Life Should Be Lived, So Capture The Moment

This video is inspirational to me, my climbing, and my hobby of video producing...so I must share.

http://player.d.nationalgeographic.com/players/vplayer/?guid=5175D87C-F83F-D3F2-2645-6CCA412561A7

Why is it an inspiration? Because it talks about living your dream, and it just so happens that he is specifically talking out outdoor sports/climbing and film making. I am a rock climber. That is all I do. I've stopped snowboarding, kayaking, and backpacking so that I could spend more time advancing my abilities in climbing. My favorite hobby is film making. Yea, I like to take picture...sometimes, but I have always been known to have some type of video recorder in my hands since I was a teenager. A photo says a thousand words, but a video says even more.

Life should be lived, so capture the moment. 

“You have to do the thing that makes you tick. Do it on a daily basis. Do it unapologetically. Do it with love.”
— Fitz Cahall

Six Days In The Uintas

After tackling one of my major projects for the year at work, I took my family up into the Uintas for six days of camping, trail running, climbing, hiking, biking, and fishing. With no cell service or internet connection, we were able to unwind and reconnect as a family; we even tried some new activities.

By no means are any of us fishermen. Even with a son named Fisher, we had no clue what we were doing as we found ourselves huddled on the lake shore every morning and evening. At least I knew how to tie the hook onto the fishing-line.

Our basecamp was located on the south side of Butterfly lake which was a perfect place to watch the alpenglow appear each evening.

My boys are getting burned out by all the climbing and trail running trips that we take them on, So I promised them that I'd buy the fishing poles and we'd teach them to fish. Their attention spans didn't allow for them to sit long enough to let the bait and hook to do their jobs. All they wanted to do was cast and reel, by the end of the trip they were professional casters. I eventually caught a fish with one of the mini-poles. Since it was Fisher pole, he claims that he caught the fish. I even caught a fish with my bare hands that was trapped in some shallow water full of lillypads. Indy even reeled in a decent sized fish all by himself, unfortunately it unhooked itself right when it got to land and swam away. Indy was psyched either way.

The Uintas are full of some of Utah's highest mountains. So Jennilyn successfully took the challenge of running the three tallest all in one push. I decided to dust off my running shoes too and hit the trail two different times.

I was mostly looking forward to climbing a bunch during our trip, but only got to do a little. This cliff is called Stone Garden. A very popular route called Sessions in located on the overhanging section. I was able to climb to the top without falling on my second try.

The boys had a blast. They got to bike around a large lake, get their feet wet, and do all other kinds of things that little boys to outside. They are the coolest little boys. I am a proud father when I look at them.

I could never find my shoes during the trip because the boys were busy wearing them all of the time.

A fun camping trip is never finished until you hit up the local ice cream parlor for a cold treat.

The Better State...Idaho or Utah?

After living most of my life in Idaho, I now reside in Utah. As much as I try to securely hold onto Idaho as my favorite state, I do have to admit that Utah is a wonderland of opportunities for a guy that likes to rock climb, camp, and trail run. So which one do I like better? This is how I settled that debate:

Utah is my home. 

Idaho is my vacation-home.

I'm starting to like the fact that I don't live in Idaho anymore. Now my time spent in Idaho feels more like a vacation--an escape from my regular routines and surroundings. Have you ever noticed that locals are rarely patrons of the various attractions in their own cities and states? They all go out of state to "play." So I'm in a good position. Utah will keep me entertained and in shape so that I can have the time-of-my-life when I go to Idaho.

Eventually, I'm going to get to the point where I will have lived in Utah longer than I have lived in Idaho. This is when I'll officially become a "Utard." But don't worry. My wife and I set ourselves up perfectly to where we will always have a solid foundation in Idaho. We currently have a lot of family that still lives in Idaho. But family members die and move away eventually. We needed a foundation--a driven-down-stake--that would keep us connected and visiting Idaho for years on end. Our solution was the Idaho Mountain Festival.

