I'm writing about 100 mountains I find interesting, for various reasons. The full list is here. When life gives you great weather but high avalanche danger, you find a low-angle route up something tall and pretty! One week in May, Eva and I saw the undesirable weather forecast and hesitated to be optimistic about climbing... Continue Reading →
(I'm writing about 100 peaks I have climbed from a historical, personal, or climbing perspective. The full list is here. Also, this is my project, so I get to decide what a mountain is. This hill in San Francisco is almost 1000 feet tall, and I did walk up it, so here we go.) Earlier... Continue Reading →
We started down the narrow, winding path nearly a mile from Interstate 90. Our third party member was out, victim of having gone to a bachelor party the day before. Another unexpected setback befell us when the coffee shop was more expensive than I expected. I didn't buy any pastries for the hike, so I... Continue Reading →
I've been making stickers with self-deprecating awards for climbers, especially new trad leaders, such as "didn't freak the heck out on a 5.7," "only got a little off route," and "made it home." This reflects the nature of the learning process. For most people, starting to lead (especially trad, especially in a remote, "alpine" setting)... Continue Reading →
I'm writing about 100 mountains I think are neat. The full list is here. Westy and I go on a lot of weeknight hikes, as we have both more evening free time and more restlessness than most people. Sometimes, we get ambitious, and climb the Tooth or get lost on a longer trail until 2... Continue Reading →
Before I'd ever thought about climbing Dome Peak, the only time I'd ever heard it mentioned was in the stories my friend Chelise told me about this rescue on a Mountaineers trip that took place there. I knew it was pretty far from any road, which is why the incident, in which an ice climber... Continue Reading →
Loowit (Mt. St. Helens) is not made of beautiful rock spires. It is not (in the summer, at least) covered in snow with dramatically windblown icy slopes leading to the summit. Loowit is made of dust. For anyone (like me before moving here) that missed the memo, this is because it is a volcano that... Continue Reading →
If you're not from Seattle, the familiarity of the mailbox is probably lost on you. But when I first hiked it on a visit to Seattle, before the new, less steep trail even existed, it was so steep my sedentary college body felt overheated, and I laid on the floor for a few hours. The... Continue Reading →
I'm writing about 100 great peaks in the northwest. The full list is here. There's a special type of rock in Wenatchee, towering and dramatic walls of solid granite that are as beautiful as they are solid. This climber's playground is filled with precariously balanced rocks and pillars that look like castle turrets. So much... Continue Reading →
