I packed the gear the night before, Dara checked the weather, and I was even somewhat awake at 6 am.  It seemed like sneaking out on a Wednesday morning to drive to Lake Tahoe was shaping up to be an excellent idea. I had taken the day off from work to bring Dara (my climbing [...]

While Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promised to keep California State Parks open, he didn’t stress how drastic some changes would be to deal with the 14.2 million dollar reduction in the Park budget.
A summary of the service reductions in store for most of California’s 278 state parks was created by the park superintendants to highlight the major [...]

From the realm of the superhuman:
Between Oct. 16-21 Doug Engelkirk managed to send Leaning Tower’s Westie Face (V 5.13a /b AO , 9 pitches, 700 feet)  and Washington Column’s Quantum Mechanic (V 5.13a , 15 pitches, 1000 feet) in Yosemite National Park. Any route designated grade V is generally accepted to take at least two days [...]

The Mammoth and Mono Lake Ranger districts together with the BLM office in Bishop, CA have scheduled several fire projects during the upcoming fall and winter months to reduce hazardous fuel buildup and to improve the condition of wild habitats.
According to the press release from the U.S. Forest Service, the prescribed burns will be scattered throughout Mono County [...]

The Cables Route is the standard day hike up Half Dome. It's an all-day affair and is no joke – particularly in inclement weather conditions. Yet another reminder to be careful out there – even on seemingly easy terrain. Weather can turn even the tamest of routes into a nightmarish epic.
From LA [...]

I can't wait to see this new Ken Burns film. It just debuted at Mountainfilm in Telluride. The rest of us have to wait until September 27 to see it. Here's the trailer:

Via PBS:
Filmed over the course of more than six years at some of nature's most spectacular locales — from Acadia to Yosemite, [...]