I am on top of a big mountain alone in the freezing cold, staring into the absolute desolate blackness of the Oregon outback, while listening to Wolves in the Throne Room and reflecting on an incredible run in the wilderness. Ive seen the power of nature in a way most never will

I dont believe in god as such, but more an infinite power of nature, like mother nature meets the nuclear fusion inside the sun or something. My form of worship is to travel to the edge of human existence, the liminal realm between life and death, earth and the cold void

Other experiences Ive had which evoke this feeling of connectedness: being at 9000 feet, alone, in a major blizzard on Mt. Hood, with near snowblindness and only myself and my own skill as a snowboarder to lead me to the relative safety of the lodge

Being out near the waves during a major fall rain storm on the Oregon coast, knowing the ocean could easily swell and engulf me at any moment. The near death experience of imagining drowning unto the blackened depths

We never "conquer" nature. Man does not have that power and he who believes he does is a complete fool. Nature can crush you at any time it wants, regardless of your skill or preparation, and the magic of that impartiality is what drives me to discover the limits

I would rather submit myself back to the mercy of the old gods then subscribe to the illusion that we are all powerful or believe that man was "created in gods image" when in reality its obvious "god" is itself a human construct

And on a slightly less epic thought, black metal rules