When he’s hanging from a precarious lip of ice, Brian Block tries to put the details of his life out of mind.

“You’re dealing with elements, exerting yourself physically, minimizing the trivial details of your life – things that seem huge become very contextually small,” said Block of his mountain-climbing hobby.

Block, an avid mountain climber, was recently awarded a $2,000 grant to climb the highest point in North America – Mount McKinley in Alaska.

“Your greatest concerns [while climbing] are: am I safe, am I in harm’s way, am I warm enough, am I thirsty, am I hungry, do I have to go to the bathroom . and how’s the view?” said Block, senior in philosophy.

Block recently won the Lyman Spitzer Climbing Grant, which is sponsored by the American Alpine Club, to climb in Denali National Park and Preserve, home of the 20,320-foot-tall Mount McKinley.

“I started out with just basic rock climbing, but found that the view didn’t satisfy my needs,” said Block, who has been climbing for about eight years.

“It’s funny, because I actually bought the Denali National Park topographical map and climber’s handbook during my first introductory climbing class in Devil’s Lake, Wisc. Must have been a sign of things to come,” Block said.

Six to eight people win the climbing grant yearly, with awards ranging from $800 to $3,000, said Chris Chesak, development director of the American Alpine Club.

This year’s winners were chosen by a committee of world-renowned climbers, such as Mark Richey, Nancy Feagin, Mark Hrubant and John Middendorf.

“It’s a huge honor and a bit of a surprise. I’ve never let anything commercial interfere with my climbing before, and really didn’t want to ever,” Block said.

“I had looked into other grants, and they all had so many strings attached that I wasn’t interested in for any amount of money.

“Most other grants are like sponsorship, and really limit what you can and can’t do insofar as who you can distribute pictures to, what kind of clothes you wear.”

Block said he first heard he’d won on April 2 through a phone call from Chesak.

“It was probably the best message that I’ve gotten in some time,” he said.

Block and his team will be leaving for Mount McKinley around May 15. The group will travel by car, allowing them to get some practice climbs in on the way and adjust their minds to the new lifestyle.

“Having the right mindset is a huge part of these types of trips. Reverting back to no plumbing, no showers, minimal food, carrying everything you own and continually dealing with the elements can really be a shock if you’re not prepared to deal with it,” Block said.

“The adjustment period can really decide how the climb is going to go.”

From there, Block and his team will fly into the West Buttress Route and climb to heights exceeding 14,000 feet.

They will work in some more practice climbs while there and wait until June 1, when the actual route they will take opens up. At that time the group will begin their official journey.

All of these plans, however, are still weather-dependent.

“I can say without a doubt that I will stand in places that no other person has ever stood before this summer, which is really not such an easy thing to say these days with the popularity of outdoor activities on the rise,” Block said.

“For me, it’s like the equivalent of stepping on the moon, without having to don that bulky spacesuit.”