Metaphors in the Mountains

While the buzz of 10-Day is winding down, here is one of the many amazing experiences from the trip that has not quite settled. The guides are all talking about this "miracle" they witnessed. Miracle is the only way they could describe such an unreal phenomenon. They all passed around pictures from all different angles and proximities. Evan Blalock, the Sea Kayak Operations Manager this summer, saw a metaphor in the beauty of this "miracle".   

The idea of “home” has been something that I’ve contemplated often since the beginning of my time with Beyond Malibu. In the spring of 2012 I felt the tugging of a great adventure pulling me far from my native land of Arkansas. I felt sure that the beauty of the mountains and the sea awaiting me would far surpass my imagination. I felt sure that I would walk close with my God there. There is no doubt that the scenery has been far grander than I could have dreamed and that I’ve walked closer with Jesus than ever before in my young life. Like many, though, who have explored far and wide, I’ve begun to feel a yearning for a sense of rootedness; of belonging; of home. 

This summer I’ve returned to serve in leadership with Beyond’s sea kayaking program, but I jumped at the opportunity to head up the inlet for Mountain 10-Day training. Mid-week at Contact Lakes we gazed upon this amazing, yet perplexing site that called to mind another story of a forgotten home and the longing that its absence has created in the hearts of mankind. 

The withered tree in the middle of the circle reminds me of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3), misused in man’s sinfulness to bring death and pain into this world. The perfect circle was our perfect home of Eden, our perfect dwelling with God, and a oneness that was lost to Adam and Eve. I imagine the pain and longing they felt as they tried to make sense of what had happened and

                                                                                     wandered from Eden in                                                                                                  consequence of their rebellion.

Where I find great joy in this photo is in what lies outside of “Eden”. The cracks emanating from the circle looked much like a fruitful tree or, more pointedly, an abundant vine. It seemed to represent the Way that was graciously forged by the blood of Christ for all believers; another chance at oneness with God; a chance to have an abiding home once again in the True Vine, Jesus (John 15).

I’d be foolish to think that I’ve interpreted this incredible sight that we were blessed with, but I can say that it has had a great impact on me. The Lord used it to remind me of my rootedness in Christ and the joy of that abiding relationship we offer here at Beyond to all who are thirsty for their lost home with Yahweh. 

Evan Blalock

The 10-Day Experience

Being on Beyond staff can seem daunting to anyone whether as a base-camper or as a guide. And it’s so easy to individually focus on yourself: your own worries, your own stresses, and your own insecurities. It’s easy to become oblivious to the struggles of the other staff around camp. I know for myself that was my initial reaction after arriving at Beyond Malibu until I began asking staff if they wanted to contribute to the Beyond Blog. I got to hear reflections of experiences they’d had since arriving for the summer. Kate Kinsman made me realize I was not alone in feeling weighed down by my own baggage. I learned it wasn’t only Kate and myself who felt this way but that 27 other guides and 14 basecamp staff were experiencing these feelings with us. So I asked Kate, a first year mountain guide, to share her reflections from her first 10-Day trip.

The 10-day experience is often an intimidating one to first year guides like me. It’s the culmination of all that you’ve been anticipating and working for thus far: your first trip into these mountains that you’ll call home for two summers. The experience is simultaneously physically and mentally exhausting as well as joyous. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in your own neuroses and the way that your story is playing out in the moment. It’s so easy to forget that there are twenty-seven other people up there on that mountain with their own stories playing out. Each one has a story that God has specifically crafted and engineered in such a way that they’ve ended up here, battling their own insecurities through 10-day.

I came into 10-day with my own baggage. I had just endured one of the busiest seasons of my life and said a permanent goodbye to a lot of things that had been constants in my life for the past few years. I hadn’t had time to mentally or physically prepare for what I was about to undertake. In short, I came in not knowing if I was good enough for this task God have given me.

