Excuse the headline. My guide swore me to secrecy. Suffice it to say that I spent a day on a rarely fished stretch of river near Yosemite National Park. Here are some of the 30+ fish we caught that day:

Beauitful 12-inch brown taken on a dry fly

A wild native 12" rainbow trout

I met my guide at 9am, he hopped in my truck and we drove a short distance via fire roads until the fire roads ran out. We got out of the truck, and began climbing down a river valley through some of the most nightmarish bush-whacking I’ve ever seen.

This is an area that burned several years ago. One of the first species of plant to move into burned areas is a fast-growing bush that grows 5-feet tall and forms a nearly impenetrable wall of foliage.

The only thing that allows you to make your way through this jungle is cattle. Yes, cattle. This is open range territory, where cattle pushes its way through the foliage as it makes its way to the river to drink. So you follow cattle trails all the way down several hundred feet in elevation, where you finally come upon a pristine, untrodden trout stream.

The land above is abused, but the stream itself is gorgeous. It’s lined with Elephant Ear, a broad-leafed plant that my guide says is a sure sign of a healthy stream. Trout rise everywhere to feed on the abundant aquatic insect life. My guide points out the numerous stone fly casings on the rocks as we wander up-stream.

If you’re the kind of guy (or gal) that throws your clubs after a bad gold shot, then fly fishing is not for you – particularly in this kind of fly fishing. It’s generally very tight, with very little room for back casting. You have to be very precise. I was introduced to exotic casting methods like the “bow and arrow” in which you pinch the fly between your fingers, pull back on the rod, and sling-shot the fly into your desired location. All I ended up doing is catching my own finger.

Despite my clumsy casting, and with the help of a few key pointers from my guide, I was able to land several 12 inch browns and rainbows, in addition to dozens of smaller, but beautiful fish.

The author with one of many rainbow trout taken that day

30+ fish later, and at least a couple of miles of upstream wading, I was thoroughly exhausted – and exhilarated. I’ve never experienced such a productive day of fly fishing on such a pristine stream. My guide’s secret is out for at least one person. I’ll be back for sure…

Check out this disturbing mockumentary of the majestic plastic bag on its journey to its final home in the pacific. Created by Heal the Bay in support of California state senate bill AB 1998.

Via Heal the Bay:

Help stop our 19 billion bag-a–year habit in California and put an end to plastic pollution. Tell your Senator to support the AB 1998 at http://www.HealtheBay.org/BagBill. You can make the difference.

Via Wend.

My original plan for the weekend was to head down to the Whitney region to climb the East Ridge of Mt. Russell. If it’s not on your list yet, it will be after reading this Sierra Descents trip report.

Getting into this area requires a North Fork Lone Pine Creek permit obtainable at the Eastern Sierra Interagency office in Lone Pine. They hold on to a dozen or so for walk-ins like me. I’ve had some success in the past doing the walk-in thing. Alas, I was out of luck this time.

So… on to plan B. How about a trip into the Palisades area? That sounds good, I thought. I’ll make camp at the glacier and chat with climbers as they come and go. Maybe even hook up with a group and score the U-notch or Swiss Arete.

Let’s check in with the guidebook. Oooh…. There’s a good 3rd class ridge climb on Mt. Winchell – the East Arete. That sounds perfect, let’s do that instead. So, I got a permit for the North Fork Big Pine Creek (much easier to get a hold of than the Whitney zone) and away I went.

I picked up some grub in Big Pine, drove west to the trail head, parked, packed up and started hiking around 11 am or so. The first 4 miles up to First Lake are a bit tedious. It was hot, hot, hot, that day and there’s not much in terms of shade along the first part of the trail.

You’ll pass three lakes named, appropriately, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Lake. That’s about 6 miles or so. Then you climb some switchbacks into Sam Mack Meadow, a gorgeous high alpine meadow with a meandering stream coming down direct from the glaciers above.

1st lake on the North Fork of Big Pine Creek.

Sam Mack Meadow on way to Palisade Glacier.

I arrived at Sam Mack Meadow with plenty of time left in the afternoon (and plenty of sun). I set up a little lunch area with an ultra-light waterproof tarp from Brooks-Range Mountaineering. It’s a lovely piece of gear with endless uses. This trip I used it as a sun shelter and ground cloth – sun shelter for lunch, and ground cloth for sleeping under the stars. It could also be adapted to provide rain shelter if weather threatens. It could be a bivvy sack. Who knows what else…

Shady lunch spot with Brooks Range tarp.

