We are not parents, we're mountain guides. Well, some of us are parents, but that's not the point. Point is, we're not your parents. Because we're not parents, we can choose favorites. It's true; we have our favorite guests. Our favorite guests don't have any...
"It is ordained that three dry round grains of barley make an inch, 12 inches make a foot, [and] three feet make a yard." -AD 1303. Henry III in the "Composition of Yards and Perches" And 14,000 feet make a significant mountaineering challenge. As your "Guides to the...
reposted from January 2014 By IFMGA Mountain Guide, Jed Porter So, something about a multi-day ridge traverse has captured your attention. Maybe it's a 2-day itinerary on Lone Pine Peak, the 4 day version of the Palisade Traverse, or something bigger and further out there. In any...
Jed's final post of the summer. After one more Palisades trip he'll head to Washington for an AMGA exam. He'll be back in October: Bring on couloirs and rock climbing! Forgive me, but I like to find themes that unify chunks of time in my memory....
"When will I stop doing the hardest thing I have ever done?" Jon A., July 2012, high in the Evolution Peaks. The Evolution Traverse (VI 5.9) as seen from its final peak. That is a great question for any of us! What ever possesses us to do these...
SMG guide Jed Porter expounds on his diverse guiding experiences from Summer 2012 to date. Enjoy! How do you measure Summer? Someone once decided that the longest day of the year marks the start of summer. Summer partiers count July 4 as their kickoff. Sierra climbers watch the...
Jon asked the typical questions. "How many times have you done the Palisade Traverse?" "Does it ever get boring?" The first question does not have a ready answer, which is the reason that the second does. First of all, it never gets boring in the...
Carl and Glen on the effortless, yet unrelenting, climb from Minaret Vista Adventure is where you find it, spring has sprung, and skiing is more than snow; a trip this past weekend connecting Mammoth and June via the ultra classic San Joaquin ridge proved all these...
Indulge me a bit here, if you will. Usually I try and post SMG trip reports here from the guests' perspective. What made this trip special for him or her? What did he or she bring to the trip that made it so enjoyable? How...
On the sunlit edge of Crystal Crag's North Arete. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, in the mountains it's all about flexibility. Seems that's the theme of my entries here. "We were greatly rewarded by the flexibility of so and so...
Negotiating the Ebersbacher Ledges in uncharacteristically cloudy conditions The mountains draw all kinds of people on all kinds of missions. Sean started calling and brainstorming with us months and months ago. He has an avid and personal interest in history, especially when it comes to Owens...
