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 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, […]  [ 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 ]

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 […]  [ Read More ]

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 […]  [ Read More ]

The climbing scene is all-abuzz with the recent report of a rescue on Mt. Hayes last week. Two Fairbanks climbers set out to climb the East Ridge and made it up and over Levi’s Bump (10,500′) without incident where a storm forced them to dig a snow cave. They waited out weather then went for […]  [ Read More ]

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, the temperature rises just above freezing – the familiar pitter patter of sleet on a […]  [ Read More ]

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 […]  [ Read More ]

‘Tis the season. We leave for the Alaska Range in two weeks so I thought I’d scan some old photos to remind myself what I’m getting into. These photos are from a 2002 May ascent of the SE Ridge of Mt. Crosson with my friend Dahr Jamail. I don’t remember too much about the climb… […]  [ Read More ]

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 […]  [ Read More ]

Jeff  “Hardcore” Young died two days shy of his 67th birthday on Nov. 20 2026 from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare and fatal brain disorder. This trip was the first time I met Jeff and we had a wonderful time and climbed together afterwards several times. Thanks for the memories Jeff. See you on the other […]  [ Read More ]

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 […]  [ Read More ]

“You can’t sleep here!” The Man stood over us silhouetted against the dawn sky. I sat up and looked in his direction. It was barely light out but I could make out his uniform and the telltale hat. Beyond The Man’s hat 1200′ of rock intruded into the dawn sky. The sun was just beginning […]  [ Read More ]