Grand Dynamics International

The Grand Adventure 2011

Mountain Inspiration: Reflections and insight from climbing the Grand Teton, and a Grand Adventure leadership and team building experience with Grand Dynamics International.

- By Tim Walther, President, Grand Dynamics International

Every summer a group of remarkable individuals come together in Jackson Hole, Wyoming to climb the Grand Teton and experience an adventure of a lifetime.  Challenge. Teamwork. Inspiration. Up. Down. In and Out.  WOW!

It’s hard to describe what an intense mountain experience can do for an individual or team.  But imagine setting a BIG GOAL in life. The kind that scares the hell out of you. Combine that with a group of people in the same situation and then add in a support network of coaches and people who believe in you and are psyched to see you break through.

The goal is climbing nearly 7000 feet to the summit  (and back down) of the iconic Grand Teton. The process: Climbing the inner mountain to our own personal peaks.

This is the ultimate experiential learning and team building program for individuals ready to take on the challenge. These are a few highlights from this year’s journey! I would love to hear YOUR insights. Enjoy!

This is rock climbing

Location: Grand Teton National Park – Hidden Falls

Day 2: Intermediate Climbing School; 100 feet off the ground on small belay ledge.

Pitch 2:  Our climbing continues on the second route of the day as I finish up the first pitch (full rope length of about a hundred feet) on the multi-pitch rock-climb. Multi-pitch means you are climbing several rope lengths, one after the next, throughout the process of climbing the mountain. Veteran Grand Adventure climber Bruce Tabler is belaying me.  Bruce has been here before, and realizes the importance of an attentive belay.

I pull over the corner to see Lauren hanging precariously on the overhanging start of pitch two. She is being belayed from seventy feet or so above, by her trusting teammate, M. M has the look of an Alpinist, with a buzzed haircut and squinting eyes and when he speaks you get the feel of being on an international adventure with a hybrid flair of Amsterdam and Canada that fits the persona. He has exuded confidence from the moment we stepped onto the rock and we all knew that M would have our back in a difficult situation.

I watch for a few moments as Lauren shifts her body and I can see that she is deep in a challenging moment.  I look at the way the rope is running and step up for a quick untangle.

“See, it was just the rope, now you got it,” I offer words of encouragement and attribute external circumstances for the difficulty.    A few moments later the scream comes out, “Falling M!  M!  I’m Falling!  Ahhhh!!!!”

The rope comes tight as Lauren feels the fear of a falling on the side of a massive rock face some hundred feet off the deck.  Well at least we got that out of the way! Sometimes it can be a great thing to fall – and realize that you’re not going to die and that the systems of mountaineering work.  Failing can give you the confidence to move forward with your full effort and increase your likelihood of future success.

Moving into the unknown

A few breaths and Lauren is back at it.  But the unknown route is still there and the moves are yet to be determined.  “Check it out Lauren, look at your feet, traverse left and go for it,” I coach her.  The move is hard, and like a lot of rock climbing predicaments, the solution is uncertain.  Another scream comes from Lauren, “There’s NOOOO WAAAAAYYYYY!!!!!!” A black crow flies off in the distance.

“Stay with it Lauren.  Look up and left, there’s great holds, but you just have to commit to the smaller footholds first,” I offer some specifics this time.  I am reminded that what may seem like exhaustion is often just a lack of direction. A few moments later Lauren takes the step and locks onto the bomber handhold and the key to the solving the overhang problem.  Soon she is up and on her way to pitch three.

Many people shared this type experience in the two days of climbing school while preparing to climb the Grand Teton.   Figuring it out. Moving through fear. Getting back up. Trusting your belayer. This is all part of the process of preparing to climb the Grand Teton and the Grand Adventure with Grand Dynamics.

The Grand Adventure

The scene above was from day two, which is intermediate climbing school. It’s the day that the climbing begins to come together as we move up the mountain and practice the techniques the team has learned during the first day.

The Grand Adventure team came together after months of conference calls and coaching with experts like ultra-endurance icon Stu Mittleman.  Physical and mental preparation brings the group together and the ever-looming Grand Teton as the massive linchpin that brings it all together.  Massive goals inspire massive action.

The team is comprised of Lauren, a pharmaceutical sales professional, Magic M a serial entrepreneur and brain wave scientist, Bruce Tabler, an adventure enthusiast and CFO of a major construction company, Rick Ivone, an inspirational coach and Max and Matt, two college students each embracing the adventure and exploring their own personal limits.

Climb your inner mountain

Rick Ivone is a man of inspiration.  His type 1 diabetes has no hold on his passion for pushing the limits and living life to the fullest, and helping others do the same.  You don’t know what you don’t know until you know it.  What’s that, Mr. Ivone?  You move forward into the unknown with recognition that there will be more to learn and that learning and growing requires stepping into the unknown. It’s not the mountain on the outside that wakes us up. Climb the inner mountain.

