Above The Alpine

Most days, my alarm goes off at 6 AM. Even if I don't have my iPhone alarm set, my body seems to wake me up anyway. Time to go, my muscles tell me. Koa looks at me with uncertainty. Getting out of bed is always the hardest part of every day for her. I get it. Lifting up the blankets, the cold air rushes in. If I wasn't awake before, I sure am now. I swing my feet over the edge of the mattress and in the usual hunched position navigate around the van, which my friends have appropriately referred to as my "gear closet." Climbing, skiing, highlining, and running gear are strewn out across the carpet along with the occasional stray piece of dog kibble. Most of the time, it looks like a bomb went off. I slide my running shoes on and sigh in despair. Once again, I can't find my headlamp. This isn't the first time- but my eyes have learned to quickly adjust to the moonlight anyway. The first mile is always the hardest. My legs are sore, and I can see my breath...

Hungry Packer Lake, Sierra Mountains, California I first moved to Bishop in September of 2018. I'd moved here on a whim- sitting in a Starbucks parking lot in my home at the time- A Subaru Outback, applying for jobs in gear stores in all the places you could climb year round. Bishop, Vegas, Tuscon, St. George. In theory, all the places it rarely rains.  I've lived in the Pacific Northwest for my whole life. My whole existence was spent staring up at the canopies of hundred year old evergreen trees.  The first job offer I heard from was at the local gear shop in Bishop, and I accepted immediately. Within two weeks I would buy a van, and shift my life entirely to the state of California.  Bishop, California isn't a big town. With a population of 3,500 people, the town is situated at 4,150 feet, and is more known as a "Small town, big backyard."  Which is exactly the reason I moved here.  Shortly after arriving in Bishop, I was antsy to get out and exp...

2019 GOAL LIST I know this is the typical, “New year’s resolution” bullshit that everyone comes up with every year to tell themselves that this year will be different, but I tried to focus on what I could really do to make this year different for me. 1.)    Backpack 300 Miles I’ve been really into backpacking for a few years now, and on my quest to spend every minute I can in the backcountry, I figured this would be a great goal. A couple trails I would love to do this year include: • John Muir Trail (211 miles) •Tahoe Rim Trail (165 miles) • Rim to Rim Trail (48 Miles) 2.)    Ice Climb Now, I’ve been Ice climbing once or twice, but this year I really want to get into it. Part of becoming a guide is pushing myself in all areas and aspects of climbing. 3.)    Summit Whitney via the mountaineers route This one is an obvious gimme. This summer I’m shadowing guides on Whitney once or twice a week, so I’m loo...

Bend Weekend A while back (Before the start of this blog) I spent a weekend in Bend, Oregon. Needless to say it’s a place I’ll never forget. Upon hours of searching for a splitboard my size (that wasn’t 2000 dollars) I happened to come across one on the Bend Craigslist. Excited, I told my friend to pack his bag- along with his ski gear, his pup and a harness. We left after I got off work, and made the six hour drive from my hometown. We got in so late we ended up sleeping in the car that night in a random campground outside of Smith Rock State Park. The next day was incredible. For a Saturday in September, there was hardly anyone out climbing in the park, even though it was a perfect 65 degrees and blue skies. My friend had never climbed before (or belayed) so I was pretty limited as to what I could do. Thankfully, the park offers tons of nice strangers who are happy to belay a young climber. Summit of Mt. Cone I spent most of the day setting up ...