Black Diamonds for 25 Years Together

We made it: 25 years of marriage. Supposed to be silver but times have changed. Either that, or the girl I met in the Colorado Rockies hasn't changed. I suspect the latter. Maybe we made it 25 years because we often agree. In this case, we agreed on what we wanted to get each other for our 25th. So we went to the local mountaineering shop and said "hook us up with backcountry skiis, bindings, boots, and poles." And so he did. [These are heavy duty cross-country skiis made for going off the trail in deep snow, with metal edges, wide for floating in deep snow, hiking-like boots, an hourglas shape like downhill skis for turning, and scales for climbing].

A fitting gift since our love of mountains and backcountry is what brought us together originally, and our recent move reunited us with backcountry possibilities close by. In college (Colorado State) we would pack a lunch, emergency supplies, and head out for long days exporing from passes near Breckenridge, up Cameron Pass, or in Rocky Mountain National Park. And after 25 years it's come full circle.

They immediately went under our tree. I call this picture a Montana Christmas Tree.

When we told the owner of the store it was our 25th anniversary gift, he said we had to get a diamond. That is, mountaineering poles made by Black Diamond.