Colfax Peak, Kimchi Suicide Volcano

This past winter/spring I had a little obsession with Colfax Peak, the prominent sub-summit on the western side of Kulshan.  Ever since simul-soloing the Cosely-Houston route with Roger Strong back in 2007 (a couple nice photos from that climb here) , I knew that Colfax Peak held some of the highest-quality alpine climbing in the Cascades. … Continue reading Colfax Peak, Kimchi Suicide Volcano

Chalten 2014-2015

2014-2015 Chalten Season Because this blog post is so long, I've broken it up into chapters: 1) Introduction 2) Torre de la Medialuna and Rescues 3) Tomahawk and Aguja Cuatro Dedos 4) Piergiorgio Attempt 5) La Travesía del Oso Buda 6) Cerro Torre Southeast Ridge Attempt 7) Directa de la Mentira 8) Torre Egger Daytrip … Continue reading Chalten 2014-2015

Colfax Peak and the Heart of Darkness

I'm breaking with chronological order for once - publishing these reports from winter climbing in the Cascades while I still finish writing up a juggernaut of a blog post about my Patagonia season. Colfax Peak Upon getting home from Patagonia on March 1st, I spent a few days jetlagged in Seattle, dealing with the various life … Continue reading Colfax Peak and the Heart of Darkness

Cerro Madsen, Aguja de l’S and Cerro Domo Blanco

The 2013-2014 season in El Chalten continues to be a cold and stormy one. Since my arrival in mid November there hasn't been a single weather window that I would call "a good one," and the gnarliest summits, Cerro Torre and Torre Egger, have both yet to see a single ascent this season. However, at … Continue reading Cerro Madsen, Aguja de l’S and Cerro Domo Blanco

Techado Negro and Aguja Volonqui

The last couple weeks in El Chalten the weather has been neither particularly good nor bad. There hasn't been a lot of truly burly storms, but there haven't been any periods of weather forecast good enough to feel confident about trying big, hard routes. There have been a handful of decent days, however, and Sarah … Continue reading Techado Negro and Aguja Volonqui