Crooked Thumb is the spectacular skyline pinnacle of Teewinot Mountain in the Teton Range, Wyoming. This quirky summit is seldom climbed.
Welcome to Crooked Thumb! Created by Steve Markusen, Crooked-Thumb is designed to inspire and inform. Dedicated to health, fitness and adventure, our site connects you with articles and resources to enlighten your mind, body and soul. We offer personal training and nutrition plans for recreational and competitive athletes; adventure sport athletes and travelers; and for those with interested in improving their health, fitness, body weight and composition.
For over 50 years, Steve has been pursuing high risk adventures. He is a competitive cyclist, expert rock & ice climber, ski mountaineer, and paraglider pilot. In addition to being a published writer, Steve is a personal trainer, nutrition coach, and cycling coach.
DISCOVER PUBLICATIONS
The Longest Day
The dog days of August 1974 had found us at our local crag. Perched on the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin, Taylors Falls is a narrow gorge of billion-year-old basalt, 40-foot cliffs carved 10,000 years ago by the meltwaters of retreating glaciers. The gorge hosts over a hundred trad- and sport-climbing routes. Relatively flat ground above […]
JULIAN
ADELAIDE LITERARY AWARD ANTHOLOGY 2020 Steven Markusen Julian “Gloriousness and wretchedness need each other. One inspires us, the other softens us. They go together.” —Pema Chodron, The Pocket Pema Chodron Julian sits across from me in a Spartan classroom in the education department of the Duluth Federal Prison Camp. A bundle of barely restrained kinetic […]
DISCOVER HEALTH & FITNESS
Feeding Your Fire: Nutrition for Training, Competition, and Adventure
Featured photo: Bob riding the world famous Slick Rock Bike Trail, Moab, Utah. The heat from the rising sun activates the sweat glands on the back of my neck; drops of sweat snake down the center of my back. It is 6 am on a clear June morning. The deep blue sky outlines the desert […]
A Question of Balance: Staying Upright as You Age.
Featured Photo: Balance traverse on the East ridge of Wolfs Tooth, Wind river Range, Wyoming. Photo Credit: Paul Gardner I balance on the balls of my feet pressing the sticky rubber soles of my climbing shoes to the narrow ledge. The heels of my shoes stick out over five hundred feet of big air. I […]
DISCOVER ADVENTURE
What I Learned: Training for Hiking and Backpacking
Featured photo: Escalante wilderness at sunset. The names on the map tell stories: Scorpion Gulch, Deadman Ridge, Carcass Canyon, Fifty Mile Cliffs, Rattlesnake Bench and Little Death Hollow. This is the Escalante, three million acres of National Monument and National Recreation Area in Southern Utah. One of the most remote wilderness areas in the country, […]
The Art of Letting Go: Living in the Moment
Photo: Looking up at Wimpys, my exit tracks on the left, Grand Teton National Park, January 2022 “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery none but ourselves can free our minds” Bob Marley: Redemption Song My skis slip… again. I say to myself, “Why can’t you do this? Are you too old? Too weak” I am struggling […]
Resources that enlighten
mind, body, soul.
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