This event is close to our hearts. Our reasons for establishing this event and keeping it going indefinitely fall all over the place, but our top reason is because we love Idaho and didn't want to forget it. With this event, we think about Idaho all the time and anticipate gathering with old and new friends every year to party in one of the prize possessions that this gem state has to offer...City of Rocks/Castle Rocks.

Even if you aren't a rock climber or trail runner, I hope that you'll find a reason to reunite with me and my family on an annual basis by attending the Idaho Mountain Festival.

Closing Out My Twenties


It would be kind of hard to remember everything that I did during my first or second decade of life, but I have a vivid recollection of all the awesome things that happened during my twenties. The last ten years of my life were riddled with life defining milestones.



The Resume of My Twenties

  • Lived in Brazil – My first year in my twenties was spent living a selfless life in Brazil where I spoke fluent Portuguese and taught the gospel of Jesus Christ to anyone that would invite me into their home.
  • Summited the Grand Teton – When I was 21, I climbed to my highest point ever at 13,775 feet onto the peak of the Grand Teton. We did it from car to car in 14 hours.
  • Skydiving – I ticked off a big bucket list item when I was 21 by jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.
  • Got Married – Four months after turning 22, I got married to a very attractive and awesome California girl.
  • Ran My First Marathon – With vary little preparation and not owning a pair of running shoes, I ran the Top of Utah marathon in just over 5 hours in my skateboarding shoes. 
  • Graduated College – At the age of 23, I graduated with a B.A. in Communications/Advertising from Brigham Young University—Idaho. 
  • Baby #1 – I was blessed with my first offspring, Indiana Laurence Eaton, when I was 23.
  • First Full Time Job – I was fortunate enough to have my internship at the City of Rexburg turn into my first full time job after graduating college as their graphic designer and events coordinator.
  • Bought My First House – Near the closing of my 23rd year of life, I bought—more like financed—my first house in Rexburg, ID where we lived for almost two years.
  • Elders Quorum Musical Chairs – I played what I like to call the “Elder’s Quorum Musical Chairs” during my 24th year where I pretty much sat in each seat of the presidency.
  • Baby #2 – Just seven days after turning 25, I was blessed with my second child, Fisher Jay Eaton.
  • Established myself as a Race Director – By the time I was 26, I had already been the race director of two marathons, two triathlons, two 5Ks, and two cyclocrosses…not to mention I landed a job being the race director of a major 200 mile relay race with Ragnar Events.
  • 4th Marathon – Right before I turned 27, I ran my fourth marathon.
  • The Climbing Trip of a Lifetime – At age 27, with a wife and two young boys, I embarked on a 2.5 month climbing trip where we were literally homeless and jobless—a status we proactively pursued.
  • The Colorado Curiosity – Most of my 28th year was spent experiencing what life is like in Colorado. (For some reason I always wanted to know what it would be like to live in Colorado, Washington, and Alaska.) During this time I worked one of my dream jobs at the prestigious rock climbing magazine, Rock and Ice.
  • First Big Wall Experience – In my 28th year, I was adopted by a recent acquaintance, now a life long climbing buddy that took me on my first big wall/aid-climbing trip where we climbed all nine pitches of the Moonlight Buttress in Zion National Park. We slept on a port-a-ledge for two nights…another major bucket list item of mine.
  • Trailer, White Rim, Dream Job, Festival, 2nd House – My 29th year was packed full a lot of highlights including: my experience living full-time in a 5th wheel trailer with my wife and two boys, ran the entire White Rim Trail in Canyonlands in three days with my wife and friends, getting hired on at a dream company to do a dream job (Working as the Communications Specialist at Liberty Mountain), kicking off the inaugural Idaho Mountain Festival that had almost 200 people in attendance, and purchasing my second house…having previously sold my first one.
  • Hardest Aid Climb My Second Go Around – To cap off my twenties, I headed up the steep and gently overhanging wall of Lunar Ecstasy in Zion National Park with my climbing buddy. For being my second aid route ever, this route was a bit above my limits, but still within my reach. There is something about sleeping on a port-a-ledge that doesn’t get old.