The hike up Chatterbox to Sun City was brutal. I had plenty of time to doubt why in the world I was doing this. When the rain started, I had the audacity to feel slightly miserable, despite the fact that I was cozied up in a fly while other groups were still making their way to Sun City. As they streamed into camp, God gave me my first reminder that I am not His only child. These poor children of His were wet, freezing, tired, and had had a much rougher go than I.

Kate on a rope team during a
recon on Mt. Albert

After that day, I made it a point to be attentive to the well being of my fellow guides. I was asked roughly six times a day how I was doing, and asked that question myself many more times. The challenge of 10-day left us all a bit raw, and I got very honest answers. I got a peek into the minds of many of the guides and how they were experiencing 10-day; I got a look into how many uniquely crafted stories were coming together to create this trip.

I remember very vividly the moment we got to Maury’s Mound. We’d just made it all the way from Contact Lakes and over Sun Peak, and my group came in after all the others. The evening sun was bathing the rocks and people were spread out all over the slabs, laughing and sore, and laying all their gear out to dry. I looked out over the rocks and saw so many stories that I had come to know. I had been focused on how my one little thread of life looked and felt, and where it was going, and I got a glimpse of the fact that God has specially made so many other threads that he is weaving alongside mine.

Somehow, through that, it all got easier. Looking at the summer before me, it doesn't matter if I am good enough or not; God is the weaver, not me. He keeps track of every thread and how each comes together in a specific and perfect way to create the most beautiful patterns, and I am already a part of this pattern.

                  Kate Kinsman

God placed each one of us at Beyond this summer. Our lives are intertwining each day we spend serving together. But if we keep our heads down looking at only our own lives, we miss out on what God has laid out in front of us. Kate’s experience with 10-Day gave me a wake up call to stop being consumed in my individual struggles and to instead look, listen, and experience life with the beautiful people living around me.

                                                                                                Brooke Silcox

Brooke, Becca, and Blogs

Hey! I’m Brooke Silcox, working on base camp staff at Beyond Malibu this summer season. I am from Napa, California, recently graduated from Sacramento State. This is not only my first time to Beyond but also my first time to Malibu… and my first time to Canada. You could say it’s a bit of a culture and a weather shift. I am working with the guest services team to promote Beyond this year. This blog has quickly become my adopted child. This is my first time blogging, so bear with me. In order to help this growing blog prosper, I thought, “A great idea would be interviewing someone who has been around Beyond for awhile. Becca Williams.”

      Becca just returned to base camp from her ninth 10-Day Training trip up Sun Peak. I wanted to know what kept Becca coming back each year. To answer this she felt it was necessary to explain her 10-Day experiences starting from her first year as a guide and leading up to the most recent trip as a Beyond trainer.

       When Becca first arrived at basecamp in 2006 she was in a mindset of “proving herself.” Each season the first trip in the mountains that guides participate in is called “The 10-Day”, an adventure with training, scenarios and team building exercises. All the guides are spilt into groups before they head into the mountains. The first group consisted of a mesh of the charismatic and funny people and the second

                           was filled with the cool confident studs She described her 10-Day group
                           as a hodge-podge of folks. A cluster of guides with little in common, not
                           sure where she fit in – comparing this group to the other two groups. In
                           turn, creating an emotion of feeling out of place throughout 10-Day.

Back in the day
Becca and camper - Kirsten
(now a first year guide)

       After this experience, Becca was sent out on her first trip as a guide with two 2^nd year guides on a route she thought had fewer challenges. She took this as an expression that the Guide Team Leaders (GTLs) didn’t have confidence in her mountain skills. Becca wanted to prove to everyone she knew what she was doing and could do it well. Unfortunately she didn’t feel like she was being given the opportunities to show it.  During her first trip guiding she was pushed to all her limits. Trying to prove herself. Trying to be the best. This was when she learned her first big Beyond lesson.  “Beyond requires everything from you. Emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically. It is in the space that you are at your limits of yourself, doing the best you can and it’s still not enough, this is where the presence of God is as real as touching the surface of water.” Becca realized exactly what God was saying to her. - Service isn’t about what you want. - God wanted her to be fully extended so that she would rely on Him rather than on her own wits and confidence.     

