Mountaineering

We floated the Chulitna River over the long weekend- hot and sunny and with glorious views of the Alaska Range towering above the river. The mercury climbed to 80 degrees and we drifted down river in shorts and t-shirts. On Sunday night we camped on a gravel bar with the summits of Denali and Mooses […]  [ Read More ]

Prologue The pain comes a few days later. Three, four days after you think you’re home free, it descends crashing into your immune system. The first thing you notice when you wake up is your skin beginning to flake and peel. A couple days later it turns black and you try not to look at […]  [ Read More ]

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 […]  [ Read More ]

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 […]  [ Read More ]

Update 2/5/2021 This post is getting a ton of traffic so I’ll post what I posted elsewhere here since people have said it’s poignant… Update 2/3/2021 On Feb. 2nd 2021 three climbers were caught in an avalanche on this route and died. 54-year-old Tom Devine of Chugiak, Alaska, 43-year-old Matthew Nyman of Colorado Springs, Colorado, […]  [ Read More ]

It was one of those cold summers. Snow patches lingered in the yard till June and we were still climbing snow couloirs in June like it was May. The July rains came early, rock climbing consisted of long drives to Hatcher Pass only to turn around and drive home. Mountain climbing became something you did […]  [ Read More ]

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 […]  [ Read More ]

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 […]  [ Read More ]

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 corner) descends. And suddenly we are […]  [ Read More ]

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 […]  [ Read More ]

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 Eric […]  [ Read More ]

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 […]  [ Read More ]

On Saturday we pack leather boots, a half rope and a handful of cams, slings and biners just in case. By 9:15 we’ve parked in the small pull-out and are marching up and down the road looking into the woods with the dim hope that perhaps, somewhere, there is a trail. After a couple false […]  [ Read More ]

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 is still snow to be had […]  [ Read More ]

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 […]  [ Read More ]

Edit July 2025: On Saturday, June 28 2025 there was an accident  on where a climber suffered a severe head injury due to a falling rock and a MEDEVAC was requested by helicopter from the Alaska Air National Guard. An HH-60 Pavehawk from the Alaska Air National Guard arrived on scene, performed a hoist rescue […]  [ Read More ]

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 […]  [ Read More ]

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 […]  [ Read More ]

On March 27th Yvonne and I climbed the E. face / East couloir of Indianhouse Mountain. 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 […]  [ Read More ]

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 […]  [ Read More ]