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Climbing
Alpine Climbing
(26 Articles)
Aconcagua's Polish Glacier... Part 1 of 4....
Aconcagua's Polish Glacier... Part 2 of 4....
Aconcagua's Polish Glacier... Part 3 of 4....
Aconcagua - Part IV. Books and Web Links, route info, logistical support etc.. (Basic stuff that you could probably get from Secor's book or Summitpost.)...
For years I've been eyeing the couloirs that snake directly up the north face of Bear Point (the wall above Mirror Lake on the Glenn Highway). There are 2 very obvious lines - a direct couloir that drops straight off the summit for almost 3000' and a twisty turny line that ascend though rock bands and t...
3 suns; three whole days of sunshine! That's what the weather report said and after a solid month of rain we were psyched. Work was out of the question with such a forecast so I emailed Eric a tantalizing note and topo file showing a proposed route up Byron, down the east face and across to the Northwest face...
On May 16th 2003, Todd Kelsey and I flew into the upper Chickaloon drainage with Dave of Grasshopper Aviation out of the Wasilla airport. We got to the airport to find out that fog was sitting over the landing zone so we sat around in Dave's office while he regaled us with tales of plane crashes. Nothing fills your mind with confidence like a...
After our trip into the Ruth Gorge Jeff young flew back to Anchorage while Brad and I flew to the Kahiltna and started up the West Buttress of Denali. The following are entries from my journal from May 30th - June 6th.
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The forecast called for clouds and isolated showers; not ideal conditions given that isolated showers usually have a way of finding me, but I wanted to get out so I studied the maps and my photos. I finally decided to give the North Face of Eagle Peak a try. My reasoning was that 2 weeks ago north facing slopes were still powder...
Alaska has woken from its slumber. Last weekend I saw bear tracks meandering through the snow; yesterday I saw a coyote slink through the trees. Rock climbers are venturing out onto the cliffs next to the highway and the dogs are lounging around outside in the sun. However... there us still snow to be had for t...
Brad Horning, Jeff Young and I flew into the Ruth in the hopes of first climbing the Moose's Tooth and then skiing up the West Fork of the Ruth Glacier, ascending Ruth Gap and then descending down the other side to reach the Kahiltna Glacier and ultimately Denali Base Camp. There Jeff would fly out and Brad and I would continue up the West Buttress...
The signs did not bode well. First of all the forecast was for clearing skies by mid morning - however the entire drive up into the South Fork of Eagle River was in a thick fog bank where we could see 200' at the most. And then 45 minutes into the hike we were faced with a creek crossing. The creek was 6' wide and about thigh de...
On March 27th Yvonne and I climbed the E. face / East couloir of Indianhouse Peak. The route was very straightforward and fun. It began with a nice hike that was free of snow up through the brush on faint game trails until we reached a bump on the south ridge at around 3000'. We then trave...
I know I know. Call me clique - call me unoriginal, uncreative, unadventurous, boring, standard whatever... I 'm back. I 've been here four times now - yet I am still awed by the presence of the Cassin and Denali's summit as it appears hulking above our heads while we dig in for the night. Snow falls,...
On March 4th, 2006 I climbed the northeast ridge of King Mountain with Thai and Jody. King Mountain sits on the south side of the Matanuska River just south of Chickaloon and features an impressively steep and accessible north face that is a great late winter climb. The summit of King is 5809' and you begin a...
Full writeup coming soon.... meanwhile here's a preview:
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We were up at 4am and out on the trail by 5am - trudging up the Snow Coach Road towards the Northwest bowl of Andromeda. The approach was tedious, 2 hours of hiking across moraine on a faint trail followed by and hour up an icefall - weaving in and out of crevasses and up and over steep ice, one foot on gravel the other fro...
Spring climbing came once again... and once again I started trolling for partners. Many options and many ideas were voiced but Yvonne and I finally announced we were going to the Alaska Range; to the Ruth Gorge. Everyone wants to go to the Ruth - and suddenly Yvonne and I had 2 other partners (Bryce Stath and Austin Thayer) to s...