I made myself some dinner, lay down early and watched the stars come out. The Perseid meteors were very active, and it was a moonless night. I drifted off to sleep and woke at 7 am.

Dinner in Sam Mack meadow.

The plan, as I mentioned, was to climb the East Arete on Mt. Winchell. Well, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Never, ever underestimate how easy it is to get turned around in the mountains – even when route finding should be straightforward.

The approach to this climb is a pain-in-the-arse. It’s miles and miles of seemingly endless bolder hopping and scree scrambling along glacial moraines.

I had gotten into a real zen-like zone as I hopped from bolder to bolder. So much so, that I went right past the base of this climb and all the way into the cirque to the southwest of the climb. In my meditative state I zoned in on a high point in the cirque that I unquestioningly assumed was the summit of Mt. Winchell.

I made it halfway up this sub-peak (on some pretty decent 3rd/4th class rock, by the way) before realizing, “Wait a minute, that’s Winchell waaaayyyyy over there.” Oops. So I climbed to the top of the aspect I was on, peered over into the next basin and those endless views from the top of the Sierra.

Endless scree fields and glacial morraine on approach to Mt. Winchell.

It was already noon by this time and the thought of navigating more scree on the approach to the real base of the route sounded unappealing, to say the least. So I sat on the top enjoyed the sun and the views, had some peanut M&Ms, then started down…

And back, once again, into the endless scree fields. Then, finally, back down to Sam Mack Meadow, where, as I past some small ponds in the meadow, dozens of small, beautiful frogs leapt into the water as I passed. Upon further research, I believe these are Southern Mountain Yellow-legged Frogs. It’s good to know that even with the well-documented environmental pressure on amphibians of late, that this species is alive and well in the high sierra.

Southern Mountain Yellow-legged Frog in one of the ponds in Sam Mack Meadow.

I sat in the meadow grass, dipped my weary feet into the stream, then packed up and headed out for the 8-mile trip back to the trailhead. Hot, dusty, long. Why does the way out always seem longer than the way in?

*Products mentioned in this article were supplied by the brand. Reviews are honest and authentic. Editorial integrity is our top priority.

It’s never too early to get stoked for the coming ski season. Here’s a good way to waste some time for all you office-bound suckers like me: a round-up of the 2010 ski film trailers from TGR, Matchstick, Warren Miller, Powderwhore and etc (in no particular order). There’s some good stuff in here. I’m particularly psyched for TGR’s new releases. If there are any I missed, let me know!

Teton Gravity Research “Light the Wick”

Teton Gravity Research “DEEPER”

Matchstick Productions “The Way I See it”

Level 1 “Eye Trip”

Poor Boyz Productions “Revolver”

Dendrite Studios “Out of the Shadows”

Warren Miller “Wintervention” - I don’t think a trailer for this one is available yet, but here are two sneak-peaks that scrounged up on the interwebs, including the below footage of the late, great Arne Backstrom at Heavenly.

The Ski Channel “The Story”

Powderwhore “TeleVision”

My condolences to friends and family. Frederik Ericsson suffered a fatal fall on K2 during an ambitious ski attempt. That’s a big blow after being so close. See below for a chronological news round up:

Progress reported on July 26 via The Ski Channel:

The Swedish skier Ericsson has already skied from just below Camp 2 to K2 base camp, about a 4,265 foot vertical stretch. As of July 25th Pakistan time, the equivalent of 12 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time, the two had made it to Camp 3, and today planned to trek their way to the 26,247-foot-high Camp 4.

Depending on the weather conditions, and their chances of success on the Abruzzi Route, there may be an attempt at pushing the summit today.

And here’s the sad news via Everest News:

Fredrik Ericsson was attempting the summit of K2. The weather forecast was stated to be excellent. Some climbers did not believe the forecast. It was clear when Fredrik left for the summit. But then a very strong storm moved in. The forecast was very very wrong.

All Abruzzi climbers have turned around and headed down the mountain. They are very sad. Fredrik Ericsson was a friend to many.

We have been told Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner turned and returned to camp 4. We have no other knowledge on her summit attempt. She did not summit. Trey Cook, Fredrik Ericsson climbing partner, also attempted the summit but turned back after a few hours into the attempt.

