I began climbing in the winter of 1994. I was 20 years old. I, with my best friend from high school, was a hillbilly mountaineer. We climbed (scrambled) up on top of any chunk of rock, vegetated or not, that we could find. Our primary territory was the Red River Gorge.

In the fall of that year I began roped climbing. Initially I didn't have a regular partner, but eventually I met more and more people and began finding my niche. While I dabbled in sport, I considered myself a trad climber.

My evolution as a climber brought me to a point where I was boulering more and more because I was pushing into trad grades that scared me. When we bailed on some old school route, we'd usually end up bouldering around at the base of the cliff. Eventually I was going out and bouldering for the sake of bouldering, no pad, no spotter, hillbilly mountaineer style.

Finally I got a pad or two and began bouldering pretty intensely, never really progressing past V5, but bouldering day after day after day until my elbow gave out.

During this bouldering phase I really got into sport climbing as well because I finally had the power and endurance to do some routes that had always been above my ability.

I went back to trad after tendonitis shut me down a couple of times and have pretty much stuck to it ever since.

I guided in the RRG from 1997 until 2005. I miss it, but having a family to take care of made me re-evaluate my life.

Now, as I approach middle age I really want to get into alpine climbing and move away from cragging. [2010 update: I'm back to cragging...I miss being tied in to a rope!]

In February 2008 I moved to Colorado from Kentucky to work for Jefferson County Planning and Zoning. I love this area and even though I don't do much technical climbing these days I am trying to get back into bouldering and roped climbing.

I try to bag as many peaks as possible and am just giddy with the gazillion square acres of new places to explore within a short distance of where I am now.

In 2010 I began taking my kids (7 and 3) climbing and they have been enjoying it. I look forward to their limbs and minds growing to the point where I can take them to climb my favorites and belay them on routes of their choosing.