July 6th; Saskatchewan Glacier - We are camped on the upper reached of the Saskatchewan Glacier in Jasper National Park. We woke up around 9 this morning, packed up and then headed over to the Parks office at the Icefields were we filled out a permit for Mt. Columbia. Originally we had planned to go up the Athabasca Glacier and set up the paper wor...
The alarm went off at 5:30 am and we were up and drinking coffee by 6 am. Our plan was to climb the East Ridge of Edith Cavell. The guidebook stated that the route could comfortably be climbed in a long day.
We began hiking in at 6:30 am. The hike began with a nice trail that is beneath the massive north face and the Angel Glacier, and then...
For our first climb in the Canadian Rockies we chose an easy route: the East Ridge of Mt. Nestor (II, 5.5) - a 9,744' peak that lies off the Spray Lakes road south of Canmore. The guidebook referred to the route as "an enjoyable afternoon climb" so we felt good about sleeping in.
While packing up in the morning, I pulled off my helmet and pointed ...
On Friday night June 16th Wayne Todd called us and invited us on an attempt of the North Face of Pioneer. Wayne figured that since there was more snow than usual this summer, what is usually a March - May route was doable and safe this late in the year. For years I had lusted after this route and had never gott...
Thursday was Yvonne's birthday so we had a party; a bunch of people came over and we cooked up a bunch of salmon and made halibut tacos. As usual halfway through the night talk turned to where to go for the weekend. The weather looked good and we were itching to go out so Yvonne bailed on work for Friday. Later in the evening Er...
Ptarmigan Peak is located at the head of Powerline Pass which is 5 miles from the Glen Alps trailhead. The south face is a huge scree slope, the west ridge a beautiful scramble and the north face a classic snow route that is 2000' of 30-50 degree snow. The route is a test piece ski couloir for experienced skiers - or a perfect beginner route ...
The earth buzzes by below us; rolling hills turn to spires, caribou tracks up ridge lines, blue ice overflowing tight river drainages. The creeks flow past - Caribou, Divide, Boulder. The mighty Chickaloon calm, frozen in time the meandering blue ice locked until Spring (who hovers just around the c...
On May 14th Yvonne and I woke up early and by 7am were skiing up the Casner Glacier in the Deltas en route to the upper glacier to attempt a few peaks. We hauled 7 days of food and fuel, skis, sleds, crevasse gear and a few pickets and screws for the larger peaks. The Deltas are the eastern most region of the Alaska Range. In spring / summer it t...
Alpine Rock
(8 Articles)
The Tetons; will I ever tire of them? There are so many places to go so many mountain ranges scattered across the continent yet I am always drawn back to the magnificent view of the Cathedral Group towering above the valley floor. The tops of the peaks dusted with snow, lines traced with fingers of places I've been and places I ...
After years of reading and dreaming about the Bugaboos, Brad and I decided to hike in and try a couple peaks. The trailhead is about 4 hours away from Calgary and at the end of a 28 mile gravel and mud road. When you reach the parking lot the first thing you notice is every car surrounded by chicken w...
Saturday. I float the Upper Kenai in my tiny Dory and thoroughly enjoy the say. It feels like summer; the sun is shining brightly and the salmon are rolling underneath my boat - I even manage to catch a couple. The Upper Kenai is pretty calm for such a nice day. Everyone sits around in the sun enjoying the weathe...
For a final mountaineering adventure for the summer of 2001, Brad and I enlisted Jeb Tilly for an ascent of Mt. Moran via the CMC Route (III, 5.6). Mt. Moran is a rather isolated peak in Teton National Park and can only be reached via a canoe ride across Leigh Lake. So we rented a canoe and one afternoon paddled ac...
While we were in the Tetons in 2001 my old college roommate and climbing partner David West, drive up from Evergreen, Colorado to join me for a climb. We opted for a moderate day route and went and climbed the SW Ridge of Symmetry Spire. The route was straight forward and fun with awesome views of Owen and the Grand. We topped out and were back d...