This comes quickly on the heels of another ski mountaineering death. Tahoe local, Arne Backstrom, took a fatal fall during a day out on Pisco in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca (which I climbed back in 2007). Makes me wonder sometimes if it’s all worth it…

2010 marks the second year of the now annual Wanderlust Festival in Squaw Valley near Lake Tahoe. Wanderlust offers a combination of some of the world’s best yoga practitioners and a variety of musical performers, all set in nature and the beautiful mountains that surround Squaw.

My friend, Sonja, and I arrived late Friday night to avoid the usual Bay Area weekend traffic. We rolled into the Silver Creek Campground (just 1 mile from Squaw Valley) after 11pm and experienced déjà vu all over again as we struggled in the dark with weak headlamps to find our campsite. We were sound asleep within minutes of locating our temporary new home.

The alarm sounded at 6:45am and we both wondered what we were thinking signing up for 8:00am yoga classes! We arrived at Squaw to find that there were 2, maybe 3 times, more booths set up than last year. The box office was much better organized and rather than badges that listed our class schedule (which ended up being problematic when people switched classes), we were given wristbands that indicated what we were entitled to. Sonja and I had opted for the “Pilgrim” package – $280 that gave us full access to the festival – access to all music, speakers, cable car rides, and 3 yoga classes each day.

This year the yoga line-up included Shiva Rea (one of my favorites), Les Leventhal, Elena Brower, Jenny and Jack, and many more. I experimented with Diane Hudock’s Ahmanda Yoga Flow class up at High Camp which was invigorating both due to the poses and the scenery. The spectacular cable car ride brought me to the highest I have ever practiced yoga, 8200ft, and an amazing view of early sunlight on Lake Tahoe in the distance.

Diane Hudock's Ahmanda Flow at 8,200 ft

I jumped on the cable car after the class and rushed down to “The Pulse” to experience and old favorite of mine, Shiva Rea, and her session called Fluid Power. Sonja and I both baked in the sun during this enervating class full of motion and energy. A Shiva Rea experience is more like being part of an impromtu community pulsing with positive energy than a technical yoga class, which is part of her attraction.

The festival offers the opportunity to experience much more than just the organized yoga line-up. Last year we mountain-biked the Western States Trail and Tahoe Rim Trail which are both accessible with a very short drive. In the past, I have also hiked up to Lake Elizabeth and the summit of Granite Chief to drink in the views. For hard core rock climbers, Donner Summit is just 10 miles away, as well as Big Chief which requires finding and driving on 5 miles of dirt road.

This year Sonja and I split up in the afternoon after getting our butts kicked with back to back vinyasa flow classes. I did a 50 mile training ride (for the upcoming Ebbetts Pass Century) straight out of Squaw Valley. I headed north on Hwy 89 and up to the top of Donner Summit. I then retraced my tracks and road due south to Tahoe City, including 6 fun but dangerous (due to drunken rafters may be worse than cars!) miles on the Tahoe River Trail. By the time I returned to Squaw, bum and lower back were a bit sore but I was relaxed and satisfied.

Donner Lake from Donner Pass

Sonja decided to check out the new Squaw Valley Mountain Bike Park (we heard that Squaw opened the trails for the first time in 10 years for official mountain biking use). Warnings abound that the park is not for beginner or novice riders due to the difficulty level of the trails. Sonja is a strong intermediate rider, outfitted with body armor, and she confirmed this was accurate. After taking the cable car up, she explored for a while before finding a series of trails that provided the adventure she was looking for, and sometimes more adventure than she bargained for.

Thankfully, we both returned unscathed for our respective rides and were eager to check out the new concert area. The music line-up for the weekend included an eclectic version of artists including some of my old and new favorites: Moby, Bassnectar, Hamsa Lila, and Beats Antique. We were getting our groove on to the rave-like beats of Bassnector when a gal collided with me as if I was invisible and her boots caught and ripped off my big toenail. I’m happy to report that the Medical Tent was staffed with friendly and competent ski patrollers that administered first aid.

Yard Dogs prove you CAN wear just your briefs and Indian headdress in public

Sunday was more relaxing as we started the day with Elena Brower’s meditation session with soothing live background music of Todd Boston playing the flute and acoustic guitar. Figuring we were indeed gluttons for punishment, we headed back to the Pulse for more Shiva Rea flow. However, we were in for a surprise as there was more live music, but this time a blues band! We performed asanas to blues in the background with intermittent sessions of spontaneous dancing and free-from movement within yoga poses. It felt more like a celebration of life, music, and yoga than any other session I have experienced.

