Last updated — May 2025
Between the Swiss Alps and Slovakia, moving with the seasons. Summer guiding is underway — the Mont Blanc massif is opening up and the days are becoming very long.
Alpine courses and private guiding through June and July. A small group expedition to Nepal is in the planning stages for autumn — logistics and permits are in progress. If you are interested in either, the right moment to write is now.
Two threads occupy most of my attention right now.
The first is completing my Cultivating Emotional Balance (CEB) teacher training with the Paul Ekman Group. CEB is a secular programme that weaves emotion science with contemplative practice. It is the formal container for inner work I have been doing for years — now becoming something I can offer with integrity and a clear methodology.
The second is this website. The Mind side of Just One Step is taking shape — a place for the inner work alongside the mountain guiding. Weekly writing has started. Reflections on the intersection of mountains and mind.
Destructive Emotions by Daniel Goleman — the record of a five-day dialogue between the Dalai Lama and a group of scientists, including Paul Ekman and Francisco Varela. Slow, dense, and very good.
The pause. In high terrain, the most consequential moments are not the fall itself but the split seconds of decision before it. The same is true in conversation — a word said in anger, a choice made too fast. The work, in both worlds, is to lengthen that moment between stimulus and response. Not to eliminate the reaction, but to create enough space to choose it.