In the summer of 2001 Brad Hornung and I traveled and climbed for 2 months in Alaska and Canada. After freezing in Alaska and scaring our wits out in Canada we opted to head south to the Tetons to climb warm alpine rock. Along the way we picked up Brad's sister, Christina, in Calgary and then headed sou...
Well I left Anchorage friday night around 8pm and got to the Mint trailhead around 9pm. It was wet and miserable -- the rain coming down like crazy and the trail muddy and nasty (which makes all the trees hanging over the trail soak you to the bone). Pharaoh and I started hiking and within minutes we were soaked....
Winter lasted well into June in Anchorage. Snow patches lingered in the yard till June and we were still climbing snow couloirs like it was May in mid June. Then the July rains came early... rock climbing consisted of long drives to Hatcher only to turn around and drive home, mountain climbing...
Rock Climbing
(3 Articles)
Rock climbing around of Canmore, Alberta is the polar opposite of mountain climbing in the Canadian Rockies. The rock is generally solid, there is good protection - and the sport routes are bolted like gym climbs! A great way to pass a day, after being terrified out of your mind on some route in the mountains, is to hit the many sport areas aroun...
Cragging.
To a climber that's all one has to say. The word implies good times, good fun - a vacation. To a non-climber how can I explain it? Cragging is when you go to a climbing area where all the climbs are an easy 5-10 minute walk from the car and the climbs are maximum 1 or 2 rope-lengths. Where you ...
Yvonne and I have been rock climbing in the Shawangunk Mountains (or The Gunks) twice. The climbs in the Gunks are famous for wild overhangs with huge handholds. Even the 5.1 lines have overhangs on them! Both times Yvonne and I visited we climbed at the Near Trapps and concentrated on the super classic steep exposed lines like High Exposure and ...
Ice Climbing
(3 Articles)
Charlie Sassara left an email last Thursday: "Want to try a route this Saturday? Call me." I read it slowly and then called, trying to figure out what the best excuse would be to not go. "I can't," I told him. "We just bought a house. I'm out of shape. My exercise has consisted of...
Standing at the edge of the river, looking first at the thin ice we need to cross and then east at mountains that rise like shards of glass into open sky, I recognize that irritating and eerie feeling of frozen nostril hairs.
We have hiked four miles; two through a thick maze of alders and pine, and two along the river (gently shuffling our sno...
Yes; believe it or not there is ice in Virginia! Just about every year, if you're willing to spend your free time driving to the coldest, darkest highest points of the state, you can find ice for at least 3-4 weeks out of the year. For those living around Charlottesville there is a small but dedicated contingent of ice climbers who are willing ...
Peak Bagging
(15 Articles)
This summer we opted to explore the peaks that lie on the tract of land between Eagle River and Peter's Creek. Most of these are after work and day hikes for Eagle River residents; however since we live in Anchorage I rarely make it out to Eagle River thus I had yet to make it up any of these peaks.
The big plus with these peaks is they ...
On August 27th Yvonne and I drove south down to Bird Ridge where we began heading up the trail at noon with Ranger in tow. We made quick progress although our legs were quite stiff after having taken so much time off from hiking due to the almost constant rain Anchorage had experienced since late July.
At 1:3...
On June 25th Yvonne and I opted to give Bold Peak (7522') a try. We drove to Eklutna on Saturday morning and by 8:45 am were biking in. The bike ride (10 1/2 miles) went by fairly quickly despite us not having biked more than once this summer. By 10 am we had cached our bikes, changed and began hiking down ...
On June 11th Yvonne, Anne Gore and I climbed Cantata Peak via the standard route. We began the hike from the South Fork trailhead around 9 am and reached the ridge between Eagle and Symphony lake at 10am and were soon hiking up the drainage that puts you in the large bowl on the north west side of Cantata. We t...
On Labor Day weekend Yvonne and I climbed East Twin (5863'). I had previously tried this peak a total of three times; each time I barely made it to the base before turning around for a myriad of reasons.
On Saturday. September 2nd Yvonne and I left town in rain and drove to Eklutna. It was still cloud...
