Submitted by Rocky Mountain Raider
The weather continues to hold here along the Front Range. Yesterday we took advantage of another amazing day and went up to Dinosaur Mountain to try the Avs Wall traverse. This is an excellent wall up on one of the sandstone fins of Dinosaur Mountain. Although there are several great straight-up [...]
Submitted by Backcountry Explorer
The first volume of my Zion National Park hiking, scrambling and climbing guidebook is coming in March 2009!
Focusing on summit routes in the park, the book will be the first of its kind. Anticipate a 250-page guide covering routes to nearly 80 summits in and near Zion National Park, including photos and [...]
Submitted by Backcountry Explorer
My guidebook, Rambles & Scrambles: The Definitive Guide to Peakbagging Around Las Vegas, is currently available online and in five retailers in the southern Nevada/SW Utah area!
In the book, a total of 239 peaks in and around Las Vegas are covered. Heavily featuring hiking, scrambling and climbing routes in Red Rock Canyon [...]
Submitted by Backcountry Explorer
Where: Southwest Florida Coast
When: February 2009
Bodhisattva Maitreya Smiles in an Old Florida Home
My grandpa’s death on February 14, 2009 at the age of 85 began to close a big chapter in my life. Not only had he and grandma been wonderful to me over the course of my 36 years, [...]
Submitted by Rocky Mountain Raider
We have been getting some really nice days here along the Front Range of Colorado. Although the mountains continue to get snow (and we have a couple new movies in the works although I sure like our last telemark movie), down low here along the Front Range the sun has been [...]
Submitted by Rocky Mountain Raider
Local company La Sportiva announced its 2009 running team just recently. Mostly familiar faces and those who are pushing the limits of endurance trail running. Many of them are hometown locals - which is always good. It’s good to see La Sportiva continue to support the sport of trail running, which [...]
Submitted by Rocky Mountain Raider
Last week Tara and I took advantage of another spectacular Colorado February day and went to an obscure boulder in South Saint Vrain Canyon. The boulder resides in a dry wash in a beautiful setting. Although not necessarily a destination spot for most climbers, the boulder offers a handful of really [...]
Submitted by Backcountry Explorer
The first volume of my Zion National Park hiking, scrambling and climbing guidebook is coming in February 2009!
Focusing on summit routes in the park, the book will be the first of its kind. Anticipate a 250-page guide covering routes to nearly 80 summits in and near Zion National Park, including photos and [...]
Submitted by Backcountry Explorer
My guidebook, Rambles & Scrambles: The Definitive Guide to Peakbagging Around Las Vegas, is currently available online and in five retailers in the southern Nevada/SW Utah area!
In the book, a total of 239 peaks in and around Las Vegas are covered. Heavily featuring hiking, scrambling and climbing routes in Red Rock Canyon [...]
Submitted by Backcountry Explorer
Where: Highpoint of Sperry Hills, southern California
When: February 2009
Partners: Little, tiny DB
Mileage/Gain: 5/1,700
Eager to make the most of a largely lost weekend due to rain and snow, DB and I hiked up the day’s third peak, Tecopa Peak. Sitting just outside the lame town of Tecopa, California, the peak happens to [...]
Submitted by Backcountry Explorer
Where: Kingston Range, southern California
When: February 2009
Partners: Solo
On a day that forecast rain and snow for my entire region, I was anxious to find something, anything that wouldn’t get me too wet. So I found myself once again exploring the obscure Kingston Range, home of the desert ultra-classic, Kingston Peak - [...]
Submitted by Backcountry Explorer
Where: Spring Mountains of southern Nevada
When: February 2009
Partners: DB
Our friend Harlan WS dubbed this prominent but obscure peak ‘Pa’s Rump’ for its proximity to nearby Pahrump and the position of the mountain’s twin, butt cheek-like summits.
Knowing that the ascent was short to the point of almost being a waste of time [...]
Submitted by Rocky Mountain Raider
Here is another little telemark video that I think the title says everything. Here along the Front Range we are blessed with the phenomenon known as “upslopes.” This is when we get pounded by a good storm and the rest of the state seems to miss the goods. This is from [...]
Submitted by Backcountry Explorer
The first volume of my Zion National Park hiking, scrambling and climbing guidebook is coming in February 2009!
Focusing on summit routes in the park, the book will be the first of its kind. Anticipate a 250-page guide covering routes to nearly 80 summits in and near Zion National Park, including photos and [...]
Submitted by Backcountry Explorer
My guidebook, Rambles & Scrambles: The Definitive Guide to Peakbagging Around Las Vegas, is currently available online and in five retailers in the southern Nevada/SW Utah area!
In the book, a total of 239 peaks in and around Las Vegas are covered. Heavily featuring hiking, scrambling and climbing routes in Red Rock Canyon [...]
Submitted by Backcountry Explorer
Where: On the cusp of Death Valley National Park, California
Partners: Solo
I set out to do a loop of South Bat Mountain and North Bat Mountain via the long and interesting, conglomerate nightmare that can be identified as the south ridge of the massif. To be honest, the going was mostly loose [...]
Submitted by Backcountry Explorer
Where: Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada
When: January 31, 2009
Partners: DB
I’d been wanting to get to Fire Benchmark, an obscure peak in the Muddy Mountains not far from Echo Bay, since Jason Pease first made mention of it. A rugged peak housing an interesting network of technical and semi-technical canyons, I [...]
Submitted by Backcountry Explorer
Where: Apple Valley, California
When: January 2009
‘Round about 2005, a buddy turned me on to Deep Creek Hot Springs near Apple Valley. An easy-going, Hindu-type, I trusted his judgement that Deep Creek promised to be the sweetest hot springs around. And so I went off to check ‘em out.
My first trip to Deep [...]
Submitted by Backcountry Explorer
Where: Tecopa, California
When: January 2009
By pure chance (and my ambitious drive to explore everything within reason), me, DB and our friends Dimples and Mishka decided to explore an interesting-looking canyon we spotted from a low hilltop near China Ranch Date Farm. Dropping down from our hill, we fought a bit of brush, [...]
Submitted by Backcountry Explorer
Where: Tecopa, California
When: January 2009
I’ve long been aware of the variety of developed hotsprings in the barren desert of Tecopa, California but only recently had I been turned on to a wonderful “hot” spot just outside of town and away from most of the funky geriatric tribes that frequent those “other places.”
In [...]
Submitted by Rocky Mountain Raider
Last week we had some really sweet weather (as I said in the last post about telemark skiing) here along the Front Range for climbing. On Monday Tara and I went up towards Micky Mouse to visit one of our old favorites. This boulder sits in a beautiful meadow and offers [...]