Emilie Cortes is back in action checking out the scene at the annual Ouray Ice Festival…

This is super cool. I’ve always wanted to hike the entirety of the John Muir Trail, but man, who has the time? The Muir Project put together this video to give us all a glimpse of the 200+ mile trip through the Sierra. Gorgeous!

Jon, Jen and I decided to do the 20 Lakes Basin loop with a night in the backcountry. It’s an easy-going and flat eight-mile loop through gorgeous high alpine lakes above the Saddlebag Lake trailhead. We drove up Friday afternoon and looked for a car

The destination: Telluride Bluegrass Festival. The route: San Francisco -> Tioga Pass -> Mt. Dana -> Los Angeles -> Chaco Canyon -> Telluride.

So we decided to take a roadtrip to Telluride for the bluegrass festival. This will be my

It’s corn harvesting season in the Tahoe backcountry. The snow is getting thin down low, but up high there’s still plenty of the good stuff, and if you hit it right it’s as good as it gets.

Jon and I hit Mt. Tallac on Friday, maybe the most well

Just back from leading a ski trip on Mt. Shasta. Conditions are looking very good and it’s safe to say the spring climbing and skiing season has begun. Record snowfall this winter has left a sizable snowpack on 14,172 ft Mt. Shasta. Keep an eye on

They tell me the mountain will always be there…

Stand atop Granite Chief at Squaw Valley and gaze north. You’ll clearly see Tinker Knob in the foreground, Anderson Peak in the middle-distance, and Donner Peak far to the north. Stand atop the Mt. Lincoln chair at Sugar Bowl and you’ll see largely t

Can a couple of out-of-shape climbers make it up the Matterhorn by a classic technical route? What is up with “Sierra fourth class”? Can your underwear really make its way into your intestinal tract? Emilie and Patrick find out…

Is solo backpacking stupid? Is it about the journey or the destination? Can hiking in flip-flops grant you “myth” status? Emilie finally reaches the destination, the summit of Mt Whitney, and has her answers…