Mt. Elliot, located on the ridge east of Wolverine, is one of the few peaks in the front range I hadn't hiked up yet. So when Yvonne managed to drag me away from fishing for a day we headed out for a nice afternoon jaunt. We brought Ranger and his buddy Lucy (Eric and Julie's dog).
We hiked up and over the ball field, sto...
On Sunday Eric Parsons, Dan Boccia, Yvonne & I climbed the Southwest Ridge Granite Peak (6729'). We left town at 7:30 am and by 8:30 were driving in circles in the maze of 4WD trails that are at the base of Granite. Dan's excellent driving technique through mud, over rocks and across ditches had Eri...
On Memorial Day (May 28th), Yvonne and I hiked in and climbed Koktoya in a day. We left our house around 11 and by 11:30 were at the trailhead. We had just pulled up and turned off the truck when I looked up to see a black bear and cub staring right at us. We froze and she casually turned and disappeared ...
On Sunday we hiked in to try Korohusk from Eagle River. The initial trail up through the brush was good - but we soon lost it and had a good bush whack session before re-finding the trail somewhere around 2000'. We reached the hanging valley after 4 hours of hiking and we rewarded with a glimpse of the peak. The route take...
JT passed along info that Korohusk was in good shape, so on Saturday Yvonne, Bryce, Charlie and I headed up Eagle River to give it a try. The initial four miles went by in no time and soon we had reached the turn off point and were headed uphill. As usual the start required a little bush whacking; but it was still early enough i...
On Saturday July 7th Yvonne, Steve Gruhn and I hiked in to try Mt. Rumble in Chugach State Park. We knew it could potentially be a very very long day so we hauled bivy sacks and some extra clothes. We were at the trailhead at 7:30 and started hiking. 3 hours, 2500' and 5 miles later we reached the top of Bombardment Pass. We the...
We are back in Anchorage after our long absence. We returned to find -10 temperatures which was harsh considering it was 95 when we left Thailand!
In short we were gone 6 weeks. We spent 1 month in Nepal; 3 weeks in the Khumbu and 1 week in Katmandu and Chitwan National Park. We followed this up with 2 weeks in ...
On Saturday June 4th 2005 Yvonne, Carrie and I hiked up Penguin Peak. The trail up was in good shape so we cruised up in sneakers. We had killer views and weather! There was a little bit of snow to traverse and some big cornices that the dogs had to test by running across them. (What is it with dogs and cornices?) After about three hours we were on...
Late Saturday morning we shouldered our packs at the S. Fork of Eagle River trailhead and were soon walking due South under perfect skies. The weather forecast called for rain but the skies showed no signs of precipitation. Chris Stubbs, a friend from Apple Valley, CA, was visiting and I was determined to show him both wilderness as well as tax his...
The season is upon us. Gone are the weekend mornings of leisurely starts and sleeping in till 7:30 and meeting at 8:30. The sun rises at 5:55 am and sets at 9:57 pm. Although it doesn't make any sense, we argue that because the days are longer we should get up earlier so we can have a longer day. Thus we go...
Skiing
Skiing
(21 Articles)
On Saturday, July 21st, Yvonne, Dan Boccia and I climbed the North Ridge of Bard Peak. We drove to Whittier, hiked up Whittier Creek where we forded it near the campground. We then chose a tiny stream that is about 300' downstream from the main fork of Whittier Creek. We picked our way up the stream, wading through it and jumping back and for...
On Saturday April 16th, 2005 Yvonne & I drove south to Whittier, a small down that is accessible only via a 3 mile tunnel. The town sits just above Prince William Sound and, although the town itself is ugly - the area is magnificent. We parked just parked just outside the town, ski toured up and over Portage Pass; around Portage Lake, then up...
On April 14th Wayne, Carrie, Yvonne and I left the parking lot at Portage Lake at 10:30 am and skied across Portage Lake. It was one of those rare days in Portage: perfectly calm, clear and not a cloud in the sky. We were laden with heavy pack - 6 days of food and fuel, climbing gear, glacier travel gear, skis and sleds. Our ori...
