The Dirtbag Diaries

Growing up in Ireland, writer Lisa McGonigle wasn't immersed in snow and mountains. But a trip to the Pyrenees when she was 19 to try snowboarding realigned her priorities. While little rivals fresh lines on a powder day, she discovered the fine line between passionate and obsessed can be difficult to distinguish. 

Transitions may not be sexy, but they make or break us. Almost five years after I wrote the Monoboard and started The Diaries, I find myself in a metaphorical transition.  My passions run from the mountains to the Seattle music scene and I've become adept at moving between them. My life is about to change. My passions won't.  It's time to refine the transition.

Dean Fleming writes, " Like most rock climbers, I’m a control freak and I’m cheap.  So I’ll share one lifestyle tip for the committed to put extra cash in your pocket." DIY haircuts. Dean lays out 3 simple steps to keeping the dirtbag dream alive. 

It can be difficult to separate an initial seed of fear from the growing tangle of possibility that can quickly emerge in your head, but sometimes that sprouting seed is very tangible. Today, we bring you stories from Sara Porterfield and Jeremy Allyn. They'll make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. You'll try to shudder them off. But the seed- the seed will remain. 

The weekend ritual of loading up a car with gear, picking a destination, and watching out the window as the landscapes passes by is familiar to most of us. We may have a love-hate relationship with our vehicles, but they are able to take us to the places that help clear our heads and restore our souls. Is that rationalization enough?

The Underdog is the most potent myth in America. Is this special type of hero just a myth or is the underdog real? Jayson Sime was a small town Iowa kid from the tough part of town. He was told he wouldn't amount to much by his teachers and hazed by his peers. From north of nowhere to a career in politics to Mount Shasta's summit, Jayson has overcome.  Maybe heroes are real.  

While in school, Fred Sproat successfully balanced his time between guiding and love. Guiding takes a commitment to dealing with Mother Nature's spontaneous eruptions and the tenacity to keep clients happy. But you are able to pursue you passion, even if it means leaving somethings- or someone- behind.  

The first time I sat around a climber's campfire at 19, I could sense that though our lives were superficially different with jobs and responsibilities, something greater connected those gathered around the fire. Today, we present two stories from women- one a climber and one a creator- about the moment when the random became connected at a time when it mattered most. 

When David King set out to ride his bike across the US, he had read the books, bought the right gear and trained tirelessly on hills back home.  But biking day in and day out started to wear on him mentally, as well as physically. As he cranked up a steep pass early in the trip, David wondered whether he had the mental tenacity to complete the ride. 

After road racing bicycles for seven years, Gary Visser settled into life in South Carolina. He discovered a new passion in the salt water marshes, raised a family, and taught his son, Garrett, to fly fish. As Garrett prepares to leave for college, Gary appreciates that letting go, much like his parents did more than 30 years ago, is harder than one might think.