Field Notes
Trip Reports
Conditions, decisions, and the gear that held up — from the trail, the rock, and the snow.
Introduction to Index: Great Northern Slab
A humbling first day on Index granite. The 5.2 shut me down, then I gutted out my first Index lead on a sandbagged 5.8.
Mount Rainier: DC Revenge Tour
My fourth crack at Rainier's Disappointment Cleaver: a two-day team climb in brutal wind, with Stella laid to rest on the summit.
Lundin Peak: West Ridge
Multipitch ridge climbing on Lundin Peak, plus Snoqualmie Mountain and Snow Dome. A three-summit Friday just outside Seattle.
Tailgunner Peak: The Quiet One
A dark-start scramble to a quiet Wild Sky summit, a sunrise cloud inversion over Baring, and a peak I bagged by accident.
Mount Pugh: An Overnight Summit Bivy via Stujack Pass
A steep North Cascades scramble to an old lookout summit, climbed fast as an overnight bivy to beat an incoming storm and catch a glorious sunset.
Primus Peak: Summer Solstice on the Borealis Glacier
A remote glacier climb deep in the North Cascades, up the Borealis Glacier to the summit of Primus Peak via the Thunder Creek approach.
The Fang: Free Climbing the Edge of Time Arete
A rock climb up The Edge of Time Arete to the summit of The Fang, in the Alpine Lakes high country above Snoqualmie Pass.
Mamquam Mountain: Exploring an Otherworldly Icefield
A shamelessly stacked Mounties crew getting it done in new territory and surreal terrain.
Mount Blum via SE Ridge: Wet Boots and the First Summit Bivy
An uncommon North Cascade climb with high challenge and high reward.
Mount Shasta: Avalanche Gulch
A strenuous and exciting alpine climb on the southernmost Cascade volcano. Memorial Day weekend spent right. Seven of us, a 1am start, and the summit register at 0545 as the sun broke over a full cloud inversion.
The Tooth: South Face via the Snow Lake Trail
A foggy, classic South Face rock climb of The Tooth above Snoqualmie Pass, reached over Pineapple Pass. A KT SIG graduation day.
Leona Divide 100K: Embracing the Unknown on the PCT
Twenty-two hours on the Leona Divide 100K, solo and unpaced. A fast first half, then a back half that nearly broke me.
Mad Meadows 50k: Reap What You Sow
Talked into my first ultramarathon. A wildfire reroute, snow on the ridge, a brutal fake finish line, and a big slice of humble pie.
Glacier Peak: The Redirect
A storm-scrubbed Rainier attempt becomes a redirect to Glacier Peak, the most remote of Washington's Big 5. Crevasses, an ice-block near miss, and a hard lesson.
Mount Adams: The South Spur
Stella's biggest summit of all time. A two-day climb of the South Spur with my best friend, a proud top-out, and a hot, humbling descent.
Mount St. Helens: A Midnight Solo of the Wormflows
A midnight solo of the Wormflows on no sleep, straight off a day on the lake. Shooting stars, firm June snow, and a hard-earned summit nap.
Mount Ellinor
A steep, early-season snow climb in the Olympics with Stella and a climbing partner, two Italian sandwiches at the top, and clouds rolling over the mountains at sunset.
Mount Baker: Mountaineering School
Five days on the Great White Watcher with Northwest Alpine Guides. Glacier school, a socked in summit via the Easton Glacier, and a blustery snowstorm that showed us what we could handle. The trip that lit the fuse for the Big 5.
Mailbox Peak
A North Bend classic and a notorious leg-burner. First time up, with perfect Stella along for the climb, snow near the top, wild summit wind, and the infamous mailbox waiting at the end.
Yellow Aster Butte
A beautiful early-season favorite in the North Cascades. Steep up front, but the payoff is alpine tarns, huckleberries, and big views once the smoke clears.