is not near as forgiving as the spring pow that just arrived at Mt Bachelor. Here’s to the early birds that get after it every day! Keep hustlin’! Post By: Scott Rowley |
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