...was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Why not start at the very beginning? My name is Daniel Smith, and I'd like to start off by saying "thank you" for taking the time to visit my humble piece of cyberspace real-estate. You've probably found your way here by either 1) knowing me and looking to see if you have made the infamous annals of my Photo Gallery or 2) are looking for information on hiking and climbing in the mountains and have found beta in one of my trip reports (Google has been very good to me). Either way, thanks for looking around!
I've spent the better part of my life in the outdoors. I started Cub Scouts in elementary school and went all the way up through Eagle Scout by 1994. During that time, I went on three tours of duty at Philmont Scout Ranch in Northern New Mexico where I gained a real appreciation for spending time in the mountains.
My mountain activity portfolio grew much larger when I went on my first ski trip in 1998 to Breckenridge, CO. What began as a high school Spring Break trip, has blossomed into one of my true passions; now I'll ride down just about any slope shallower than 55°, even if there are "moguls the size of volkswagons!" (Quote courtesy of Anita Bickley.) I try to make a few ski trips per year, but living in the hot and flat, albeit great, state of Texas makes it somewhat difficult.
While a Horned Frog at Texas Christian University, I became captivated by stories of extreme athletes like Doug Coombs and Marco Siffredi riding down the great 8000-meter giants of the Himalaya. Though I can only dream of performing on that level, the dreaming made me think outside of the box on just what a Texan should do. I thought about skiing from the highest summit in Colorado, Mt. Elbert, which I found out was not too extreme of a proposition, even for me. In the spring of 2003, I lugged my heavy wood-core Salomons part of the way up a quiet Mt. Elbert, and despite underestimating the effort required to haul the planks up to 4,401m, I found an appreciation for the solitude and peace that come with off-season hiking.
If you're interested in the non-climbing side of Daniel, then my happiest feature is that of being a content husband since February 2004. Carol & I have known each other since high school, and there is no doubt in my mind that she is the person with whom God wants me to spend the rest of my life. The two of us enjoy spending time with our family and friends and decorating our newly purchased house in north Fort Worth, Texas. In March 2009, we were blessed with the addition of our son, Jacob, who was born on a snowy day in North Texas. He definitely keeps us busy, but is truly the apple of our eyes! We have a friendly golden retriever, Denali, named after the Athabascan "Great One".
I am first and foremost a Christian who attends St. Bartholomew's Roman Catholic Church in south Fort Worth. Carol & I are both active in the parish Young Adult group; some of my best friends have come out of this tight group of believers.
If you have any questions for Daniel or are interested in joining up for a climb, just send him an email at the address below:
The Texas Mountaineer
