Maybe the cowboy is gone, but the tradition of going West to reinvent oneself has remained a part of our culture. Today, Brendan Leonard presents a story about mountain people and the dreams parents instill in their children. 

When it came time to settle down after returning from a Peace Corps stint, the economy tanked and Ryan Nickum pieced together whatever work he could -- data entry, process server and ditch digging. He began to question whether his youthful wanderlust now impeded a more adult life.  

In August 2008, 11 climbers lost their lives on K2. The ensuing media frenzy was just that -- a frenzy. What really happened up there? Freddie Wilkinson, started asking questions and in the process he found himself chasing an incredible story. You don't need a journalism degree or a press pass to be a reporter. 

James Lucas had dreams of rock stardom. He wanted to cast a shadow longer than El Cap. He wanted to live forever in camp fire conversation.  He wanted to be Yosemite's Next Top Idol. He turned to the legends for advice and they welcomed him with open arms. Turns out nobody can resist sandbagging a young hungry climber.

At a quick consideration boxing and alpinism have little in common. Ponder if for a second and you might see the similarities. After years in the ring and even longer in the vertical life, Kelly Cordes certainly does. Today Kelly presents a story about the biggest fight of his life and embracing the mythic choss pile that has haunted him since his early days of climbing. 

We've all got them. War wounds. Battle scars.  We get them from crashing bikes in the woods, surgeon's scalpels and cheese grating falls on granite. The real incredible thing is that we chose to see what we want in our wounds and in others.  We look past them to the emotion and memory behind them. They become the physical diary of our lives. 

Last year, Aimee Brown got the opportunity of a lifetime a job writing for National Geographic. Excited, she packed her Subaru and moved east.  After a few weeks of living in D.C. a nagging feeling set in. Were days looking out an office window, lonely treadmill runs and sun salutations without the sun success? It took six thousand miles of driving for her to answer that question.

Harini Ayer came to the States from Southern India almost a decade ago and fell in love with this country, her research and climbing. If Harini switched jobs, or took a break from her research, she lost her ability to stay here.  Climbing took a back seat, until eventually Harini made a stand for herself, her style of life and took an incredible risk. 

Ryan Nickum was a 20-year-old college athlete with a passion for brutal tackles and body checks. Spring break of his sophomore year, Nickum and his best friend Woodchuck were too broke for Cancun's party scene and opted instead to join a band of radical environmentalist organizing a tree sit in Southern Oregon. There are many ways to stumble into activism. 

When writer Alissa Bohling and her longtime boyfriend Paul set out on the Pacific Crest Trail, they thought a trip of that significance would leave a mark on their relationship.  They didn't foresee that it would leave Paul hobbling and struggling to get healthy years after they reached the Canadian border. In today's Short, Alissa puts pen to paper and imagines a pain-free life for Paul.