Trinity Alps: Caribou Figure Eight
I was invited to do one of the hardest backpacking trips in the lower 48: The Caribou Scramble is 26 miles with a massive 13k elevation gain. However it was kind of hard figuring out the actual route...
View ArticleMicro Adventure in Marin
Alastair Humphreys is the true modern day adventurer who crosses deserts by foot and rows across the Atlantic. It goes without saying he is an amazing inspiration to myself as an explorer. For some...
View ArticleSolo’ing the Hard Cordillera Huayhaush – Peru
The Cordillera Huayhaush is regarded by some as the second best trek in the world. It brings you through remote, majestic 20,000+ ft peaks capped by large gleaming glaciers rushing into the turquoise...
View ArticleSolo’ing the Hard Cordillera Huayhaush – Peru (Part 2)
This post is a continuation of my eight day trek in the Cordillera Huayhuash. Follow along using my trail map. Day 4: Into the Otherworld After a mile on trail I again disengaged straight in the...
View ArticleClimbing the Rock Forest in Peru – Hatun Machay
Hatun Machay is a sport climbing paradise with around 26 bolted walls, lots of bouldering and tons of opportunity for more. However, the decade long proprietor of the hostel here who bolted a lot of...
View ArticleShuteye Ridge: Queen’s Throne and Sundial
Shuteye Ridge is an area just South of Yosemite with hundreds of climbs, a continuation of Yosemite’s granite quality that can also offer knobby faces and typically very little crowding. For example,...
View ArticleI can’t not alpine: Winter on Bear Creek Spire’s North Arete
On the weekend of October 15th there was a 130 mph wind warning in the Sierra North of Mammoth Lakes from a massive storm drenching California in rain. My plans to alpine climb in Toulumne could not...
View ArticleHow to lose a hand on Traveler’s Buttress (Lover’s Leap)
On a late October weekend I went out to Lover’s Leap for some trad multi pitch climbing with friends. The campground felt as busy as in the summer, but the cold caused many climbers to start later and...
View ArticleEvery Day I’m Climbing Classics – A Long Weekend in Yosemite
It didn’t take much convincing to spend a three day weekend in Yosemite Valley, climb a five star classic each day and camp at the historic Camp 4. Cold mornings and warm days meant prime climbing for...
View Article28 Hour Assault on Snake Dike: Climbing Half Dome in Yosemite
I’m still in denial that climbing season is coming to an end in the Sierra’s. Similar to my attempt on Bear Creek Spire a month ago, this weekend I decided to climb a classic by braving colder weather...
View ArticleRock and Ice Climbing near Hauraz, Peru
I never got around talking about my time around Huaraz, Peru near the Cordillera Blanca. This city is known as a mountaineering paradise but also has lots of nearby rock climbing. I wrote previously...
View ArticleFour Books for the Outdoors That Aren’t About Cheryl Strayed
Its that time of the year where you have some time to peel away from work and find time to read a book during the long dark evenings. I thought a lot about the popularity of Wild last spring and...
View ArticleNight Rappels and Winter Rock Climbing at Red Rock Canyon
I’ve been having a hard time this winter finding any climbing. I’ve tried four times to get out there but rain, wet rock and cold have limited my climbing to a single handful of pitches outside in the...
View ArticleIce Climbing into the New Year at Coldstream Canyon
Less than 24 hours earlier I woke up in a freezing desert outside Red Rock Canyon where I spent Christmas rock climbing. I now found myself in a snowy parking lot stuffing climbing ropes and ice tools...
View ArticleSleep in a Snow Cave, Ski down a Mountain: Lassen Volcanic National Park
Last weekend with snow pouring on the Sierra all week EVERYONE was going out skiing, but I wasn’t going to get stuck in Tahoe traffic or waiting in a lift line. No, ten extra feet of snow at Lassen...
View ArticleOh Boy, I’m Broken: Dreaming like a Demon
Every day when I have some free time I load up mountain project and skim its slideshow for fun climbs. Or I read some cached article about some mountaineer summit and then explore the mountain range to...
View ArticleAvalanche Training at Mt. Shasta in a Heavy Snow Storm
After climbing Shasta my third time and attempting some other well trafficked peaks like Lassen and Round Top last year I started broadening my scope for mountaineering. Up to this point I was only...
View ArticleTunnels and Tree Forts on a Bike Tour to China Camp
I always knew I would love bicycle touring, but now I finally had the opportunity to prove it. I’m all about human-powered transit whether it be running, bicycling, skiing, backpacking or something...
View ArticleSleep on your car, ski a mountain and climb a route
Wow, I did a lot of stuff in one weekend! Sadie and I trial ran what it would be like sleeping in a roof top tent, we actually found some decent backcountry snow near Mt. Rose on a super hot weekend...
View ArticleClimbing the Machete (Pinnacles): My first aid climb
This last weekend I finished my first multi-pitch aid climb: Machete Direct (5.10a A1 R, 6P) in Pinnacles National Park. It was a real adventure with runnouts to make my fingers sweet, unexpectedly...
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