Backpacking

Every year, I try to set up a list of achievable climbing goals that will help me focus on improving the areas where I am the weakest. In 2018, my main focus was pushing grades. I focused on number grades as a benchmark for where I wanted to be as a climber. I didn’t quite […]

We began our hike in around 4:00am and made our way to the base of the direct start of the Ellingwood Arete. With two teams of two, Martin and Brent started up the first, 5.5/5.6 pitch while Kim and I waited restlessly to begin. Kim and I started climbing once Brent had made some progress […]

A few weeks ago, my friend Kirk and I were trying to decide on an adventure. Being from Salt Lake, we had plans to go to Yosemite, but ended up not working out for the timeframe that we wanted. We did have a couple days to make something happen, so the Elephant’s Perch stood out […]

I find it interesting how intense the alpine world is. I have spent the last few years gradually climbing harder and harder mountains. It never ceases to amaze me how insignificant I feel when I commit to a big climb. The CMC Route on Mount Moran is an Alpine grade II and the face is […]

I don’t get excited about shoes very often and this might be because I don’t find an amazing pair very often. However, the Salewa Firetail GTX approach shoe is honestly the best shoe I have ever had. I am an avid runner, hiker, backpacker, mountaineer and rock climber living in Salt Lake City and for […]

A lot of the time, organizing the details and coordinating the people involved with a mountaineering trip can be the most difficult part. In this case, it felt a bit last minute, but it was definitely more organized than other trips Brent and I have thrown together. I feel like most of the organization came […]

Over the past few years I have been traveling a lot. I have made my way to 9 countries and spent countless hours in my car crossing state lines. I love it. It’s one of those things that might not be for everyone, but I have slowly but surely figured out the way to make […]

The more time I spend outdoors and the more I push myself, the more I find myself second guessing my decisions and double checking my safety. To be honest, I get freaked out a lot. More times than I’d like to admit, I have been standing somewhere far away from help and safety looking ahead […]

Mount Rainier has stood out in my mind the same way it stands alone on the Seattle skyline.  It was a landmark climb before my attempt and remains a landmark climb as I move forward in my adventures. As we prepared for our climb, gathering last bits of gear and practicing knots, we sat in […]

It’s been a while since I’ve posted because I have been spending a lot of time rock climbing lately in order to prep for the set of adventures I have in store for summer 2014. The truth is, I am not really sure what I want out of this blog and I kind of want […]