I am certain that I am leaving a lot of stuff out. These are just the milestones of my twenties. I have been blessed with a wonderful set of parents, amazing siblings, a fantastic wife, the coolest children, the most supportive friends, and some marvelous employers. Including God and Jesus Christ, I credit everyone in my life for providing me with the most memorable experiences in my life.

One of my favorite quotes is from Mark Twain that says, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do." Well, as I look back on my last thirty years, I can honestly say that I am not disappointed in how I lived my life.

I now look forward, into my thirties, with rabid tenacity. My age is only a number and that number does not have the power to tell me what I can or cannot do. In fact, to start off my thirties, I will embark on a solo backpacking trip along the entire John Muir Trail where I plan to fast pack all 200+ miles in no more than 10 days. Future posts regarding that trip coming soon.

Lunar Ecstasy

Abraham Shreve and I spent 48 hours aid-climbing the notorious Lunar Ecstasy in Zion National Park, UT.

(click on any photo to start the photos gallery.)














For being my second ever aid route, I found that Lunar Ecstasy was a bit hard for me to bite into. It was right outside of my experience, but well within my reach. I guess there’s never a bad time to raise the bar. Once again we took it slow and ended up sleeping two nights on the wall. I must say, there sure is something amazing about sleeping on a nylon platform that is suspended on the side of a 1,200-foot cliff.

My Job

I sometimes cringe when the first question a new acquaintance asks me is, “So what do you do for work?” Actually, it’s usually the third question; right after “What’s your name?” and “Where are you from?” It seems as though we define each other based on the answers from these three questions. I don’t like that.

It’s not that I’m ashamed of what I do as a profession, it’s just that I’d rather spend the first moments with someone explaining how I am a Christian, a father, a husband, even a rock climber. I might even tell them that I am a wannabe videographer and photographer. I’ve always considered my job to be the thing that funds my lifestyle, not define it.

Now that I’ve griped about that, let me eat my words and say that I have found a true dream job with a dream company that fits my personality and interestes. It not only funds my lifestyle, but it also enhances my passions. I am the Communications Specialist at Liberty Mountain.


Liberty Mountain is one of the largest wholesale distributors of outdoor and climbing gear. What’s a wholesale distributor? We act as the middle-man that traffics the gear from the manufacturers to the retailers. Instead of a retail store dealing with a different sales rep from each manufacturer, they deal with one of our sales reps to order products from hundreds of different companies.

As the communications specialist, I handle the media relations, social marketing, and content marketing for the company and for some of the over-seas brands that we exclusively represent in the U.S. In addition to that, I am also the project manager for Liberty Mountain’s presence at the bi-annual Outdoor Retailer Show.

Media Relations? Social Marketing? Content Marketing? Outdoor Retailer? What on earth does all this jargon mean? Let me give you a visual. (At anytime, feel free to click one of the photos to view them all in a large slideshow.)

I focus on getting information about our gear published in industry magazines by feeding them with press releases and gear samples for gear reviews and guides.
I manage a handful of social media accounts: 5 Facebook, 1 Google+, 1 Twitter, 1 Pinterest, and an account on both YouTube and Vimeo.

I write for two blogs where I post gear reviews, press releases, and trip reports from my co-workers: Everything For The Outdoors and Liberty Mountain Climbing.


I get to help out with the copy writing for the gear descriptions and essays in our two annual catalogs.



As the company’s Outdoor Retailer project manager, I coordinate the logistics of setting up our 40’ x 90’ tradeshow booth that displays loads of gear from some of our core manufactures.


Sometimes I get to go out and test the gear. Sometimes I even get to act like a model while someone takes my picture.