The dreary days of November, December, January and February have ended. While many of my friends embrace the cold deep powder of Alaskan winters, I never seem to totally enjoy the days where we are slogging through deep powder to ski the same runs again and again up and down. Thus when the sun...
Saturday, October 17th, 2005 was our first time out on skis since the previous April. There is powder north of Anchorage - but instead we opted for a traverse since we still have a little bit of light. So on Sunday we rounded up a group of friends and drove south to Girdwood where we hiked up the Crow Pass trail and dropped ov...
On Saturday Todd and I went in and skied Graddaddys. We weren't able to ski the North couloir (which we were hoping for) due to a huge crown and icey slopes... but it was a beautiful day!
Todd had skied Pastoral a couple weeks ago with Yvonne. His video is after the jump....
A bomber snowpack and high pressure gave us all the itch to get out. Both Eric and I had caught the spring climbing bug after ascending Ptarmigan the previous weekend, and Dan was itching for some steeper runs - so after dozens of ideas tossed back and forth via email, we met at 8am on Saturday and headed south...
High pressure pushed over Southcentral Alaska so I rounded up a group and on Saturday we headed down to Turnagain Pass for yet another day of powder skiing. We started out with a large group - 6 in total - and headed up and over Taylor Pass. However at the pass Eric the Viking's hip started bugging him so Dan...
High pressure and fresh snow makes the front range quite inviting so Yvonne and I opted to stay near town for the weekend and go ski in Rabbit Valley for a day.
On Saturday, March 14th we slept in, ate a lazy breakfast and then headed up Rabbit Valley for a morning ski. We reached the parking lot in a tota...
On Sunday March 15th I headed up Rabbit Valley with Dan, Eric, Todd and Pat. The winds were howling on the ridge lines and once again, prospects did not look good!
We skied back the base of Ptarmigan, sat around discussing options and then headed up. The normal gully coming off Ptarmigan Pass was in good shape - but as we got...
Peak 3 season is in full swing here on Hillside. For those who don't know what Peak 3 season is; It's that time of year where every day at 3pm the schoolteachers start calling you and saying "Want to go ski Peak 3? Want to go ski Peak 3?" If you can avoid them you'll get in another hour of...
Friday night. I drive past Pyramid Peak in Turnagain Pass looking casually up. I wanted to climb it all winter but my friends are snow snobs; they'd rather ski one run of good powder 5 times than skin up a wind hammered ridge. Now that it's spring they're all out doing spring things - like gardening and river rafting. For some r...
On Saturday Todd, Dan, Yvonne and I climbed Pyramid Peak (3378'). Unlike my last ascent this was a mellow ski ascent without any epic and no bushwhacking. I was disappointed; after all my tough talk to Yvonne about what a burly peak this was to climb we waltzed up the entire thing in less than 3 hours.
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More pix after the jump......
Spring… it means something different for everyone. For my mother in Virginia it means peas and corn sprouting after a short winter; for grumpy Anchorites unwilling to venture higher than 1500' it means mud and muck and 22 trips to the car wash to keep that shine. For me it means the annual Chugach migration in...
Spring is here and with it came a good snow pack and perfect snow for front range skiing. On Sunday Charlie T. and I climbed the West Ridge of Ptarmigan from the Rabbit Valley side. The route up was great - with freshly kicked steps from a party just ahead of us. We climbed both summits and stared down the north ...
My nephew, Matthew, and brother John, came to visit me for Matt's spring break. I'm not sure if they expected balmy spring like temperatures or not - but they certainly didn't get them. Temps hovered in the teens on the good days; on the bad days it was around -20 with 50 mph winds!
We spent 8 days skiing down on the Kenai Peni...
It's finally winter here! We received about 7 inches of snow over the corse of Saturday and Sunday. Saturday Yvonne actually had a day off (first time in weeks). We considered driving south but the roads were scary and the avalanche danger high so we headed up to Flattop (5 minute drive) and XC ...
For years I’ve put off writing about the Bomber Traverse due to various reasons... but the primary reason being that I feel it's a very popular trip and I don’t really want to encourage people to head to the area. It's a pretty selfish reason. I love the area - I love the huts, I love the climbing and I don’t w...
