No. 16 - 2012 Year in Pictures

By - Bill Urbanski

2012 provided yet another year of adventure and travel and amazing experiences with great friends, old and new... and I have the pictures to prove it:

24. July - Kayaking returned to my life in a big way with excursions on the Francis E. Walter Dam, the Susquehanna River, and more.

23. October - Friends John, Jill, and Dave proudly join the ranks of fellow marathon completers, at Scranton's Steamtown Marathon.

22. November - Return to Joshua Tree N.P. for JTreeTweetUp 4. With Patrick on belay on a 5.9 sport climb called Sexy Grandma.

21. June - Car roof surfing with brother Steve on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

20. May - Busking on the streets of Scranton during a First Friday event.

19. February - With veteran marathoners Rob and Traci at South Carolina's Myrtle Beach Marathon. Rob's finish earned him his first trip to Boston.

18. June - Departing Mt. Hood Oregon. A week-long blizzard scuttled our summit bid. Nothing but blue skies on the day we had to leave.

17. June - Posing with fellow 48-Completers at the Highpointer Convention, Timberline Lodge, Mt. Hood, Oregon.

16. August - Deep water free soloing - a new summer time passion.

15. April - With the family, toasting the 75th Anniversary of Urbanski Farms.

14. July - Climbing "The Nose" - following 4th of July fireworks on the Mall in D.C.

13. June - Sunrise summit of Hawkeye Point, highest point in Iowa, with Patrick. Most challenging part of our climb was trying to stay awake on the all-night drive to get there.

12. March - St. Patrick's Day gig at Fiddler's Green. Performing as the Whiskey Rebels with Rich.

11. August - Slack Lining above the Library in Mocanoqua.  My newest passion (aka, newest way to hurt myself).

10. September - training for The Dangler, a 5.10a classic at the Gunks, using my homemade climbing gym / fireplace.

9. June - Smith Rock State Park, Oregon - 3 days of sport climbing in nature's Disneyland.

8.  June - On the approach to Mt. Shasta, California, gazing in awe at all its 10,000 feet of prominence. 

7. June - the iconic Monkey Face, 5.7 A0, at Smith Rock in Oregon. We ran out of time on our bid to send this classic, but look closely for other climbers about to enter the mouth.

 6. August - Cliff jumping - the perfect way to cool off on a sweltering summer day.

5. October - Urban climbing.  Thanks David for the opportunity, and Patrick for the photo.

4. June - Smith Rock climbing crew - a great day with friends old and new.

3. November - First fire. 3-year project complete. It has been a back-breaking labor of love.

2. October - sending The Dangler, 5.10a, at the Gunks in New York. I think the black and white really captures the moment. Thanks Jason for the photo.

1. June - Atop the 14,179 foot summit of Mt. Shasta, California with Patrick.

Many thanks to Patrick Gensel, David Weaver, Jason Gebauer and others for the photos, and for sharing many of these amazing adventures with me.