Rock Climbing…What Does It Mean?


The time has come that we, as a climbing industry, establish a differentiation between climbing outside and climbing inside.

“I’m a rock climber.”

If anyone approaches me and says this phrase, I know right off the bat that they are either new to climbing or are referring to climbing indoors on plastic.

Why do I make such huge assumptions? Because I know that veteran-climbers don’t say rock climbing, they just say climbing. That truth alone is the key reason why we need to make an official differentiation between climbing real rock outside verses climbing plastic holds inside.

Joseph Smith at the Glenwood Springs Rec Center. Photo by Benjamin L Eaton.

Currently, the wrong impressions are being given around the world when someone says, “I just got done rock climbing.” One would assume that this person just got back from the local crag, or maybe even from a remote wonderland of rock, where they hung their own quickdraws or plugged their own cams. After hearing a bit more about their climbing session, it is determined that they just got back from the climbing gym where they spent the last 2-4 hours bouldering or top roping on a plywood wall that is riddled with plastic holds.

However, a totally different truth is told when someone says, “I just got back from climbing.” Even though a non-climber would respond with, “Climbing? Climbing what?” a weathered climber would already know that an outdoor climbing session just took place where they hiked an approach, braved the elements, and cut their fingers on abrasive limestone.

Benjamin L Eaton in Indian Creek, UT. Photo by Jennilyn Eaton.
Why would the elimination of the word “rock” change the meaning so drastically? It’s because our definitions for climbing have been left unattended like the garden that sits infested with weeds that strangle the life out of the ripening fruit.

The definitions for climbing currently look like this:
Rock Climbing = Climbing inside on plastic
Climbing = Climbing outside on real rock

The definitions for climbing should look like this from hear on out:
Indoor Climbing = Climbing inside on plastic
Rock Climbing = Climbing outside on real rock

The time is now. Use your words and speak the truth. Just because you climb in a gym doesn’t automatically mean you are ROCK climbing. Are you climbing on rock? NO! You are actually climbing…indoors, hence the term INDOOR CLIMBING.

A Note From The Author...ME: I have nothing against INDOOR CLIMBING. I actually do quite a bit of it myself, especially in the winter. What I do have something against is how we mis-label our actions. Example: If I rode a stationary bike for 2 hours, I wouldn't say to my friends afterwards, "I just got done with a 2 hour bike ride."

The Home Base Chapter

As most of you know, I’ve been bouncing around from here to there doing this or that for the last 2.5 years. My wife and I, along with our two young boys, have lived 2.5 months straight in a tent, braved our chances at becoming Coloradoans, and lived in a 35-foot fifth-wheel trailer for 1.5 years. Professionally, I spent this time unemployed, working security at the Winter X-Games, being a park ranger at the City of Rocks, selling ad-space for a prestigious rock climbing magazine, starting up a new climbing festival, and most recently been working in the marketing department for one of the largest and coolest wholesale distributors of camping and climbing gear.


That chapter of life has since passed—minus that part about working for Liberty Mountain—but the memories and enlightenment that it provided will still live on. It felt amazing to have any setting we desired be my backyard. The unconventional lifestyle was definitely a dream come true. It wasn’t the easiest lifestyle to live, nor did it come stress free. Living where we wanted, when we wanted provided many battles that tested our commitment to adventure…battles that were well worth fighting.

Living that way, as a young family of four, made me feel unique and different. It gave me a fun story to tell leaving many people slack-jawed. Echoing what a cheesy Mountain Dew commercial once said, “I don’t seek out to be different. I seek out to be me and some people find that to be different.”


After trading in the tent and mini-van for the diesel truck and trailer, we have now traded in the trailer and truck for a house. A HOUSE. How conventional can you get? It’s only been 14 days and I’m already feeling normal and less unique. I don’t regret buying a house. I’m actually really excited to have a house that I can customize to fit our personalities, even a home base that our friends can use as a hostel. We’ve positioned ourselves in the middle of everything…everything within the western states.

