Amin Brakk in Pakistan

A Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park 500', 4-pitch 5.11a/b first ascent in 2014

Crestone Needle and Crestone Peak with a lot of new-route potential in between

Midway through the Commonwealth Traverse in Kananaskis Country with the SE Face of Mt. Smuts behind...waiting to be skied!

Only 1-2" thick for the first 100', the ice at the beginning of this pitch requires delicate movement and balance. Although the rock couldn't be better, finding protection is still tricky...or, some years, nonexistent. On this day I managed to clip a rusty piton and re-bored three-quarters of a 10cm screw in the first 100' so was feeling pretty good. SOF is an incredible climb in a beautiful position.

Guiding for the Univ. of Calgary's Outdoor Centre took me to many great places in the winter of '13-14. Here we found amazing turns on Cirque Peak and, no, this image isn't photoshopped: a strong pulse of snow had just come through and we could see a break in the squall was coming. So we waited on the ridge above for the sun to help give the slope definition before we descended. Here, Valerie Northover skis under blue skies while large snowflakes are still falling from the passing storm. 

Temperature can be difficult to convey in photographs. Things certainly look warm here: there's not much snow on the ground, the climber is in the sun, etc. But the winds were gusting to 60mph, making it nearly impossible to climb this ultra-exposed arete. We had started the route as sunrise, with gloves on as well as every stitch of clothing we'd brought. 

Much of the rock in the Sangre de Cristo Range is conglomerate, meaning the walls are like a vertical cobblestone street and natural vs. manmade. Holds sometimes wiggle and can even pull out, leaving concavities where round river stones were "glued in" before. Not only does this make the climbing feel more precarious, the lack of good cracks for nuts and cams forces the leader to climb long distances without protection. It also requires excellent route-finding skills as one route could be 5.8 but six or so feet to the right or left may be 5.11. 

This shot is from our base camp at 15,000 feet, high in this seldom-visited valley. We were the 8th and 9th white people to visit this area, a small valley offshoot from the more popular and well-known Hushe Valley (home to Masherbrum, Trango Towers, K7, etc). As the sun lit up each aspect, the warmth would eventually trigger avalanches throughout the day, always following the sun.