Wild Northerner Magazine Summer 2016 | Page 39

Q- You own and operate Superior Exploration. What has it been like to be your own boss?

A- It’s been great, I do my own thing when I want to. I travel all across the world doing climbing, guiding and geology exploration.

Q- What is your favourite climb/experience in northern Ontario and why?

A-When I find a new site, it is always the first climb I do there that is the most remarkable. For instance, as an example, The climb called Comfortably Numb at Montreal River. Pink Floyd’s album had just come out and we listened to it on the drive there. The day was cold and we were freezing - and, so the name Comfortably Numb.

Q- You've been in this sport for 37 years. What have all these experiences and opportunities given you in your life?

A- They’ve given me this equation: Determination + a goal/ time = success.

Q- When you get to the top of a climb, what does it give you and how does it inspire you?

A- Rock and ice climbing is just a game of problem solving. Once the problem is solved, one is happy to have succeeded.

Q- You've been in some tough spots. Fell from a bus and survived serious injuries. Ambushed and attacked and held hostage by a gang in Peru. A punctured lung at 5,500-m in India. What is the toughest experience of your life and why?

A- The toughest was having to decide to go it alone and get divorced after 19 years in a great marriage. I had to choose between really settling down and having a family or carrying on in my adventure career as a single guy.

Q- You've been in this sport for 37 years. What have all these experiences and opportunities given you in your life?

A- They’ve given me this equation: Determination + a goal/ time = success.

Q- When you get to the top of a climb, what does it give you and how does it inspire you?

A- Rock and ice climbing is just a game of problem solving. Once the problem is solved, one is happy to have succeeded.

Q- You've been in some tough spots. Fell from a bus and survived serious injuries. Ambushed and attacked and held hostage by a gang in Peru. A punctured lung at 5,500-m in India. What is the toughest experience of your life and why?

A- The toughest was having to decide to go it alone and get divorced after 19 years in a great marriage. I had to choose between really settling down and having a family or carrying on in my adventure career as a single guy.