       Now after her ninth 10-Day experience, Becca explains why she keeps coming back to Beyond. It isn’t just the great friends who proved to be more than a hodge-podge group of people. As Becca explains, no matter how many times up here, as leading trips in these Canadian mountains becomes second nature, she continues to be brought back to the same place: a front row seat to everything God is doing. She is challenged to a level that reaches human limits and must put full reliance and trust into God.

This being my first time at Beyond, I am still sitting in awe of the mountains around me, attempting to be productive in the midst of captivation. When I arrived here thinking I was fully prepared to do my job, God has reminded me that I can’t do this on my own. I am beginning to feel the pull as Beyond stretches me in many ways. After hearing from Becca’s experience, I know I am in for a whirlwind of experiences - in need of putting full reliance and trust into God. 

Summer Home

On May 2^nd at 6 a.m., I boarded a flight in Charlotte heading for Seattle with nervous anticipation. This grand adventure that the Lord had called me to was finally beginning. The plane took off and I felt the Lord calming me as I left my life in South Carolina behind.  My name is Sara Betenbaugh and this summer I'm serving as Young Life's Beyond Malibu Guest Services Coordinator.

I reflected on my Work Crew experience at Malibu in 2010. I was always intimidated by how “cool” and “outdoorsy” the Beyond staff were. When I was on Summer Staff at Malibu in 2012, I heard a Beyond representative talk about staff opportunities and thought to myself, “I would never do that.” Chuckling at my own ignorance, I couldn’t get over the evidence of the Lord’s sovereignty and grace. When I thought I could never serve in that capacity, the Lord opened doors and moved in ways beyond my comprehension. So, as I write this post, I am currently sitting in Beyond Malibu's Base Camp office. Oh how the Lord has His humor!

I spent the month of May helping out in Malibu Club’s kitchen for the pre-season. It was a great month of serving and community, but I felt my heart yearning and longing to be down the inlet at Beyond. On the few sunny days of May, I would try and catch glimpses of the green roofs of Beyond from Malibu’s inner dock. I would search for any sign of Beyond because I knew that it was going to be my new “home.” It would be where I would see the Lord work in mighty ways. I felt so incredibly close to starting this journey with Beyond but June was weeks away and alas, Beyond was two miles away.

One day after dinner, I found myself jumping into a boat with three friends as we made our way down the inlet to explore Beyond. I could hardly contain my excitement as I headed towards Beyond’s small dock and was caught off guard when I remarked to my Malibu friends, “Welcome to my home.”

Home.

This place would become my new home in just a few short weeks. As I bounded up the gravel pathway, I felt the Lord’s assurance. “My child, this is where I have called you.” As we walked around the overgrown paths and tried to find any crack in the boarded up buildings, I couldn’t help but wonder which building was which. Where would I sleep? Where would I work? Where would I worship and spend time with my fellow brothers and sisters? There were cobwebs and fallen branches everywhere and while I knew that the buildings had been boarded up nine months, I could feel that the Lord was present in this place.

After counting down the days, part of my new Beyond family finally arrived. The Beyond portion of this great summer adventure had officially begun. We immediately started hauling supplies and equipment from Malibu to Beyond and with every trip of equipment, more boards started coming down. With each board coming down, more light was finally coming into these buildings that had stood vacant. Our days consisted of scrubbing, hauling water from the creek, sorting equipment, and getting electricity. People started moving into buildings, toothbrushes started lining up next to the main sink, and shoes started to pile up outside doors. Base Camp had finally come to life.

