My first trip to the Tetons was the day after I graduated from high school. I had driven up to Wyoming for the Hans Saari Memorial Fund’s Youth Ski Mountaineering Camp which was run through Exum for all high school students. We spent five days backcountry skiing in the Tetons learning ski mountaineering techniques. Here is a photo of me skinning up Garnett Canyon in a spring snow storm.
The First summer I spent in the Tetons I started working for Exum as the “Rudd Rat.” Tom Bowker who was staying at the Climbers Ranch that summer took me under his wing and taught me how to climb. Tom had initially taught the Patridge brothers how to climb back in New England. Now Nat Patridge is the president of Exum. This photo is from when Tom and I climbed Irene’s Arête.
During my college years I spent much time adventuring around Southeastern Utah. Indian Creek is a place that has grown very dear to my heart and every spring and fall I find myself drawn back to the desert.
The clean, smooth, vertical walls often yield only one route of passage up the single immaculate crack splitting the wall in two. I often think of this place as my home crag. It was here that I climbed my first 5.11’s and 5.12’s. (That’s me warming up on Low Cholesterol, 5.10-).
There is a 2,000’ deep crack in Colorado that is often overlooked but rarely explored. It is known as the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River. Due to the reputation for poison ivy, dangerous runouts, and bad rock, not many people climb there. It creates for a wilderness experience where failure is not an option. Here I can be seen standing on the canyon rim after a successful climb.
In 2013 I climbed in Yosemite Valley for the first time. Upon showing up with no partners and no guide book I found a climber who wanted to climb Washington Column the next day. Having never aid climbed before I borrowed a “How to” book and read up that night. This was my first big wall route. We got to the bivy ledge early and fixed the next pitch before having a leisurely afternoon on Dinner Ledge. (Hiding from the sun on the South Face of Washington Column).
During the winter of 2013/14 I moved to Washington in search of deep powder and stable snowpack. Unfortunately when I arrived it was bulletproof ice and didn’t snow for two weeks. Luckily for me, that February was the second deepest February that Stevens Pass recorded in over 50 years. I skied a lot of powder and made a lot of new friends. On one powder day I found myself sitting on the chairlift next to a man who runs one of the local guide services. He asked if I would stick around for the summer to which I promptly responded, “Well, it depends if you have a job for me.” (That’s me sampling some cold, dry, Cascadian powder snow)
The Cascades host some of the most eye catching ski descents in the lower 48. This photo was taken near the top of the North Ridge on Mount Adams. Across the Adams Glacier you can see the 5000 ft NW Ridge. We had planned to ski the steep North Face that falls off of the ridge but due to bulletproof neve we stayed on the NW Ridge.
The Bugaboos are perhaps the premier destination for alpine rock climbing in North America. Known for fickle weather, spontaneous storms, and big routes, these granite spires are magnificent. I went there during a small weather window and managed to climb a few routes before we were forced to retreat due to storms. This is me climbing the first pitch of an unknown variation of the NE Ridge of Bugaboo Spire. Due to crowds on the route we were forced to find an alternate option. As my partner led this pitch he removed an old Austrian knife blade piton with one hand.
I moved back to Colorado’s San Juan Mountains in the winter of 14/15. It turned out to be a remarkably dry year so we substituted corn for powder. Surrounded by amazing peaks we had our pick of the litter every day. There is one route that I had gawked at for 6 years connecting thin slivers of snow through gendarmes and cliff bands down the East Face of Engineer Mountain. This line leads directly from the summit down the steepest (occasionally) snow covered face on the mountain. Here is a photo that I took right before the steepest section of the slope. This is my favorite ski descent in Colorado.
In 1936 Jack Durrance and Kenneth Henderson assaulted the steepest face of the Grand Teton visible from the Moraine. The thought of Jack leading out on the 85o Black Face pounding pitons in leather boots tied in with a rope around his waist is inspirational. The Direct Durrance start to the Exum Ridge is one of the great classic climbs of the Teton Range. It is one of my favorite routes and with great pleasure I climbed it with a guest as my first assignment as an Exum Guide. Here he is following the exquisite black face pitch high above the talus below.
“…where something strange and more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you — beyond that next turning of the canyon walls.” -Edward Abbey(A companion entering the heart of the desert)