Mountaintop adventures
May 23, 2023
I met my friend at the trailhead for a springtime outing skinning/skiing Quandary Peak. From the looks of the parking lot area, a few fresh inches of snow had fallen the night prior. Even at Quandary’s lofty trailhead—roughly 11,000 feet above sea level—the snow looked wet. But with any luck, things would be a different matter near the 14,271′ summit.
Continue reading “Skiing Quandary Bowl”
May 13, 2023
My day began over twelve hours ago at the Denver airport. A short flight later I touched down in Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. Then an hour or two of driving brought me to Hoosier Hill, Indiana’s wooded high point. It was a lot of states for one Saturday.
Continue reading “Campbell Hill, Ohio’s High Point”
May 13, 2023
I landed mid-morning Saturday at the Cincinnati Airport. Interestingly enough, the airport sits across the Ohio River in Kentucky. It was my first time in the bluegrass state. This visit would be brief, however. I immediately drove north, into Ohio—though not before passing by the Creation Museum.
Continue reading “Hoosier Hill, Indiana’s high point”
April 15, 2023
My day began at 4 am in Pittsburgh, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. A few hours of southbound driving brought me to Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virginia, and the Allegheny Mountains.
Continue reading “Mount Davis, Pennsylvania’s High Point”
April 15, 2023
I sped along the country roads of West Virginia, having just visited the state’s highest summit. I came to a seemingly unremarkable bend in the road, along US 219. A small green sign announced its relevance: “Maryland’s High Point”. I had reached the trailhead.
Continue reading “Hoye Crest, Maryland’s highest point”
April 15, 2023
My day began in Pittsburgh, about three hours north of Spruce Knob. I left my hotel around 4 am, crossing the Monongahela River on I-376. Even in those small hours, plenty of trucks rumbled about on the highways of southwestern Pennsylvania. But the roads grew progressively quieter and smaller as I worked my way South and East into the rural mountains of West Virginia.
Continue reading “Spruce Knob, West Virginia, via the Huckleberry Trail”
April 2, 2023
April arguably ranks as Colorado’s most versatile month. Folks in Denver or Grand Junction could be enjoying 70F+ temperatures and endless sunshine while other snowsport-diehards are simultaneously skiing powdery slopes in the high Rockies. Of course, sometimes you’ll find spring corn in the Rockies and stormy weather on the plains. But regardless, the span of climates within just 100 or so miles is truly astonishing.
Continue reading “North Table Mountain and Lichen Peak”
March 19, 2023
I left my hotel around sunrise for a quick hike up Ventana Canyon. Conveniently enough, the trailhead to the Maiden Pools was in the employee parking lot of the hotel. The trailhead still hosts a good number of spots reserved for hikers. But this awkward setup provides one reason why this trail does not see heavy foot traffic.
Continue reading “Ventana Canyon and the Maiden Pools”
March 18, 2023
The morning sun poked its head above the hills as I zipped along the winding roadway over Gates Pass. The desert grew brighter, revealing an undulating, dusty landscape of endless saguaros. I was definitely in Tucson.
Continue reading “Wasson Peak via King Canyon Trail (Saguaro NP)”
February 2, 2023
We arrived by train in Chamonix, via a narrow mountain pass from neighboring Switzerland. Chamonix was destination #2 for my brother and I—two Americans skiing in Europe for the very first time. The Ikon pass (one of North America’s two skiing “mega-passes”) planted the idea in our minds. Alterra added Chamonix and Zermatt a few years ago, effectively reducing the cost of a European ski trip by … not much at all. But never mind the math. Every avid skier needs to visit the Alps at some point in their life. And here we were.
Continue reading “Chamonix’s Vallée Blanche ski descent”