Since moving to Tahoe, Galina and I have been thinking of one big objective- the “Desolation Death March” or “Desolation Seven Summits Loop”, a linkup of seven big peaks in the Desolation Wilderness which I first heard about through Leor Pantilat’s trip report. With our eyes set on the Evolution Traverse and Thunderbolt-Sill traverse this summer, […]
Galina and I are slowly working through summiting California’s 14ers, and Middle Palisade stands on its own, requiring a different approach than the other Palisade 14ers- calling for a separate trip to scramble it. At 15 miles round-trip with 7,000ft of elevation, it seemed doable as a day trip- albeit a big day! Leaving the trailhead […]
I love the Eagle Lake Buttress Traverse- but because it so easily lends itself to soloing, we’ve typically done it with large groups of friends who can all move together in a sociable pace. As the buttress melted out this year and I slowed down from the ski season, I began thinking about getting alpine […]
I’ve spent the past few weeks researching cameras, and finally bought a Sony a6000 – and am completely in love with it. Here are some resources for your own research, if you’re considering the same type of purchase. With a big summer of trips coming up, I knew that I wanted to get a better […]
When I started my obsession with maximizing vertical, Marty told me about the idea of “Everesting” – climbing the height of Mt. Everest (29,029 ft) in a single day, by accumulating laps on a single hill. As I cranked up vertical over the season, it seemed like this might be feasible on skimo skis- a nice reach […]
Mt. Tallac is the most iconic peak on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe- close to the lake and to the town, with 3000ft of relief, its chutes and bowls beckon to be skied. As my appetite for big days increased this winter, I hatched the plan of backcountry skiing all of Tallac’s bowls in […]
Ever since reading Leor Pantilat’s post about his Desolation Seven summits traverse I’ve wanted to the traverse the Crystal Range (Pyramid, Agassiz, Price) and the nearby peaks- and since getting into skimo, I’ve wanted to backcountry ski the route in winter. With corn season coming together and a good weather window between storms, I was itching […]
Despite its incredible quality, the Eagle Buttress Traverse remains a little-known route… and there’s no record of it being completed in winter. So here we go, First Internet Winter Ascent (FIWA). While Bennett, Ben, and I skied Deadwood Peak, Galina and Pat had attempted to make a winter ascent of the north ridge traverse on […]
You’ll never see Deadwood Peak from a car, and unless you’ve spent a lot of time in the Tahoe backcountry, you probably don’t even know that it exists. There are no trip reports, no maps, no guides to skiing Deadwood… until now. First Internet Descent. South of Carson Pass, Roundtop peak calls your attention, with jutting […]
While photographers love the jagged crags of Mt. Tallac, Freel Peak catches the eye from the distance- the highest peak in the Tahoe basin, Freel is visible from as far south as Sonora Pass, and surrounded by the smaller summits of Job’s Peak, Job’s Sister, and Trimmer Peak. From the Sky Express lift on Heavenly Mountain […]
