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Caleb Metroka

@calemetro

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The spring/summer mania has hit, full force. Between @joe_salem33 and I, we’ve logged many mountain bike rides, done some paddling, dirt biking, hikes with Lib, lots of time with my mom and Esteban (bean boy, Afro man, chaos king 👑), planting flowers and doing yard work, washing cars, getting the house up to summer spec (not done yet), and lots of good time our friends and with my fire department family doing various training and calls (which I thoroughly enjoy).

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watch the FULL VIDEO by clicking the link in my bio or searching "Valdez Ice Fest 2026" on youtube. a huge thanks to everyone who agreed to take a turn on the sharp end of the lens

#iceclimbing #alaska #climbers #valdez #frozenwaterfall #suffering #icefest #mountaineering

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the mix of joy and pain sometimes experienced while ice climbing is showcased in this is excerpt from the @valdezicefest recap video, which is still a work in progress

#iceclimbing #alaska #climbers #valdez #frozenwaterfall #suffering #icefest #mountaineering

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I woke up this morning and looked at our digi thermometer at the house to a reading of negative zero degrees… which leads me to believe our thermometer doesn’t go below zero lol.

@childofthenorthwoods and I flip flopped on whether it was worth it to try for some climbing and ultimately said we’d check it out. Try we did! Ultimately though we made the decision to not get on ropes and head back home for coffee at @roguesgarden, which was thoroughly enjoyed.

@calemetro gave some good advice he’s been told that not every outing is a mission that needs to be completed and calling what we did a “failure” negates the fact that we tried and made the call that probably protected our fingers and toes from some cold injury, which is an excellent point of view. We enjoyed some sun and some friend time and that makes it all worth it.

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You wouldn’t be sorry putting the Valdez (Alaska) Ice Festival on your list of possible gatherings to attend in 2027. The organization is superb and the team running the rope setting and safety is skilled and motivated. I won’t lie; It was cold and windy this last weekend in Valdez. However, there were smiles all around on Saturday evening’s presentation at the Civic Center as Ryan Sims recounted the challenges of discovering undocumented terrain in their search for adventure. The variety of clinics grows every year and the enthusiasm of the participants is palpable. I gave clinics from climbing emergencies to dry tooling and intro to ice climbing. True: It’s a six hours drive from Anchorage. But climbing in the legendary Keystone Canyon provides extraordinary climbing with 5-10 minute approaches. I had a terrific stay in the area and already look forward to next year’s events. One can even top off their stay climbing a few hours in Eklutna Canyon before their flight home (last photo; near Anchorage).
And personally a huge thank you to:
#lowaboots
#campcassin
#bluewaterropes
#hyperlitepacks
oofos recovery footwear

3k

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Weekend dump after a week long snow and rain dump! We’re finally getting caught back up into the flow of winter. I put 30 miles on the sled and now I’m in the wheelie business! Friends keep the cold months so warm and lovely 🥰.

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2025 recap 1/2– too much to cover in 20 slides.

A total highlight reel, but worthy of highlighting no less. 2025 was full of amazing people that made me feel loved without question, competition, or stipulation. I’m so grateful for our community.

Some memorable moments from 2025:
✨My honorary nephews turned 1!
✨So much local packrafting. Sunday Valdez Packraft Club meetups. New paddling partners turned friends!
✨Enjoying dirt biking with Joe on my KTM. Just took the right bike.
✨In state travel. Buffalo family and friends visiting!
✨Novelty ice skating, pushing my comfort zone safely on the ice!
✨Figuring out a workout system that works for me. Consistency! Enjoying the process! Group workouts at the fire department this summer!
✨Lots of skiing and snowmachining! Need more in 2026 🥲.
✨New mtn bike trails do spark joy (even if you don’t like them!)

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We are rich in our Valdez “framily”. It was a good holiday!

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Our first River Rescue Scenario Training course was a blast! Great weather and water levels allowed us to experiment using packrafts as rescue crafts and set up ‘blind corner’ multi-subject scenarios. I couldn’t be happier with how this went!

#cultureofsafety #thisispackrafting #packraftsafety

*****
𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘦
𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.𝘤𝘰𝘮

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MURPH… we did it together! I’m so grateful for this group of people that motivate me to do hard things. I had never done this workout before, but always wanted to. I did a scaled version this year, but now have goals for next year. I’m proud of myself for doing every single rep. I hurt a bit today, and I think that’s the point. To remember the sacrifices of people like Mike Murphy and all of the other brave service members that laid the ultimate price. Thank you @hereandtherejess for getting us together for the workout. A little shared suffering was just the right thing.

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Some of Valdez Fire Dept. before and after Murph!

Nice job, Team! @notrubrebma @ak_garcia @bvincentak @rcsimsquantch @calemetro and Don Borton!

Thanks for encouraging me along and the pace run on the final half mile to push through sub 60 minutes (not rx). Modified or not, we all worked hard to do this memorial WOD for Lt. Murphy and all those who served our country and made the ultimate sacrifice. You are not forgotten.

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This winter was one I had idealized since before the boys were born. While it hasn't been the rip roaring, powder chasing season I dreamed of. It's turned into something harder with many learning curves. But this day while it was definitely not a powder day or a bluebird day, it was a day I got to go outside with my husband and my brother and my friends. God calls us into fellowship and while I'll show up on Sundays; getting to go outside especially in community will always make me feel so close to the Lord and is one of the most renewing things especially in a season where it's much harder to do.

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