Category: Backcountry Trip Reports

  • Utah General Season Elk Hunt

    This is the tale of my recent elk hunting trip to the Uintas. Spoiler alert! I did not get an elk. This story does not have a happy ending. There will be no delicious elk bourguignon; no bacon wrapped elk tenderloin; no elk burgers; no elk stew. I am a bad hunter. If I were […]

  • Alaska!!! Ham & Eggs on the Moose’s Tooth

    In 2014, I had a trip to Alaska planned, to climb the Ham & Eggs route on the Moose’s Tooth.  However, icefall closed down the glacier landing access, and the trip got cancelled. I scheduled another trip to Moose’s Tooth for May of 2015, and kept my fingers crossed, hoping for good conditions. The trip […]

  • Backcountry Skiing in the Sawtooth Range

     Guided Hut to Hut skiing in Idaho’s Sawtooth Range with Sun Valley Trekking March 16-20, 2015 For the past few seasons, I’ve done a multi-day backcountry ski trip with a group of friends.   So far, we’ve done a traverse of the Teton Crest traverse, a Sierra trip from Mammoth to Lee Vining Canyon, and a […]

  • Mount Helen, Tower 1 Gully

    September 25-27, 2014 Tower 1 Gully on Mount Helen is considered the premier alpine ice climb in Wyoming’s Wind River Range.  It’s a long, moderate alpine ice route that has been on my hit list for a while.  Opportunities for climbing ice in the fall are not that common in my area of the country, […]

  • Alpine Rock, Part 2: Washington Pass

    After climbing in the Bugaboos, we decided to head back down to the U.S. in search of good weather and good climbing.   We ended up at Washington Pass. Our first objective was Burgundy Spire.  We decided to climb it via the West Ridge of Paisano Pinnacle, which is a 5.9 variation that adds 7 or […]

  • Alpine Rock, Part 1: Bugaboos

    It has been more than 20 years since I last visited the Bugaboos.  I had planned three trips since then, and actually bought plane tickets twice, but my partners always seemed to drop out on me, usually at the last minute.  Every year it seemed like the Bugaboos was on my list of places to […]

  • Backcountry Skiing in the Tetons at the Baldy Knoll Yurt

    For the past three years, me and a group of friends have done a backcountry ski tour together. Last year, we did a Sierra tour, and the year before, we did a tour in the Tetons. This year, we got back together, but rather than do a point to point traverse, we decided to rent […]

  • Desert Ice Climbing: Hidden Haven Falls

    Hidden Haven is a red rock canyon in southern Utah.  It’s not far from Parowan, on the road to Brian Head ski resort.  In winter, the falls at the top of this narrow canyon freezes up, providing one of the most aesthetic ice climbs I’ve ever experienced.  I’m used to climbing frozen waterfalls, but climbing […]

  • Skyward Mountaineering: Winter Alpine Climbing Intensive Workshop

    Skyward Mountaineering is a guide service operated by alpinists Steve House and Vince Anderson.  In addition to offering guided climbs both locally and internationally, they also teach instructional workshops focusing on various aspects of climbing.  I was lucky enough to participate in their  three day Winter Alpine Climbing Intensive Workshop. The workshop took place in […]

  • Backcountry Skiing in the Sierras (Mammoth to Tioga Pass)

    The last week in March, me and 3 friends skied from Mammoth Lakes to Tioga Pass.  We started skiing Tuesday morning, and reached the car Saturday, early afternoon.   We passed through some truly spectacular country.  Here are some details of our trip. We drove to Lee Vining, and left our car at a parking […]