West McMillan Attempt
There is a storied subrange of mountains nestled in the heart of the North Cascades with an almost mythical reputation: the Pickets. They are known for fickle weather and brutal approaches, but the reward for perseverance is an alpine wonderland of jagged peaks, serrated ridges, and spires. I have seen the range from a distance, but never have I had the privilege of seeing it up close. This summer, my friend Jess and I set out to summit West McMillan Spire, one of the southern Pickets that is considered a gateway to the range due to its relatively short approach (the word “relatively” does some heavy lifting here). We planned the trip for the middle of July, trying to thread the needle between the snow melting out and the wildfires starting. We decided to make it a three day trip, allowing us a full day for the rugged hike to basecamp, one full day for our summit attempt, and a third day for the long trek out.
Read More
Sloan Peak via the Corkscrew Route
I had the third weekend of July set aside for a climbing trip with my friend Kara and her friend, Sam, since the beginning of the year. Initially we had planned to climb Snowfield Peak over the weekend but between the oppressive heat and wildfires near Highway 20 we decide to change our plans. Kara suggested Sloan Peak since it was a climb that had been on her radar for years and it would still give us a Snowfield-esque experience, though in a much smaller package—Sloan has the steep, forested approach, it crosses a glacier, and it has a fun scramble to top it all off. The main difference is that Sloan can be done in a day and we wanted to avoid hiking with overnight packs in the heat so it seemed to fit our bill perfectly.
Read More
Spring Skiing on Mt Daniel
This spring in the PNW has been a sneakily good season. A warm winter with too much rain and not enough snow had my expectations set low for spring, but I ended up getting out on a few lovely tours. In mid-May, a cold front swept in and deposited a refresh of snow in the mountains, resetting the corn cycle in the process. By the time Memorial Day weekend arrived, most of the best snow was on the slopes of volcanos and other high elevation areas, and I set my sights on Mt Daniel as a spring ski objective for the long weekend.
Read More
Shuksan Attempt via the Sulphide Glacier
Mt. Shuksan is a mountain that I long considered so far outside of my skillset and comfort zone that I would never climb it. While the slopes on Shuksan’s south side are lower angle and more approachable, the final ~800’ summit pyramid is steep. It’s a sustained 40 to 50 degrees and even steeper on the final 20’-30’. But, after successfully climbing Garibaldi and expanding my comfort zone skiing steeper slopes, Shuksan suddenly felt more like a possibility. Because I thought I’d never be able to climb the mountain, I avoided even stepping foot on it. I figured why climb 90% of a mountain if I don’t have the skills to make it up the last 10%? This season, I finally felt ready to at least step foot on the mountain, set eyes on the summit pyramid, and assess the terrain for myself.
Read More
The Spearhead Traverse in a Day
The Spearhead Traverse is a route I learned about shortly after getting into backcountry skiing in 2018. It is regarded as one of the most scenic traverses in Canada and has been called the “Haute Route” of North America. The route connects Blackcomb to Whistler by way of a meandering traverse that crosses 11 glaciers, winds around 17 peaks, and travels through some of the most spectacular alpine terrain. It’s about 21 miles, give or take the exact variation one chooses (and there is no shortage of variations from which to choose), and about 5,600’ of gain if you exit via the standard Singing Pass route. Oh, and it also requires at least 21 transitions. It’s no small undertaking physically or technically, so I kept this route in the back of my mind as I accumulated more experience in glacier travel, reading terrain, navigating, and improving my endurance these past few years.
Read More
Garibaldi Redemption
In early April, Sander and I climbed and skied off the summit of Mt. Garibaldi in beautiful British Columbia. It is a peak that Alex and I attempted to ski last season via Brohm Ridge, but we were turned back on that trip by incoming weather about 1,200’ below the summit (trip report here). In my trip report, I wrote that I wasn’t sure I would ever go back to attempt Garibaldi again, and if I did, I certainly would not take the Brohm Ridge approach. Well, less than a year later I did go back, but I was true to my word and did not access it via Brohm Ridge. Instead, Sander and I took the longer but, in my opinion much better, approach via Garibaldi Lake and the Rubble Creek Trailhead.
Read More
Winter in the Baker Backcountry
There isn’t much that compares to the Baker backcountry on a bluebird winter day. A sea of mountains cloaked in white stretching in all directions, dreamy pillow drifts, and, of course, the crown jewel, Mt Baker, dominating the horizon.
Read More
Chasing Winter on the Chilean Volcanoes
At the end of August, Alex and I headed to South America to chase winter in the depths of the US summer and had a blast skiing a couple Chile volcanoes in spring-like conditions. However, this was not our Plan A. (I really need to start keeping track of how often my Plan As fall through because I feel like I write this sentence nearly every other post!) Our Plan A was a hut-to-hut backcountry ski trip outside of Bariloche, specifically this trip from Powder Quest: https://powderquest.com/trips/patagonia-hut-to-hut/. We booked the trip at the end of 2024 and kept our fingers crossed for good conditions. Unfortunately, the region experienced its worst snowpack since 1996.
Read More
A Redemption Summit in the North Cascades
In 2021, Alex and I set out to climb Snowking Mountain, a regal peak nestled in the depths of the North Cascades during an intense heat wave. We underestimated the amount of water sources along the route and ended up dangerously dehydrated on the most exposed section of the approach. By pure luck, we stumbled upon a tiny snow patch melting in the heat and were able to filter a couple liters of water that saved us. By the time we made it to camp at Cyclone Lake, we were exhausted, dehydrated, and mentally fried from the entire experience. Instead of attempting the summit the next morning, we packed up camp and headed back to the trailhead, tail between our legs. Once safely home, we wrote this one off for good.
Read More
The Elusive Snowfield Peak
Over the Fourth of July weekend, my friend Kara and I climbed Snowfield Peak, a mountain that we have been wanting to climb since 2023. Each year, some weather-related event prevented us from even stepping foot on the trail. In 2023, just two days before our planned trip, the Pyramid Area wildfire sparked and the entire area was closed. We decided to find a different objective since we already had the time set aside and climbed Chiwawa Mountain in the Glacier Peak Wilderness instead. In 2024, the weekend we scheduled our Snowfield climb coincided with an oppressive heat wave that swept into the region and, not wanting to haul our overnight gear and glacier gear up in the heat, we pivoted to doing Sloan car to car instead. This year, we decided to plan the trip at the beginning of the season to try to avoid the wildfires and heat waves that can afflict the North Cascades later in the season. The strategy paid off. Finally we got our Snowfield summit!
Read More