Our first evening as a full staff, we had fifty-five people sitting on two sides of our long dinner table. As we sat elbow to elbow and sang the doxology as a prayer, I truly felt like I was getting a glimpse of heaven. Of true community and fellowship with believers who all had the same goals, serving God and bringing Him glory. What I had first viewed as boarded up buildings with cobwebs had turned into a sacred place full of the true life that only Jesus gives. What a sweet blessing it is to call this thin place where heaven meets earth my summer “home.”

By Sara Betenbaugh
June 2014

Zion Ridge Reconnaissance Report-- Circa 1979

Zion Ridge 1979

Read the account by Jerry Erickson of the recon of the Zion Ridge June 22, 23, 24 1979

Zion Summit

The Radio Room at Night

Night Sky Above Malibu

Jerry Erickson

September 7, 2013

Back during the summers when I was a mountaineering guide at Beyond, and had a week in Base Camp, I loved being assigned to radio duty at Malibu.  The Beyond Base Camp is located half-way down Princess Louisa Inlet which is narrow and enclosed with mountains on all sides.  The main summer camp at Malibu however, is located at the mouth of Princess Louisa Inlet right where it branches off the much larger Jervis Inlet.  Since most of the climbing routes used by Beyond are located on the peaks along Jervis Inlet, Malibu has much better radio reception than Base Camp for communicating with the trips.

Back in the late 70s and early 80s, the Beyond Radio Room was located just off a common lounge on the upper floor of Lillooet, with a separate bathroom opening off the main room.  The radio set was placed on a desk just under windows looking out to the south, in the same room as a bed, writing desk and couch.  On the interior side of the bathroom door, someone had posted a poem by Dave Taylor (guide 1978-1979) called ‘The Gift’, and Psalm 150, both handwritten:

The Gift

by Dave Taylor (1978)

Reflections broken by a soft wind,

as I try and understand;

Mountains and the lake before me,

offered as a gift to Man.

Heather meadows flecked with color,

ice blue sky and sky blue ice.

Silver water on a boulder,

peaks which mirror the evening light.

No shame I’d feel if I deserved them,

bought them, owned them, paid the price.

But Creation is not mine to purchase,

no more than the grace of Christ.

Psalm 150 (RSV)

Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty firmament!

Praise him for his mighty deeds;

praise him according to his exceeding greatness!

Praise him with trumpet sound;

praise him with lute and harp!

Praise him with sounding cymbals;

praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!

Being on radio duty promised some personal time and solitude away from the intense and constant community life and work at Base Camp.  I loved being part of the community at Base Camp, but as an introvert, I occasionally needed some respite from it all.  Radio duty also meant a boat trip down the inlet, hot meals from the Malibu kitchen, and time to read my bible and books, write in my journal, and pray for the trips.

One guide on each of the trips going into the mountains is assigned a hand-held radio.  The primary and most routine task of the person on radio duty is to talk at least once by radio to each of the three to six trips out in the mountains that week.  This involves finding out how the guides and campers on each trip are doing, writing down their prayer requests, and then radioing them all down to Base Camp for prayer by the whole community. 

But the secondary and perhaps more important task of the person manning the radio room is to maintain a kind of vigil or watch for 24 hours over the collective safety and well-being of the guides and campers out in the mountains.  That is why the person on radio duty is charged with staying inside the radio room at all times (with rare exceptions), as the timing of incoming calls is unpredictable.   And this is why the radio is placed in the same room as the bed - so that the person on radio duty can be woken up if an emergency call were to come in from one of the trips during the night - or even in the very dead of night, at perhaps 2:00 or 3:00 am.  If such an emergency call were to come in, the radio person can summon the camp doctor at Malibu, and/or contact Base Camp for advice - or in the worst cases, to start organizing a rescue party.

