On December 27, I flew to Mexico City with my dad and brother Adam for a six-day vacation, and we fit a lot of great experiences in! Here are a few photos:

<– Adam on Pyramid of the Sun (MUCH bigger than I expected! Awesome!!) with the Pyramid of the Moon in the background at Teotihuacan.

–> walking up the steep stairs up the Pyramid of the Sun.

<– Adam and I at a taco stand in Amecameca. We LOVE the atmosphere in Mexico and enjoyed walking around downtown at night.

–> Inside the Amecameca cathedral. With two 17,000′+ volcanoes towering over the city, think of Amecameca as Mecca for alpine pilgrims.

<– We left the trailhead at 5:22 a.m. and 13,000′ feet above sea level. An hour or two later, the sun rose and showed Popo behind us as we made our way up the steep, rocky trail up Iztaccihuatl. The Popo half of this national park is closed since it’s an active volcano. It had a major eruption a month earlier. I was kinda wishing we’d get to witness that again!

<– Dad’s school. Looks fantastic.

We went to mass next to a 600 year old cathedral and welcomed in 2012 with the family of the pension owner where we stayed. Great people! All very nice. ^ note the Mayan calendar t-shirt.

I caught the bus back up to the DF and flew home the next day.

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It has been a very slow year for technical rescues in Utah County. I think today’s was only the fourth! We usually have at least 3x that.

In this photo (click to zoom in), I’m the top left bright green dot. A girl fell 30′ and tumbled another 60′, and luckily stopped on a steep scree slope just down and right from me. You might call that a miracle.

She had serious injuries (but is expected to be okay) and no one knew exactly where she was. Her boyfriend, who had earlier hiked down the trail, got worried and borrowed a cell phone to call 911. The people who lent him the phone hiked up and, when the wind was blowing toward them, heard her screams. She had probably been there for an hour or two before they found her and tried to keep her warm while waiting for SAR and North Fork Fire to arrive. She was found high on the mountainside and far from any trails. Another miracle.

We set up 6 lowering stations to bring her down, including one I built with five pitons set in tiny cracks in the cliff just above her with water flowing over them. The operation went smoothly (of course), and a waiting Life Flight helicopter flew her away.

Maybe you’re thinking that none of these events are really miracles. It was just people doing small things. Like lending a cell phone. The bystanders who found the girl were hiking in the area anyway. SAR and NFF have rescued dozens of people along that stretch of mountain, and we consider it simple and easy. But that’s how most miracles come about, with just people, usually doing just small things.

If you were thinking these are no miracles, try looking at it from another angle, like the girl’s, who lay in pain for hours and who now recovers safely in a warm, soft hospital bed rather than dying on cold, hard rocks.

Now look around. Who do you see who needs a miracle? What small thing can you contribute? What are you waiting for?

I’ve taken the neighborhood kids rappelling twice in the last two weeks. Here’s a picture from Battle Creek Canyon this week. Two weeks ago, I sent them over an 80′ cliff in Dry Canyon a mile from my house.

Some of the boys had very little fear and thoroughly enjoyed the whole adventure, which is great; but the ones who impressed me most didn’t start out that way.

Two 12 year olds were visibly shaken as they eased over the first awkward cliff. One – after hanging just over the edge and trying to get started for a few minutes, glancing down repeatedly despite everyone’s admonitions not to – started to cry.

But neither one ever backed out! One moved steadily downward despite his shaking knees, and the other did the same once I tied a piece of webbing around his harness to offer an extra belay (a fireman’s belay on the end of the rope could stop them at any time).

When’s the last time you did something that scared you? Have you ever done anything that TERRIFIED you? I highly recommend it. It changes your life as you discover that you’re more capable and courageous than you ever knew.

I’ve long believed that courage is one of the most underrated values in the world. We sometimes speak of it as if only daredevils and heroes have a right to it. Not so. Courage is for everyone.

By the second outing, the kids were running laps up the trail and down the rope as fast as they could go, loving nearly every minute. They made me proud. With determination and courage like that, what can ever stop them?

