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…
TUBBS HOOKED ME UP!!
After seeing my post about the limited repair options for my Limited Edition North Drinkware snow shoes, Tubbs sent me a pair of their latest Flex VRT and ALP models!! Here’s what each features: 2025 Tubbs Flex VRT “The Flex VRT is our premium composite deck snowshoe designed to deliver high quality performance for backcountry…
Sugarloaf Peak with a Heavy Load
I needed a big leg day to continue my prep for Denali, so I decided to do Sugarloaf Peak with a slower group but carry a heavy load. Since I didn’t have any sand on hand, I threw a 50lb bag of water softener salt in an old backpack. That, plus 2 liters of water…
Crampons vs. Cleats
If you are new to mountaineering or haven’t experienced much spring hiking, let’s clarify a few things about traction systems beyond snowshoes. There is a big difference between crampons and “cleats”. Crampons This tractions system is hardcore! Here we’re talking about serious mountaineering with more extreme conditions that would involve glacier travel, crevasse danger, ice…
Bummed Out By A Broken BOA Binding
We just got home from an epic snowshoe adventure on Mount St. Helens! Our timing was fortunate to be the first tracks in after receiving 48″ over the previous 4 days. However, I was pretty bummed out by a broken BOA binding on my favorite snowshoes and had to rely on some older ones instead….
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…
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…
Este Corto Paseo Hasta El Miro
If you’re ever in Costa Rica, around the Jacó area, I would highly recommend this short walk to El Miro. The views are beautiful! Whether this was intended to be a luxury hotel or someone’s private mansion, the location of this abandoned structure can be found at the south end of Jacó. I know very…
Traversing Mexico’s Sleeping Beauty
DAY 8 – Izta Summit Day Midnight came quickly as it always does. Not sure why we had to start that early again and our guides really didn’t have a good answer. We only had 4,000′ of elevation in 4 miles, very much like a typical day in Utah. Granted, we were starting from 13,000′…