On Belay? Belay On. Climbing. Climb on!

These are words that initiate action in moving up the mountain and are significant because they express the glue that holds the team of climbers together – trust. We had built it before we met in Jackson, Wyoming.  We forged it on the mountain.

Create your Identity

One of the strongest forces in human nature is to maintain consistency with one’s identity.  Create your identity and seek out those that you can model your success after. Be and athlete. Be a Mountain Jedi.  Walk and climb with style. We become those we surround ourselves with repetition is the mother of success. Reinforce the identity of the athlete, structure yourself with an empowering peer group, and shift a mindset toward the adventure of physical, emotional and spiritual power.

Our Guides

Gary Falk – otherwise known as the Bad Cop.  Falker.  Technical Master. G exudes a confidence that is beyond doubt. That is, if you follow instruction.  When you climb a mountain you seek those that will enforce the necessary technical proficiencies to keep a team safe.  It’s done this way. When you are on a mountain rock fall zones require you to follow directions. Put your helmet strap on – and do it now.

Scotty McGee is the quintessential Socratic climbing facilitator. A long time Grand Dynamics facilitator, he understands the psychology of experiential learning and of servant leadership.  Getting people up a mountain requires moving beyond the technical competency and forward through calm calculated support.

The approach to the saddle was a walk in the park, a long one!  As we stepped up through the Moraine – one of the steepest hiking sections of the five thousand foot approach, Rick hit the wall with a diabetic crash.  If you don’t know what that means, just imagine your body revolting. Blood sugar spikes and drops, creating physiological response that requires Rick to dig deep, deep into his reserves to crest the headwall to the lower saddle.  Scotty followed along monitoring his progress.  Imagine your most difficult challenge.  This was his summit moment. Moving through the most challenging of human experience.

Summit Day, 4:30 AM,  Basecamp

We step into the darkness and start moving up the mountain.  The air is thick with uncertainty. A thunderstorm is looming somewhere off in the distance.  We make it to the infamous Black Dike, a prominent decision point on the final approach on the Grand Teton.  The other Exum guides, including Tom Hargis, a former mentor and instructor of my previous AMGA guide course, have gathered around to evaluate.  We study the radar for some indication of what move to take next.  There is a big system in Idaho Falls heading our way and there’s a good possibility that we would be near the summit just when the storm arrives.  This is the classic mountain dilemma.  So much time, effort, hope and expectations all culminate with the final ascent.  Speed and strength of the party, timing and impact of potential external variables (lightening) and ultimately the safety of the climbing team leads us to turn. After what seemed an eternity, we began our movement back down the mountain.

Let’s do it!

But an interesting thing occurred at base camp.  A choice to climb another route was posed by Gary, and there was a mixed response.  Amidst the questioning of climbing something other than our main objective, Bruce stepped up.  “Let’s do it.”  And the team stepped up behind him.  An hour later we were climbing to the summit of spires on the Middle Teton.  The encouragement on the climb was awesome. M stepped up and called out to Matt in a moment of hesitation and his leadership and coaching shined bright. Max stepped up and owned his summit with his hands reaching in the air with victory. What initially seemed a disappointment was reframed and turned into an amazing pinnacle climb!

Thunder and Lightning

The adventure continued on the decent.  The rain began lightly in the Meadows some five miles from the trailhead.  We scrambled through the boulder fields and then the rain began to increase intensity.  The thunder began to boom and lightening was striking as the skies opened up.  Pounding.  Continuously. The team split and several guys put the pedal down to get out of the downpour.  Rick cruised along and Lauren stayed focused as she overcame her post-op knee and the final challenge of finishing the decent. And finally, the parking lot!

This year’s Grand Adventure was an amazing experience with an amazing group of people.  Each of us walked away from the experience “different.”  Our closing ceremonies were quite telling of a team inspired. “I’m coming back to finish the job,” Max shares his passion for the adventure.  We all shared our personal breakthrough moments and how the process had impacted our lives.  When it comes to climbing mountains the experience is the adventure on the outside and what stays is the experience on the inside.

Thanks for reading. Some of the best things in life often require the difficult climbs.  Set big goals, surround yourself with a positive team, and climb your best climb.

Leave a comment about what this story stimulates within you, climbing the Grand or processing an adventure experience. Join the “Grand Adventure 2012 Interest list” and get on board for free conference calls, trainings and fun as we form our team for  next years climb.  Send an email to info  at grand dynamics dot com!  The climb will be in August with dates being finalized by November 2011.

And as always, until next time,

LIVE YOUR ADVENTURE!

Tim Walther, President, Grand Dynamics International

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