Climbing Trip Report: Gunks 2024

January 11, 2025 - 22 mins read

This is a report about my October 2024 trip with a focus on climbing in The Gunks in New York. The leaves were falling during this trip - and, new to me, it seemed as though leaves might the inspiration for butterflies. Multiple times I’d be overlooking a beautiful vista to notice a fluttering specimen in the wind. In October in Austin, these flutterers are butterflies dancing in the air, harvesting the pollens and nectars - the leaves don’t fall til later.

Climbing Trip Report: Joshua Tree 2024

May 4, 2024 - 26 mins read

This is a report about a climbing trip to Joshua Tree National Park in April and May 2024. We camped and climbed trad for 4 days in beautiful weather. Joshua Tree National Park West Entrance Sign My hope for this story is that climbers may be able to leverage some insights within and apply lessons during their climbing experiences. Non-climbers may also enjoy getting to know my world a little more even though it’s primarily a story about climbing.

Climbing Trip Report: Red Rocks - Ascending Epinephrine

February 4, 2024 - 19 mins read

This post is a story about a climbing trip that Luke and I went on to Red Rock just outside of Las Vegas in 2023 to attempt to finish Epinephrine (Epi). For an intro and to our first two scouting sessions on Epi, see https://www.jasonkoppe.com/posts/climbing-trip-report-epi-1-and-2/. I won’t go into the details of that trip here, but suffice it to say that we didn’t ever finish Epi on our first two attempts - nor did we think we would - but one of the attempts was … more influential than the other.

Climbing Trip Report: Red Rocks - Scouting Epinephrine

January 29, 2024 - 54 mins read

This post is a story about two climbing trips that Luke and I went on to Red Rocks just outside of Las Vegas in 2022 to prepare for an eventual climb of Epinephrine, the famous 5.9 in Red Rocks. We made progress on our climbing goals, did some scouting, changed plans numerous times, were involved in multiple accidents, one of us got a moderate injury and, of course, we had fun.

Rekindling the proverbial village: asking for help

January 13, 2024 - 6 mins read

We were hosting a potluck with family and I was in charge of cooking the standing rib roast (aka prime rib). It was my first time cooking this dish which is popular in the USA at this time of year. Leading up to the cooking day, we researched portion sizes and cooking approaches. Beforehand, we decided not to bother with frenching the ribs since it seemed more cosmetic than practical and to skip tying the ribs since we didn’t have twine.

Getting off Google: Migrated the website

August 22, 2023 - 5 mins read

I migrated my website from Google to Hugo on Cloudflare. If you were subscribed to RSS, you probably need to resubscribe to the new RSS. From: Google Sites (WYSIWYG website creation) - Basic info Google Blogger (WYSIWYG blog publishing) - Blog Google Docs - Drafting blog posts Google Domains - Registrar + DNS To: Hugo, a static site generator Able to combine the site and blog together with Hugo’s flexibility Using the Poison theme for Hugo Used https://pypi.

I left Indeed

March 31, 2023 - 3 mins read

My last day at Indeed was Friday, March 10. I spent about 14 of my 36 years there, approximately 40% of my life. It’s been a fun ride! I’ve grown so much during my time at Indeed, in large part because of the amazing people that I got to learn from. I cherish the friendships that I’ve developed through these years and will continue to grow them. I consider myself lucky to have joined Indeed, and I feel grateful for being a part of growing a company with a socially-oriented mission of helping people get jobs.

Somatic Release Breathwork

September 30, 2021 - 3 mins read

I recently went through a private and individual Somatic Release Breathwork session with Dr Dave Cohodes in Austin, Texas. I was curious to try the session because: I’ve had increased anxiety recently, so I’ve been trying to learn about anxiety, understand anxiety, and what contributes to mine. After going through 3 years of talk therapy, being privileged to have months of EMDR and practicing meditation for over 5 years, I am a huge proponent of mental health therapies.

Truth

August 3, 2021 - 2 mins read

I just finished Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. It’s a narrative of the history and legacy of residential schools in Canada which interleaves a multitude of stories, perspectives, and calls to action throughout. And while this approximately 300 page narrative is a summary of reality, it was eye opening for me. I learned about colonialism, assimilation, racism, perseverance, and partnership.

Novelty, anxiety, growth

March 28, 2021 - 17 mins read

(~3500 words; reading time: 20 minutes) How much of your life experiences are new-to-you novelty? How do you balance optimism and pessimism while navigating novelty? How do you notice anxiety? Have you ever felt stuck? Multiple experiences in the last few months have led me to reflect on the continuum of experience from routine to novelty. I’ll tell you a story for each: Doing something new at work A colleague taking a visible leap