I first climbed in the Fisher Towers during my freshman year of college. During the next three years, I gradually climbed one tower after the other, learning from each success and failure, until I had done them all. My most profound failure was on...
I started working on this climb with Mary Harlan, when we climbed and cleaned the first two pitches of Sucker Punch (AAJ 2014) and this route (located just right of Sucker Punch on the northwest face) over two days. I added the remaining hardware ...
In early November, Nikki Smith, Matt Tuttle, and Angela VanWiemeersch climbed a new ice route in Henry’s Fork Basin, below King’s Peak (13,528’), on the north slope of the Uinta Mountains. The climb, Trivium (100’, WI4), is significant for its 10-...
On October 30, Matt Mower and I made what is likely the first ascent of Castle Dome. From the West Rim, we rappelled into the saddle between the West Rim and Castle Dome. We eventually reached the southeast corner, where one can look down onto Zio...
Over four days at the beginning of April, Matthew Mower and I completed the first ascent of Ivins Mountain (7,049’) by its west face. This peak is located on the west side of the park, and is considered one of the most remote mountains in Zion. To...
In the early 1990s—back when I was running around in romper suits—Conrad Anker tried a big-wall climb on the Temple of Sinewava, just left of the wall’s large waterfall. He and Doug Heinrich climbed five pitches before retreating. While rappelling...
Last summer I worked as a backcountry ranger in Sequoia National Park in California. Sequoia is a vast playground of granite peaks, domes, and beautiful alpine country. Near the northern boundary of the park are the incredible climbing areas of Va...
The east face of Castle Rock Spire was first attempted in 1949 by John Salathé and Jim Wilson; the direct crack system is obvious. However, it took 64 years for the route to see a complete ascent (AAJ 2014), at 5.9 C1. When Daniel Jeffcoach mentio...
In mid-April, Adam Burch and I teamed up to finish a route I had started on Lower Tokopah Dome in 2014. Below-average precipitation during the winter allowed us to complete the approach without encountering any snow. The climbing itself was fun an...
While climbing the Prism and Saber Ridge earlier in the summer I noticed two attractive, unclimbed domes to the west on the same ridgeline, above Tamarack Lake. Local climbers had dubbed these the Choss Boobs. The larger of the two domes was quite...
For a climber, finding a direct line from the bottom of the peak to a spire-like summit is equivalent to winning a lottery. Emilio Comici’s most famous quote is, “I wish some day to make a route, and from the summit let fall a drop of water, and t...
During an earlier outing in the Eagle Scout Creek area [see report here], Brian Prince and I found heinous bushwhacking while approaching the Hamilton Towers via Granite Creek. On a weeklong trip later in the summer, we decided on a different appr...
Climbers like to argue about which is the most difficult summit in the High Sierra. Some claim Castle Rock Spire, others note Clarence King, Devil’s Crag, or other challenging peaks in remote parts of the range. After climbing most of these aforem...
Brian Prince and I visited the west face of Hamilton Dome in September as part of a weeklong trip to the area. We found it had incredible rock, many possibilities, and the best moderate route I have climbed in the High Sierra. The west face is alm...
The southwest buttress (far left side) of Angel Wings was completed by Fred Beckey, Bill Lahr, Craig Martinson, and Alan North in 1977. It took four days spread over a few years to finish the route Wings Over Sequioa.(See Fred Beckey’s 100 Favorit...
Twelve years after traversing a major unnamed icefield east of Kingnait Fiord on Cumberland Peninsula (AAJ 2004), Louise Jarry and I returned to continue exploration of the region. Using local outfitter Joavie Alivaktuk, we left the village of Pan...
November 2014. Ian Welsted and I were gunning for the Hole (AAJ 2015), a natural arch in the middle of the north face of Mt. Lawrence Grassi, a prominent yet obscure wall above Canmore. We missed the break leading up to the route and instead found...
From July 19–20, Jason Ammerlaan, Tony McClane, and Paul McSorley climbed a new route up the northeast buttress of Mt. Louis (2,682m), to the right of the route Homage to the Spider (Auger-Bunyan, 1987). They completed the approach and climbed the...
The Leaning Towers are 50 miles south of the Bugaboos in the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy. They’re practically an untouched part of the world, and the quality of the granite and wilderness setting were the main allures for Jasmin Caton and me. O...
On February 14, Carl Dec (48), Morgan Lavery (33), and Billy Smallen (33) were enjoying unseasonably warm and sunny weather on the Standard Thumb route (III 5.7) on the Thumb formation. The three climbers were very experienced, each of them certif...