I had high hopes of doing some hiking during a recent trip to O’ahu. Unfortunately, a lower leg injury from a Summer Hockey League playoff game last month left me hobbling around just enough to make the trip, but not much else. All my other plans had to be canceled as a result of this…
Category: Adventure Plans
Aconcagua, Here We Come!
I just put down a deposit and paid the permit fees to climb Aconcagua in 2025! At 22,837 feet (6961 meters), this is the highest peak in Argentina and across the Americas. We will be guided by Inka Expediciones from Mendoza, Argentina. Everything I have read and seen about their operation so far has been…
How I Would Do Kings Peak in 1 Day
I was reading a FB post today about a guy coming to Utah this weekend to get Kings Peak in a day. He was looking for advice and guidance and even threw out an open invite to join him on this big attempt. The only catch is a flight he needs to make by 10pm-ish…
Hanging out in Anchorage and Talkeetna
Traveling to Alaska for the AMS Denali Prep Course I signed up for back in February was finally here. Since this was my first time to the 49th state, I arrived a few days early to check out the Alaskan vibe. I didn’t capture a good picture of it, but downtown Anchorage is a few…
Waiting On a Weather Window
A small group of us from Utah made our way out to Washington state again for another Pacific Northwest volcano. This time was to make a winter ascent of Mount St. Helens. Two from our group tried it last year at this same time but experienced a whiteout and had to turn back within a…
Prepping for Denali Prep with AMS
I just submitted an application to attend a Denali Prep Course offered by the Alaska Mountaineering School in May, just THREE MONTHS away! When our plans for climbing Alaska’s highpoint got pushed out yet another year, I felt the need to take a bigger step in prepping for Denali. I can’t wait another year, hearing…
To Be, Or Not To Be… Guided, That Is
To be, or not to be …guided, of course… that is the question. I have very mixed feelings about using a guide, or not, especially after my first guided experience in Mexico. Let’s unpack my reasons. Why Go Guided Going guided is certainly the easier choice — and a far more convenient one — for…
Acclimating for 18,000 Feet
DAY 3 – Acclimating at 14K After another fine breakfast from Servimont, we loaded up our gear and got ready for the drive up to Piedra Grande Hut. The road to this basecamp is about 16 miles up from Tlachichuca and took over 2 hours. It’s a rough and rutted route… a typical 4WD road…
Staying at Servimont, Tlachichuca, Mexico
One of my strategies in preparing for Denali is to test myself at higher elevations. The tallest peak I’ve reached so far is Mt. Whitney at 14,505′. Two times on that summit and a bunch of other 14ers in Colorado isn’t enough. I wanted to know how I’d do at altitudes greater than 14,000 ft. …
Planning for Gannett
This was the year I wanted to get three highpoints that involve glacier travel: Hood, Rainier and Gannett. I shoulda just picked a week in May and drove out to climb Mt. Hood by myself. I coulda done Mt. Rainier too if other plans had solidified. And Gannett… Gannett woulda fallen through had I not…