Coalpit Headwall
In a rare period of mid-winter low avalanche danger, I phone up Noah and Nico to take advantage of the conditions and get on one of the big Wasatch lines that I’ve long eyed from the valley, the Coalpit headwall.…
Category Adventures, Travel, & Writing
Sled Assisted in the Western Uintas
This past week on Thursday I finally cashed in on a creative Christmas present from Taylor: a one-day sled rental. Maybe tired of hearing me say, over and over again, that the only way to tour in the Uintas is…
Ringing in 2019 at the Opus Hut
This Fall, Taylor discovered something that we’d been looking for but had yet to find: a full-service European-style hut in the United States. Called the Opus hut, it sits at 11,500′ on Ophir pass in the Red Mountain Pass backcountry…
The Ortler Circuit
After a great experience on the classic Haute Route last year, Taylor and I were eager to return to the incredible access, amenities, and settings of the European hut system. While on the Haute Route, we chatted with Nortwest Mountain…
Joseph, Oregon
It has not been a good year to be a skier in the Pacific Northwest, but it has been a fine one to be a fisherman. Keeping with this theme, and in celebration of our first anniversary together, Taylor had…
Mt St Helens Loowit Trail In-A-Day
Taylor needed a goal to get her out and hiking as she rehabilitated from shoulder surgery. Hiking isn’t very intrinsically challenging, so she wanted to make it hard and walk a long way. This year, that meant looping Mt St Helens…
Haute Route Part 2: Verbier to Arolla
Miss Part 1? Go back and check out Haute Route: Chamonix to Verbier. Our fourth day in the Swiss Alps began with an early start from the Prafleuri hut to ski the length of the Lac des Dix before the…
Breaking the Curse: Mt Mcloughlin Ski Descent
Mt McLoughlin is an often forgotten volcano of the Cascades chain. Hidden in southern Oregon along the highway between the modest towns of Medford and Klamath Falls, it was a feature of Taylor’s childhood. Legend has it that her mother,…
Haute Route Part 1: Chamonix to Verbier
Our plan to ski the haute route was hatched casually. It’s easy to imagine success from half a world away, especially on a route deemed the classic of classic ski tours. In typical style, Taylor and I bought plane tickets…
Chamonix: Vallée Blanche
It’s been quiet around here except for Ethan and Peter handing you the keys to the Grand Traverse castle and a couple other random tips. Even though Taylor and I went to Japan for Christmas, I still haven’t even downloaded…