So what next? What does the Home Base Chapter have in store for the Eaton Family? What do we have up our sleeves to feed our adventurous appetites? Are we going to finally give into life and make our house, work, and kids our scapegoats for never doing what we aspire to do? NO!! NEVER!!


We are going to use our house, work, and kids as reasons to get out and live our dreams. With Jennilyn’s plans to run her first 100-mile trail race and my plans to fast-pack all 200 miles of the John Muir Trail while also breaking the 5.13 barrier, I think we are off to a good start for this year.

“To life, to life, l'chaim!”


Send To Defend Video

I needed a little exercise this winter, video exercise. So I jumped on the opportunity to attend the Send to Defend event in SLC; not to climb but to shoot video. This was good was a good practice session. I think it was my first session using my new lens, so I as able to see what it was capable of.



Send to Defend is a fundraising event for The Salt Lake Climbers Alliance and The Access Fund.

A day of climbing at The Front Climbing Club.
All proceeds go to the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance and The Access Fund.

Climbing, Free food, Prize Giveaways, Silent Auction, and Special Presentation from climbing legend Lynn Hill.

Snow Cave

Childhood winters were spent digging snow caves. I didn't make that many snowmen, but I sure made a whole lot of caves and tunnels. The best caves I made were in the ditch across the street from our house in Rexburg, ID. My bothers and I would wait until the ditch filled in with snow, after which we would dig a hole down and then start our cave. The fact that the cave was practically underground made it even more cool to us.

My boys are now at the ages--6 and 4--where I can now teach them all the fun things that life has to offer them. In my opinion, snow caves are one of those things. Today was a milestone with my boys. I introduced them both to the snow-cave-concept for the first time. They loved the idea. Although they didn't understand the engineering of how to make it, they definitely watched, helped, and took mental notes. I wouldn't be surprised if I catch them making mini-caves by themselves now. The seed has now been planted.

The Chalk Pot: Weekly Top Videos - 1/21/13

The Chalk Pot has chosen the following three videos as this week's Weekly Top Videos. This collection consists of:
  • Dave Graham in Las Vegas projecting and sending The Lark, V15
  • Caroline Ciavaldini and James Pearson exploring the climbing in St. Guilhem, France
  • Highlight reel of The Destination, a climbing carnival in Crete, Greece


Dave Graham spends some time in Las Vegas to project and eventually send a V15 called The Lark. Taking advantage of his presence in "Sin City," he ticks off some amazing looking V12's.


James Pearson, micro gear trad climber, tries to get Caroline Ciavaldini, tough sport climber, on some spicy and tricky-to-protect routes in St. Guilhem, France.




A hundred Greek climbers rally together for the 3rd annual climbing carnival in Crete, Greece. This year the carnival was called The Destination. (Don't let the beginning of this video bore you, the climbing gets sweet and the editing gets creative further in.)

The Chalk Pot: Weekly Top Videos - 1/14/13

For a year and a half now, I've played around with a social media platform called The Chalk Pot where I post links to cool climbing videos, and sometimes blog posts, on Facebook and Google+. I've been tempted to create a website/blog for it, but I just can't justify managing another blog solely for that reason yet. So I'm going to use my personal blog as a testing-ground for what would go on a stand-alone site for The Chalk Pot. If it looks like these The Chalk Pot posts get a lot of views and comments, then I'll go ahead and transition into a TheChalkPot.com site. 


This week's top videos come from Joe Kinder, Bear Cam Media, and LT11. The first video features Joe Kinder and Chris Sharma as they play on the steep limestone cliffs in Spain. Then we head to Colorado with the next video where Daniel Woods snags the 3rd ascent of a proud line in the Flatirons. Last but not least, we have an awesome video of Ben Spannuth doing some hard stuff in the New River Gorge. Pop some popcorn and enjoy!






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