Trip Reports

 May 25-26, Zion National Park, Jared Campbell, Ryan McDermott, Buzz Burrell Jared conceived of Zironman two years ago while studying Google Earth during one of his typical four-hours-of-sleep nights; it was an ingenious route, going from the west boundary of Zion National Park to past the east boundary via the most "interesting" terrain. "Zironman" was a fun way of saying the route involved climbing, running,…

I knew it was a different morning on Longs when I left the parking lot with a bare head and bare hands. Usually I'm pretty chilly at the trailhead, but on this day the sweat was pouring off my eyebrows and nose on the very first steep cut up through the trees, and instead of dreading the breeze at treeline I welcomed it for its…

I recently visited the factory where Ultimate Direction products are made. This was extremely worthwhile: I met all the people we work with, saw the entire production process, reviewed prototypes for our completely revamped 2014 product line, then discussed the changes and improvements we wanted to make directly with the people who will be implementing them. And, since the factory is in the Philippines, my…

The other day I was thinking about what it is that compels me to maintain Boulder, CO as my home base (i.e., my winter crash pad and touchstone of all things urban and civilized in the summer season). Aside from the fact that I have friends here and I enjoy the compact layout of the city, more and more my motivation has become the city's…

Being wedged into a mass of humanity is not a novelty in Japan, but the crowd my wife Stephanie and I were stuck in clearly wasn’t going anywhere for hours.  I had visions of a Who-concert-style stampede and trampling, but of course the Japanese are used to this kind of thing and take it in stride, with their seeming infinite patience and courtesy.  Us Americans,…

The Four Passes Loop (nicer name: "Ring of Bells"), is considered one of the best long trail runs in North America. Starting at 9,600' at the postcard-perfect Maroon Lake above Aspen, this loop is almost exactly Marathon distance, and transects the Maroon Bells/Snowmass Wilderness Area while going over four big passes, each over 12,400'. The scenery is amazing. There are no signs of civilization; only…

[caption id="attachment_437" align="aligncenter" width="584"] Grand Teton, South Aspect.[/caption] After a hot, mostly flat, nearly 5hr, post-Speedgoat 50K drive from Salt Lake City to Jackson, Frosty and I suffered through the downtown tourist traffic (such novices! take the side streets to skirt the masses!) and headed directly to Teton Mountaineering where, with nary a pause, I dropped $40 on A Climber's Guide to the Teton Range…

Wham Ridge is super-classic – the best alpine route in the San Juans.  While high and wild, the San Juan Mountains of SW Colorado are mainly giant gravel piles, consisting of massive talus slopes below crumbling ridges.  Wham Ridge is the opposite, being composed of beautiful, hard quartzite.  It is the north face of Vestal Peak, in the heart of the Grenadier Range, which is…

"Where did you find those people!?" Peter Bakwin asked me that in amazement at this year's Hardrock 100. We had been standing outside Registration, as runners marveled at the Signature Series prototypes - "You guys absolutely crushed it!" was a common comment - while Peter himself was marveling at the incredible team that had converted his, Scott, and Anton's ideas into actual products. "It seems…

July 1, 2012 - The Glacier Gorge Traverse, in Rocky Mountain National Park, is one of Colorado’s “hard man” classics.  It’s really difficult – 19 miles with over 10,000’ of elevation gain, most of which is above 12,000’, and all of which is gnarly and technical.  I had been wanting to do it for years, but was never able to wrap my head around the…