Jasmina completes a lead climb in Cochise, Arizona.

Learning new tricks from an old friend

August 29, 2016

I focus on my hands - my chalky fingers gripping tiny indentations in sandy red rock - because that's easier than looking 60 feet down.

"Birdie!" I yell, refusing to look down at her.

"You're so strong Marley! You've got this." Jasmina's voice is confident and comforting. "There's a hold just above your left hand."

I stare at my left hand and will it to move. My right leg is trembling. I'm so afraid my foot is going to slip off the tiny sliver of protruding rock when I reach for the hold. I try to focus on what Jenny told me earlier in the day. Trust your feet. I reach for the hold and slide my foot up - the rubbery sole of my climbing shoe does not slip. A few minutes later I reach the anchor, and finally look down.

The Llaima volcano, seen from the main drag of Melipeuco, Chile, population 5,628. — The Llaima volcano, seen from the main drag of Melipeuco, Chile, population 5,628.

Llaima Expedition | Part I: Of Volcanoes and Valor

August 21, 2016

"You made it," Jonathan says, grinning broadly and clapping me on the back. "Welcome to Chile!"

I smile at him. Jonathan Lees is the chair of the Geological Sciences department at UNC-Chapel Hill, and he looks like it. His eyes twinkle behind thin frameless glasses. He's wearing a button-down water resistant shirt and matching shorts, a hat, hiking boots and a large backpack. He looks like he's about to set out on an expedition - and he is.

Divers explore the Aeolus wreck, located 25 miles off the coast of Beaufort, NC.

Divinity in the deep

August 16, 2016

When you get an open water diver certification, you have to read and discuss all the things that can go wrong. Decompression sickness. Nitrogen narcosis. Oxygen toxicity. Pulmonary embolism. Barotrauma. Panic.

While knowing about these risks (and how to prevent, mitigate, and treat them) is vitally important, all that information can make your first few dives a bit nerve-wracking. Humans really aren’t supposed to be able to breathe (or function at all) at the bottom of the ocean. So scuba diving is not the most natural thing in the world—it takes some getting used to.

Watching the sunrise over the Black Mountains, from the top of the Woody Ridge Trail.

The coldest morning of 2016

August 14, 2016

With the temperature hovering around the low 20's, and the wind blowing harder than I’ve ever seen or felt, I take in the view. It is beautiful - it always is. But I can barely breathe I'm so cold. I set up my tripod and the wind immediately knocks it over. I stabilize it by shoving two of the legs into a crack in a large rock. I lock my camera on it, set the timer, and pray it doesn't fall again. I get the above shot. This photo does not illustrate the severity of the weather conditions at all. Whatever. I'm so cold I can't even think. I have to get out of the wind.

Patience, and all is coming

August 12, 2016

I turn away from the revelry to look out over the ocean. The water is placid and the sky is plain—a wall of dismal, gray clouds blending into dark blue water creates a stubbornly monochromatic backdrop.

Well I’m here, I think to myself. I’ll just wait for a little bit. Maybe the clouds will break up some. Maybe the sun will poke through at some point.

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Why didn’t I bring my book? I wish my phone had service here. With nothing to do but occasionally glance over at the party kids—now they are sitting against a wall, leaning their heads on each other’s shoulders—I start to get impatient.