All the feedback I’ve received so far from readers of 75 Search and Rescue Stories has been great. Here are a few excerpts from ones available online:

From a book review by author Jules Harrell in the Mountain Rescue Association quarterly publication Meridian:

From Amazon.com:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring and fascinating, July 30, 2011 by Baird

This book is well worth twice the price charged, especially given that part of the proceeds are donated to SAR. Divided into quick, engrossing chapters that each tell the story of a SAR operation, it’s immensely readable. Some stories will make you laugh, some will leave you in awe. Shaun Roundy has a fast-paced, light-hearted writing style that never bogs down. Everyone in Utah County should read this before heading to the mountains or the lake; maybe then we’d have fewer people getting ledged out on a cliff in a t-shirt with no gear every month.

I have never required the assistance of SAR, but my brother did, and some these stories seriously brought tears of gratitude to my eyes. Anyone considering volunteering for SAR or something similar (working at a mountain resort, national park, or similar) should definitely read this first to get a feel for what they might be facing and to understand the mindset required.

If you stumbled across this book and are wondering whether to buy it: I promise you will not regret the purchase. It’s a book I’ll proudly display on my shelf for years to come. The selfless sacrifice SAR volunteers undertake is nothing short of inspiring, and this book is an easy and fun way to learn more about SAR and support it at the same time.
5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME book, one of a kind!, July 18, 2011 by P. Burns

Once I started reading this book, it seemed like an injustice to put it down!
Waiting inside were the tales of desperate victims, anxious heroes and the land they challenged which threatened to steal their lives! The heartfelt stories of love, loss, hope and failure kept me enthralled as I experienced the thrill of success, the tearful suffering of the hopeless and the exhilaration of the search.
This is a heart pounding, tear jerking, hooraah eliciting collection of stories of amazing volunteers whose quest is simply to help those in need.

Others tell me that they thoroughly enjoy it and fellow rescuers say they appreciate the reminder of rescue memories and that they identify with the ideas I express. I’d love to hear what you think! Order yours now from 75 Search and Rescue Stories

At long last, 75 Search and Rescue Stories is ready to order!

It may not seem long to you, but after working day and night for months…it does to me! The first month went very well, cranking out content quickly. The second month, it took real effort to make myself work on it, but once I got momentum, the words usually flowed nicely. Then the final revisions, editing, photo layout, and such was less taxing on the brain and came along just fine.

Some stories are short and sweet. Others are long and gripping. Some make you want to celebrate against-all-odds victories, and with the ones that end in tragedy, I usually do a pretty good job of putting on a positive spin (sometimes surprising myself how well they came out).

It occurred to me last week that I’ve written three major books in the past year. Not bad! Continue Reading »

I’ve spent most of my free moments for the past 6 weeks (and there have been a lot of them!) writing my next book: 75 Search and Rescue Stories. I cranked the first draft out in a month of days and nights, and read a few chapters to new search and rescue members and others to get some feedback. The two common responses were: 1. give a few more details and 2. that’s AWESOME!!!

It was rewarding to put the print out down after reading a story and see the rapt attention on everyone’s faces. I probably should have expected it since friends and neighbors often quiz me to find out the latest adventure, and since I’ve now written out the very best stories in far greater detail than I’ve ever told them verbally.

One challenge is remembering that all the details I take for granted (because I was there) are still fascinating to others (who weren’t). I tell my university students the same thing, and it just takes a bit more attention to make sure I fit them all in.

The really tough part, though, is that about 1/4 of the stories include some sort of tragedy, and it’s not very fun to relive and remember them in sufficient detail to write them down. But that’s the way it goes. The exciting rescues are the technically, physically, and emotionally challenging ones, and those are also the ones that make the most engaging stories.

I’m so near finishing, I can’t stop now. I just have a few stories to revise and a lot more photos to add and lay out. I’ve already begun setting up a bit of the marketing, including a Facebook page where I’ll share some stories and photos on a regular basis – check it out at Search and Rescue Stories and don’t forget to “like” it so you won’t miss a single exciting post! (Also, I greatly appreciate you liking it because it helps me get a short Facebook URL and helps spread the word which really, really helps!)

