It’s mountaineering season in Utah! Anyone have plans to hit some fun couloirs this weekend? …there are lots of options to choose from: Mt. Timpanogos Cold Fusion Forked Tongue Grunge Everest Ridge, although that’s getting thin up high from recent pics I saw Mt. Olympus Memorial 1 Memorial 2 Apollo Tolcat, maybe there’s still enough…
Category: Mountaineering
2024 Year in Review
2024 started out strong on the heels of a year where much had been accomplished. I was hopeful to keep that momentum going. It did for a while, but then balanced itself out with many disappointments. STATE HIGHPOINTS My 50 state highpoint project stalled in 2024 with nothing new from where I left off in…
Aconcagua, Here We Come!
I just put down a deposit and paid the permit fees to climb Aconcagua in 2025! At 22,841 feet (6962 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…
Disappointed with Denali Prep from AMS
My Denali Prep course with AMS was both awesome and disappointing all at the same time. It was awesome because I was in Alaska for the first time, on the Kahiltna Glacier for 8 days, with “the tall one” standing right there. Our instructors were awesome too! Greg Runyan has an incredible amount of experience…
Denali Prep on the Kahiltna Glacier
DAY 3 – Flight In, Basecamp Setup, Anchors 101 The weather finally broke on the third day, allowing us to fly into the Range. We loaded an Otter aircraft, considered by many to be the quintessential “bush plane” due of its short take-off and landing (STOL) capabilities. Within an hour, our Talkeetna Air Taxi had us…
Denali Prep Grounded at AMS HQ
DAY 1 – Arrive at AMS HQ After a few days hanging out in Talkeetna, it was time to meet up at the AMS Headquarters to begin our Denali Prep Course. Participants arrived at 8am sharp with the anticipation of a big day, starting with a short tour, introductions and overall course orientation. I had…
First Tracks up Mount St. Helens
A window of good weather finally opened for us to make our winter attempt at Mount St. Helens. We had been waiting around for three days hoping for our timing of this trip to align. It had been snowing here for the previous week and everyone was getting antsy. Summit day would begin with 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…
FELIZ NUEVO AÑO from El Pico de Orizaba
FELIZ NUEVO AÑO from El Pico de Orizaba, the tallest peak in Mexico and the third tallest peak in North America at 18,491 ft (5,636 m). What a way to start out the New Year! DAY 5 – Summit Day Our summit start began much earlier than necessary. Our guide insisted we start at 1…
2023 Year In Review
My focus for 2023 was clear! I just declined an invite for Denali at the beginning of the year and knew I had to fill a large gap between where I was (beginner level) and where I want to be (advanced level). That meant a lot more intermediate level experience was needed. So I immediately…