How to Ski Up a Log and an Ogoul Peak

January 28, 2019

I had the joy to join my friend Ayelet on her quest to winter ascend the 65 Ogoul Peaks in Tahoe. I’m not a list person myself, but its super fun to join people on their objectives. PLUS, if you climb an Ogoul with Ayelet you are invited to her Ogoul party when she finishes the list. Wow. Insentives.

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Alpine Touring on Mt. Morrison

April 18, 2017

I happened upon the Convict Lake area on my birthday backpacking trip up to Mt. Baldwin in 2016. The area is an amazing Eastern Sierra setting with two notable peaks (Morrison and Laurel) within a mile of the parking lot and an amazing remote basin several miles back. In this trip we were to follow the East Slope Variation route to ascend the chute between Mini Morrison and Mt. Morrison, ski down the chute, camp and then the next day ski out via the East Slope route. (map)

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Sleep on your car, ski a mountain and climb a route

March 20, 2017

Cool view of snow and desert: Mt. Rose (left) and Eastern CA desert (right).

Wow, I did a lot of stuff in one weekend! Sadie and I trial ran what it would be like sleeping in a roof top tent, we actually found some decent backcountry snow near Mt. Rose on a super hot weekend and I did my first outdoor climbing since my injury.

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Avalanche Training at Mt. Shasta in a Heavy Snow Storm

February 21, 2017

Ryan getting ready to board down the ridge as the snow from storm two starts coming in.

After climbing Shasta my third time and attempting some other well trafficked peaks like Lassen and Round Top last year I started broadening my scope for mountaineering. Up to this point I was only going out into the mountains on days with Low Avalanche risk and to places pretty close to Avalanche centers. However, I like things deep in the backcountry, wild and untouched. I needed to know how to predict snow conditions and avalanche risk. It was time to take an Avalanche Level I course.

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Sleep in a Snow Cave, Ski down a Mountain: Lassen Volcanic National Park

January 22, 2017

We skied down from here and higher to Emerald Lake (below) on our second day (Sunday). Slope is < 25 degrees.

Last weekend with snow pouring on the Sierra all week EVERYONE was going out skiing, but I wasn’t going to get stuck in Tahoe traffic or waiting in a lift line. No, ten extra feet of snow at Lassen Volcanic National Park meant we were going out for three day backcountry ski adventure where we would sleep in snow caves and ski down untouched powder in low avalanche conditions.

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