I still have to jump through an administrative hoop or two before this is official, but I’ll keep ya posted on when it’s ready to preorder!

After class today, I ran an errand on the motorcycle. Two little girls sitting outside Sonic smiled and waved to me. I picked up some groceries and another 2-year old kept her eyes glued to the bike as I rode away. Children inherently know, it seems, that motorcycles are exciting.

<– Here’s a recent photo of Stacey & I on the road to Squaw Peak. We agree with the children.

During a class discussion today, we briefly discussed the fact that critical thinkers view problems as “exciting challenges” rather than just hassles and headaches.

If only we inherently knew THAT.

Update: I took 7 year old Sarah for a motorcycle ride up the canyon for her birthday. “This is the BEST day of my life!” she gushed. She meant it, too.

I walked outside this morning and enjoyed the refreshing sensations of the first day of autumn.

The sky was filled with high, dark clouds spreading an even, muted, shadowless light; a stiff breeze tousled my hair; and a few rain drops darkened the ground.

With a few pleasantly warm days behind us, this cold front reminded me of the reprieve from summer’s heat that usually arrives sometime in September. Its cool slap in the face has a way of waking you up from the stupor of sizzling August afternoons and making you feel ALIVE again.

It reminded me of a cool summer I spent in a wood-framed tent, running the climbing program at a scout camp near West Yellowstone.

Every morning we walked quickly through the brisk air alongside a clear stream to an outdoor shower, breakfast, and flag ceremony. Snow-white weasels with black-tipped tails sometimes trotted along the trail before us. Continue Reading »

The thing I learned a long time ago about climbing big mountains is that it’s not always fun while you’re doing it.

It’s not until later, perhaps from the highway below driving away, when all the suffering from cold and fatigue and dehydration is over, when your sore feet don’t have to take another step toward some distant destination, when your hips and shoulders can forget about your 45-pound pack grinding its weight into your skin and bones, when the air is so thick in your lungs that you can say long sentences or take a long drink of water without pausing for breath, or sometimes weeks later when you’ve fully recovered mentally and emotionally, that the best rewards arrive.

That’s when the entire ordeal – suffering and all – become glorious! And beautiful. And deeply, deeply satisfying. That’s when you realize how much the suffering and effort and dogged determination to reach the top has made you grow, and how much of a better person you are for the experience.

This is good to remember when in the midst of difficulties. Good to remember that trails and trials don’t last forever. That there will be rest, and everything will be okay again. Good to remember to never give up, but keep plodding along until you reach your destination. The trail along the way may be beautiful, but you can’t stay there forever. The conditions may be extremely uncomfortable, but they don’t last, either. You may need to pause to catch your breath or regain your strength, but the more steadily you keep placing one foot in front of the other, the sooner you will find rest, whether at base camp, advanced base camp, a brief pause on the summit, or finally home again, safe and sound, with comforts you couldn’t have even comprehended in the midst of your suffering.

When the going gets tough, remember. Remember this moment to later look back on with awe and inspiration to know that you persevered, and gratitude that it’s over!

I finally deleted 20 GB of data from my computer so I’d have space to finish editing a video from climbing Cerro el Plomo in the Chilean Andes last year just in time to give it to my Dad for Christmas.

My favorite spot in the film is when I’m standing on top of the nearly-18,000′ mountain. I had been climbing alone for hours. The daily snow storm was blowing in from the nearby ocean. I have never felt more exhausted in my life. I wanted to lay down and never move again. 100′ of elevation below the top, I was wishing desperately I would get nauseous and throw up so I could diagnose altitude sickness and have to turn back. What I like about it is the way I say “I’m TIRED.” Yes, I was tired, but even though it took so much mentally to even step over a 4′-high pile of rocks, I was far from finished! I could have gone on in that very difficult state for much, much farther had it been necessary.

Anyway, here’s the trailer for your enjoyment.