Hello again,

That time of year. The temps are dropping overnight, finally. Leaves are starting to change. It’s been a warm September here in Washington, so the changes feel like they are only just beginning. The more seasons that pass me by, the more I find myself finding patterns, or breaks in the pattern. “Funny, normally the leaves have turned more by mid-september…” “This snowpack feels more like June than July!” “It Hasn’t been freezing overnight like it normally is this time of year”. These were a few of my observations this year. It’s a fun practice, but I have to remind myself that the sample size of my life is sooo small. I haven’t been rooted in a place long enough, and even if I spent a lifetime is a place, the lifespan of a human is so short in the geologic sense of things. Intuition can lack perspective, logic can lack hidden information. Can’t we have both?

Thanks to everyone I climbed with this summer, it was a good one! I continue to be filled up by the people I get to share time in the mountains with. I got another Denali summit in, which was nice given the terrible weather that plagued the previous season. I guided some objectives I hadn’t gotten to guide before, including the Emmons on Rainier, the NE Ridge of Black Peak, and a 3 day traverse in the Sisters Range. Spent a lot of time on Mount Shuksan, which never gets old, it’s one of my favs. Worked a trip with a youth summer camp and really enjoyed the enthusiasm and the unjaded-ness of the youth…is that a word? Now, I’m enjoying a slower pace of life and actually spending time at home.

Looking forward, I’m getting ready to head back to Utah for another winter ski guiding at Monument. I can’t wait for the flakes to start falling.

But before that happens, I’ll be spending some time climbing in the Canyonlands area, and am headed to Ecuador for a personal ski expedition to climb and ski the 3 highest peaks; Cayambe, Cotopaxi, and Chimborazo. It will be a novelty to make the first turns of the season at 6,000 meters!

I Just finished up the required French Lessons for getting my guiding certifications recognized in France and am planning on spending time in Chamonix this coming spring. Get in touch if you have any interest in skiing the famous Haute Route, skiing the Valle Blanche, or getting into some ski mountaineering terrain!

Thats all I know right now. Keep in touch, I love getting random texts and emails from folks.

À Bientôt. (See you soon)