I always saw being on radio duty as a kind of night watch or vigil as might be maintained at a monastery or guard post.  As the guides called in each evening after dinner, I could envision them all at each specific location on the routes, having been there myself.  I could imagine the two or three guides on each trip, in their jackets and wool hats standing huddled around the radio in the cool evening air on some high lonely ridge; above them the alpenglow lingering on the snow-covered peaks all around with the first stars coming out in the deep indigo-blue sky above. 

This sense of alert, watchful, and prayerful solitude is one of the reasons I have always loved Psalm 134:

Psalm 134 (NIV)

Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord

who minister by night in the house of the Lord.

Lift up your hands in the sanctuary

and praise the Lord.

May the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth,

bless you from Zion.

My NIV Study Bible has these notes re: Psalm 134:

“Psalm 134 A liturgy of praise – a brief exchange between the worshippers, as they are about to leave the temple after the evening service, and the Levites, who kept the temple watch through the night.  In the Psalter it concludes the ‘songs of ascent’ …

134:1-2 The departing worshippers call on the Levites to continue the praise of the Lord through the night (see 1Ch 9:33*).

134:3 One of the Levites responds with a benediction on the worshippers …”

[*1 Chronicles 9:33 (RSV):  “Now these are the singers, the heads of fathers’ houses of the Levites, dwelling in the chambers of the temple free from other service, for they were on duty day and night.”]

In addition, one of the evening prayers in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer (BOCP) evokes this same sense of maintaining the night watch:

A Collect for Aid against Perils (BOCP 1928)

“Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.  Amen.”

Not long after being a guide, I wrote the following about being on radio duty:

Thoughts at Beyond; the Radio Room at Night

by Jerry Erickson (1982)

At night, a summer’s evening.

Distances grow farther with the black.

Mountains rise beyond sight all around.

The water still pale with sunset.

Friends in distant high places prepare for the night.

The radio crackles with static from the uneasy atmosphere,

as the earth turns from the sun

and faces the vast blackness, the open awful universe

and bright colored, confusing dreams

containing meaning, just out of touch.

False assurances with hot tea, the glowing red numbers

of a digital clock.

Words of a journal and just delivered mail

under a circle of light in the darkened room.

And unbidden, the true assurance – of Him,

deeper than and transcending the lonely,

wistful mystery of the summer night.

Psalm 115:1

I was at Beyond from July 27-Aug 3. I was with the Carmel Baptist group...we were a group of old men!  Anyway, it was the biggest physical challenge of my life but worth the personal and spiritual growth.  Our guides were Chris and Tyler...they did a great job leading us spiritually and on the trail.  Since returning I find myself going back to my pictures and my journal to reflect and process our trip.  My journal included some random thoughts and phrases...I thought I would share some impactful thoughts/events/random things that have remained with me and that God is continuing to use to grow me in my walk. 

First, as I watch my own teenagers attend YL events I am amazed how the leaders strip away all the baggage of the day and their lives through song and laughter which leads to the opportunity to share God's word with them.  While I was on the hike to Albert I was stripped of all my control and the pressures of daily life.  While in this state God was able to speak to me.  God challenged me with lessons about control, joy, thankfulness, and trusting His provision.  Another meaningful experience was our return to base camp after our hike.  As we approached the dock the staff was cheering for us and then carried our stinky packs to the barn.  My eyes filled up with tears as I witnessed this level of service...only God could inspire someone to serve like that AND I believe it was a glimpse of the welcoming we will receive in Heaven when we show up with our stinky, earthly lives.  My experience at Beyond has changed my life and challenged me in my walk.  Here are some random things I wrote in my journal...a few highs from the list: Swim in the Glacier Pool, The Psalms alarm clock, Orange Rikki...a few lows from my list: bugs, Microwave bowl, Alder trees, and bugs!

One of my favorite verses is Psalm 115:1...My time on the hike was full of the glory of God and examples of His greatness...the beauty of His creation screamed, "not to us but to you be the glory".  Thank you so much for the experience and challenging me to continue to grow in my walk with the Lord. 

Thanks, Chad