I spent a long weekend skiing in Thompson Pass with Todd, Peter and Amy. We stayed at Matt Kinney's awesome place (Thompson Pass Mountain Chalet). We had relatively decent weather and conditions and were able to ski every day.
We drove down on friday afternoon. On Saturday we headed out and skied Gully 1 with Matt. The skiing w...
We had the worst avalanche report of the season - multiple weak layers, 6 plus feet of new snow, warming temperatures - and to top it off, the threat of a rumbling Mt. Redoubt 130 miles to the west. But we couldn't stay home; the forecast was calling for a blizzard warning that evening. We had one day to gi...
Fishing
Fishing
(4 Articles)
Well... 2006 marks my 10th summer and 7th year in Alaska. I've spent many of summer climbing, hiking, rafting and finally rediscovered the joys of fishing. However - until Monday I had never been dipnetting.
Dipnetting refers to the harvesting method where you stick a huge net into the water and scoop out fish. You can dipnet for reds, pinks and s...
The season is upon us so I thought I'd share some photos from our Chitina excursion last June. Spring 2007 runoff had caused a number of land slides and some people were saying the road past O'Brien was impassible; so unlike 2006 where I joined the Steers for a redneck 4WD extravaganza, getting back to th...
The season is upon us... so once again it's time to share photos of the only-in-Alaska tradition of dipnetting. We went to Chitina again; this time we were well prepared and showed up with bikes AND trailers, a campstove. And coffee.
However... for all the preparation dipnetting was once again a "...
Drove South to Homer (5 hours) for some halibut fishing this weekend. We went with our friend Becky who has a house and boat down there. Left friday night and by 11ish saturday morning we were uploading the skiff into Kachemak Bay.
Weather was kind of iffy at the put in -- foggy, a slight breeze and seas around 2 feet. By the we motored out...
Family
Family
(10 Articles)
Below is an assortment of wedding photos taken by my nephew Matthew and our friend Anne Gore. We haven't had time to actually edit and add comments but do have all of these in high resolution format. If you would like a copy of any of these (or all of them) let us know and we'll burn you a CD. Anne's photos (the second set) are a litt...
Pictures from Christmas 2007 after the jump....
Below are a number of old photos from the farm and Charlottesville. Most of the photos are of Dad, but there are a few of various family member. If you know who is who please email me and I'll edit the photo. If you email me please make sure you tell me which picture it is.
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This selection of photographs is from around 1960 to 2000. I have many more which I will continue to scan. If you have any (in digital format) please email them to me and I'll put them online. I'd especially like photos of the grandchildren. Please tell me who is in the photo and when it was taken.
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Well the marathon is over. Yvonne's dad left last night and I finally got some sleep. none too soon either - my hands are as sore as can be and covered in bruises and cuts. Sometime back my brother John gave me a list of ways to do home-improvements. They included (1) Do it...
Photos from John & Patti's visit to Alaska after the jump.
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I have lost my best friend and climbing partner. Pharaoh has been with me since May 1997; he came into our lives a squirming ball of fur and grew up by my side accompanying me across the country and back; always in front of me pushing his way through deep snow, scrambling up steep rock and ready for more than I...
After hanging out in City of Rocks and the Tetons I rented a car and drove North to Stanley Idaho. John and his family, Charlie and Liz, Liz's parents and mom all joined us for a few days of hiking, boating and eating.
We floated the Salmon (Sunbeam Dam to Holman Creek), hiked above Redfish Lake and did a nice...
These are some of the photos taken when we were at the Lamoureux farm and in Boston over Memorial Day weekend. I know other family members took pictures too and if you'd like them added to this site, please email them to us. For that matter, if you have other pictures that you'd like put on the site, defini...
I was in Virginia from May 30th through June 8th. I hadn't been to the farm since Christmas 2005 - a long time and Mom was starting to wonder if I'd ever come back. While I was there John visited for a weekend, Martha stoppe- by for an afternoon and I spent a lot of time taking Katya...