Many of the great aspects about Wanderlust 2009 were preserved and numerous improvements were made. The increase in food options, booths, and participants gave the festival a more vibrant feel. The location of the concert on the Squaw Valley floor allowed for much easier entry and exit than having the music up high which caused bottlenecks on the cable cars. The festival focused on zero waste and offered additional recycling and compost bins around the complex. They have also added a Speaker Series where I was delighted to hear Chris Sharma speak on climbing as moving meditation and Lama Christie McNally on how to take the positive energy of the festival back to our every day lives.

Chris Sharma on moving meditation

On the downside, the customizing of the ticket packages that allowed for concert only access seemed to attract some concert goers that clearly were not seeking Zen and there were several Wanderlusters that experienced bike theft and car robberies. Unfortunately, like any urban environment, we must all be aware of our personal possessions as well as look out for each other.

I hope the Wanderlust Festival is here to stay as I’ll be waiting to mark my calendar with 2011 dates!

There is a new unified avalanche danger scale rolling out for the 2010/11 season that will create a common vocabulary between US and Canadian avalanche centers, according to Powder Magazine.

It’s not immediately clear to me what the major differences are here. It retains the Low/Moderate/Considerable/High/Extreme methodology with similar explanations for each danger rating.

Whatever the differences are, you can get accustomed to the below image on your friendly neighborhood avalanche center website.

Via Powder:

Backcountry avalanche centers across Canada and the United States will be using a new avalanche danger scale for the 2010/11 season. The new scale reduces some of the ambiguity of the previous scale, provides more definitive travel advice for backcountry recreationists, incorporates risk by referring to typical avalanche sizes expected, and utilizes icons recently adopted by European countries.

NICE. Tioga Pass is set to open this weekend, according to MyMotherLoad. That’s surprisingly early, if you ask me, considering the massive amount of snow the Sierra received this season.

That’ll begin the annual pilgrimage to Mt. Dana and all that East-Side goodness. With Sonora Pass already open, we’ll then have full access. Get it now while the gettin’s good…

Via MyMotherLoad:

Another area mountain pass will be opening soon.

Highway 120 Tioga Pass in Yosemite will open for the season Saturday at 8am.

Yosemite officials say there are still several feet of snow in the Tuolumne Meadows area. Hiking opportunities remain limited and visitors are urged to use caution while driving. All campgrounds along Tioga Pass remain closed. All commercial services, including the gas station, store and village grill are also closed.

Last week Highway 4 Ebbetts Pass and Highway 108 Sonora Pass also opened for the summer season

If you’re just not ready to let the resort ski season go, then you’re in luck. The Sierra has received a good amount of snow and the temps have stayed relatively cool, so the resort decided to spin the lifts one last time before closing for real.

Sounds like lift access will be pretty sparse, however, with just the Cable Car, Links and Shirley Lake open.

The rest of us will be enjoying some of the best spring backcountry conditions in recent memory. The East Side is going off, and now’s the time to hit Shasta too…

Via Squaw Valley:

Ski season ain’t over yet. And if you’re like me, you’re not even close to letting it go. Here in the Sierra, the snowfall measured at 140% of average, so the high country should be good to go for some time.

What better way to cap off the season than with a big Eastern Sierra tour on some brand new gear? I’ve taken the last couple of weeks to scour the internet for spring fires-sale deals. The results? Behold my dream kit:

• Black Diamond Verdict Skis
• Dynafit Zzeus TF-X Boots
• Dynafit TLT Vertical FT 12 Bindings
• G3 Alpinist Skins

Some notes on my gear decisions:

The Verdicts seem like a near-perfect set of skis. Their light, stiff, have good width underfoot and come in the perfect length for me: 180 cm.

I’m a new convert to the Dynafit world, having skied on Fritschi’s for the last several seasons. I’m now convinced that Dynafits are a superior solution for my kind of skiing. See here for a great discussion of the benefits and struggles for new Dynafit converts. I paired the bindings with Dyanfit’s new 4-buckle, beefy, but still lightweight boot – the Zzeus.

Then I bought a set of G3 Alpinist skins, the best skins on the market, in my opinion. Ready to go right out of the box, the Aplinists come with a pre-installed tip. All you need to do is trim the edges with an included trimming tool. Very slick setup.

Now to get the boots fitted, mount the bindings and trim the skins. Next weekend the plan is take this gear on its maiden voyage in the Palisades.