Month: July 2009

Colin Abercrombie and I completed the Ptarmigan Traverse in 14:36 from the Cascade Pass parking lot to the Downey Creek trailhead, a new FKT (fastest known time). In 2008, Colin and I did the traverse in 18:10 so we were extremely happy to do it 3 hours and 34 minutes faster this time.The prior FKT…

Clark Mountain is located in the Glacier Peak wilderness of north-central WA. It is a great non-technical climb with excellent views of the Dakobed Range, Glacier Peak, and the Napeequa Valley. The climb starts at 2,300 ft in the White River Valley (not to be confused with the White River near Mt. Rainier) and tops…

I climbed Mount Olympus in 11 hours, 6 minutes round trip. This is the new fastest known time (FKT) on the mountain, breaking my own FKT from July 31, 2007 by 24 minutes. I went solo and the climb was unsupported. I started at 3:10 am and finished at 2:17 pm (miraculously, the same real…

Clyde Minaret is the highest point of the rugged Minaret group of peaks near Mammoth Lakes. I have wanted to climb in the Minarets since I first viewed them from the summits of Mount Ritter and Banner Peak in 2007. There are 17 minarets  in all, but most are rarely climbed. The rock in the…

Last Wednesday I drove 6+ hours to the eastern Sierra with big mountains on my mind, specifically Mount Sill and the Palisades. At 14,153 ft, Mount Sill is the sixth highest summit in California and the second highest in the rugged Palisades group. The peak is known as the best viewpoint in the Sierra with…