Rivers & Waters
Packrafting
(5 Articles)
On Saturday, August 18th, Scott Hauser, Mark Selland and I packrafted 20-Mile. Recently this has become the trip to do in Anchorage and much has been written and said about it. We encountered 3 other pack-rafters other than ourselves and know of at least two others that were doing the trip as a weekend trip.
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On Sunday Yvonne and I packrafted a short section of Eagle River. We started at the Nature Center and hiked about 6 miles to Icicle Creek. We then floated down to Echo Bend. It was Yvonne's first time out in the rafts and the river was high and quite swift -- with lots and lots of sweepers. She was aprehensive at first but after a while got t...
Todd & I packrafted Glacier Creek down in Girdwood last night. We floated from the hand tram to pretty much the front porch of Chair 5 (got out, crossed the street and ordered pizza!). River levels are pretty high right now and the section through the canyon was quite fast and fun! I took a swim shortly after putting in, but the river is most...
The forecast for Virginia during Christmas week called for clear sunny skies with highs in the 50 and 60s so I emailed my brothers and made plans to haul my boats down when I visited for Christmas. John drove down from Philly with three boats and wet suits, I showed up with 2 packrafts and one dry-suit and Char...
On Sunday Yvonne and I floated Portage Creek from the Lake to the Seward Highway. The run is about 6 miles and quite mellow. I took my Alpacka Dory and Yvonne took her Yak. Right after the put in there are some mellow rapids - easy enough in a regular packraft by the oars in my dory kept hitting the rocky bottom ...
Boating / Rafting / Sailing
(5 Articles)
Birch turning - Upper River Fall 2008
Lingering snow - Upper River Spring 2010
Images from two floats down the Chulitna River - Fall 2008 and Spring 2010....
For an end of summer trip Scott and Becky Hauser invited us out on their parents sailboat - the 42' Contagious. On friday Scott, Becky, Becky's sister Rachel, Yvonne and I drove to Whittier on Friday night and spent the night on the boat in typical Whittier weather - hard driving cold rain. We fully exp...
Summer in Alaska is for family visitors. Some years no one shows up… Other years they show up in mass – a week here, a week there. Sometimes 2 weeks. Sometimes 3 weeks… sometimes more. Not that I’m complaining… when family visits it’s a chance to show them how you live....
For the long 4th of July 2003 weekend Todd Kelsey invited me on a raft trip down the Tana River. A rafting trip with Todd Kelsey is the polar opposite of my usual mountaineering experience. For starters, since I cannot row I usually sit on the raft and just look around. Second lack of food is never an issue - b...
Photos from canoeing various rivers in Virginia including the Moormans River near Free Union and the Bull Falls section of the Shenandoah River.
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Trekking
Trekking
(5 Articles)
Miscellaneous photographs from hikes and climbs in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Charlottesville Virginia.
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From July 17th - 20th Yvonne and I and 7 friends and family hiked the Grizzly Lakes Traverse in Chugach State Park. We started at Crow Pass, went up Clear Creek and over Steamroller Pass, camped at Archangel Lakes, then went over to Grizzly Lakes, then down Camp Creek to Eagle River and then back to Crow Pass. There were a total of 9 of us -...
Summer is here! Well... officially it's still spring but right now it's as hot as it gets around here so we're calling it summer anyways. Things are a little hectic right now as we try and figure out whether we like winter or summer more... monday we run, tuesday we ski, wednesday we bike, thursday we hike... and this weekend we float.
Koven - who...
Over Christmas Yvonne and I went back to Virginia to visit family. Everyone was there - which meant 4 brothers, 1 sister, 11 nephews and 1 niece! We did the usual family stuff but on Christmas afternoon got out of the house to give Mom a chance to relax. Jim and his family, Charlie, Katya, Yvonn...
No visit to Teton National Park is complete without a rest day spent driving around Yellowstone in search of animals and geysers. A classic trip is to leave Jackson early and drive the Yellowstone loop with stops at Old Faithful, Geyser Basin and Yellowstone Falls. Below are photographs from a trip Yvonne and I took there in 2005.
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