Always living the dream

[9b]

To dream is free.
To live the dream, make it real, it costs something, but it's always worthwhile.

My Day "Living the Dream" from renan ozturk on Vimeo.

My quintessential day here in Boulder Colorado.

For most of the last 6 years I've been a traveling vagabond following my passion for rock climbing. This existence involved sleeping outside in wild places, hitching rides, having very little belongings, a drained bank account and some gourmet dumpster diving for food. I climbed everyday and lived my dream.

These days I'm a domesticated man. By most people's standards I'm still living in the ghetto with my 1988 beater car and trailer-like house. Each day I find time to escape to the nearby rock spires and bag a summit. Making this creative short I realized that I still live my dream everyday...!

some making of: http://vimeo.com/8323339
some art: http://www.rockmonkeyart.com/Home.html

Bumbles & Out-Takes from renan ozturk on Vimeo.

A bit of behind the scenes on the My Day "Living the Dream" piece...footy of the funky POV setup

TAWOCHE 2K10 dispatches #1 from renan ozturk on Vimeo.

It’s 5:45 a.m. and Renan and I are up and throwing the last of the goods into barrels and duffels. What stays? What goes? Where are my shoes?

Our days in Kathmandu have been good…a productive and creative time to sink back into Nepali culture before getting on a plane to fly into the mountains. There is no doubt it is time to get out of the city and up into the hills. The flight to Lukla is a time-warp…you get on the plane surrounded by the amenities of modern life and 45 minutes later, after landing on a super sketchy runway that angles steeply uphill, find yourself surrounded only by trails, monasteries and deep gorges. No more car horns and pollution…it’s sick!

The motivation and creativity are running thick and Renan and I are busting at the seams to capture our trip and bring everyone back home along…it’s good to be here, but the extended tribe is never far from our thoughts.

~Cory

TAWOCHE 2k10 dispatches #2 from renan ozturk on Vimeo.

The good news is the plane didn't crash...and there is no bad news.

The lights that dot the hillside outside our window go out one by one...it’s late in Namche. Our floor is less carpet space than duffels overflowing with camera and climbing gear.

Namche is the hub of almost all activity in the high Khumbu and yet now in the off season, it’s hard to find a shop open before noon. We’ve been here for two days, breathing the thinner air, adjusting to the cooler days and hanging out with the Tibetan traders below the village. Thamserku, Kwangde, and Kusum Kanguru tower above us in an impressive trifecta of ice and stone...conditions look good and we are stoked.

Tomorrow we’ll leave before the sun hits the village and wander up the Thame valley towards Tibet. Our friend Chhewang Nima will come along fort he ride.. You’ve never heard of him...but you should have considering he’s climbed Everest 17 times (yeah, you read that right)! His is just another example of Sherpa modesty and stoicism.

The next four days will take us over the Renjo La at roughly 17,400 ft., down to Gokyo, and finally to Phortse where we will stage for our attempt on Tawoche. Three friends, two cameras, one trail....epic.