Sierra Nevada Classics – The Ultimate Tick-List

Here, for your reading and research pleasure, is the ultimate Sierra Nevada Climbing and Backcountry Skiing tick-list – a compilation of compilations, if you will, with links for each adventure. Each climb/route is linked out to more information at Summitpost and other information warehouses (and an SJ Trip Report if there is one). “Ultimate” may not yet be deserved, but it’s... [Read more]

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NORTH FACE the Movie – Four out of Five Pitons

directed by Philipp Stölzl starring Benno Fürmann, Johanna Wokalek, Florian Lukas, Simon Schwarz, Georg Friedrich, Ulrich Tukur Thank you, Music Box Films! It’s been a long time coming….7 years since Touching the Void – the only other REAL mountaineering movie that exists. While Vertical Limit (2000), Cliffhanger (1993), and the Eiger Sanction (1975) are certainly entertaining and give... [Read more]

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Two of the Best Kept Secrets in the Sierra

I credit the American Alpine Club (AAC) Sierra Nevada Section (SNS) with introducing me to two of the best kept secrets in the Sierras: the Lost Trail Lodge and ice climbing in Coldstream Canyon. Water ice in Coldstream Canyon I first joined them for the annual event in February 2007 and then again over the weekend of January 29-31, 2010. Both are located in the North Lake Tahoe region near Donner... [Read more]

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Leave No Trace – Winter Edition

Climbers, skiers, snowboarders, and snowshoers alike are delighting in the recent storms in the Sierras creating that absolutely delicious playground of snow. With the opportunity to revel in the winter backcountry comes the responsibility to leave the places we explore as pristine as possible. I, for one, have been chastised for not being “Leave No Trace” for not swallowing my toothpaste or... [Read more]

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El Niño in the Sierras

Bill Martin, Meteorologist at KTVU After a frothy start to the ski season with early resort openings and talk of El Niño, many of us began wondering if this could be the epic year we’ve been waiting for, or if it would turn out to be another false start that begins with a bang and fizzles in disappointment.  The bay area saw some unusually heavy rain in October, followed by a cold snap and a series... [Read more]

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Importance of Mad Snowcamping Skillz in the Sierras

In November 2007, a man died after climbing Cathedral Peak in Yosemite with his partner. They expected to return the same day but were trapped on the descent when it began to snow, and one climber succumbed to hypothermia. In June 2008, a man died on Rainier after a freak blizzard caught three unsuspecting hikers in a storm that dropped 2 feet of snow. They had only left Camp Muir on a day hike.... [Read more]

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Kirkwood Up and Running After Power Outage

Kirkwood was 100 percent back online today after an unexpected New Year’s Day power outage shut down the resort through Saturday, and kept all but four lifts closed on Sunday. According to Kirkwood Senior Vice President Tim Cohee, around two o’clock Friday afternoon, one of the six engines in Kirkwood’s power plant suffered an exhaust failure.  The resulting fire destroyed the contents of the... [Read more]

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Dumb Luck Saves Colorado Snowboarder from Avalanche at Loveland Pass

On the surface, this is a simple and happy story. A snowboarder at Loveland Pass in CO got caught in an avalanche and luckily survived. He was carried down the slope and ended up buried up to his waist – right-side up. Thank goodness. But watch the clip below. The story says the boarder is “an experienced backcountry rider” whose “preparation saved him.” This, despite... [Read more]

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