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…
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…
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′…
From Citlaltépetl to Iztaccíhuatl
DAY 7 – Getting Ready for Izta After a successful summit of Orizaba followed by a day of rest and relaxation, our shuttle driver transported us from Servimont to La Joya in the Parque Nacional Iztaccíhuatl-Popocatépetl. This was a 4.5 hour drive as we looped around from the north and then down through Amecameca. I…