About two months ago Carl pitched me the idea of going for the Grand Teton via the Upper Exum Ridge, a route about as classic as they get. Immediately I was interested; the Grand stood high on my wish list as one of those must-do-in-your-lifetime peaks, as it does for many. For weeks we researched and discussed the plan, ultimately deciding on the last weekend in July as the best window for our trip. Keep reading…
Well here we go . . . I‘m not even really sure where to start with this one. When we returned from South America two Sundays ago and I was driving home from DIA with my wife in the passenger seat, I remember thinking, “this will likely be the wildest story with my name it that I will ever tell.” From a myriad of logistical problems getting to the mountain, to losing my only partner two days into our climb, to joining a Brazilian expedition and then a rescue operation at 20,000‘, to being mugged in the streets of Mendoza and spending five days in a third-world hospital, to sitting and having coffee with a two time K2 summiter and veteran Himalayan guide, this one certainly had enough to write a short book about. Keep reading…
Stu and I climbed out of the taxi into the cultured alleys of Tlachichuca around 4pm on December 29, 2007. Stu handed the driver three thousand pesos and he was on his way, leaving the two of us to our own devices in yet another unfamiliar Mexican town. We had not spoken a lick of English to anyone except each other for five days now, and our money was running out. Stu and I carried one hundred and twenty pounds of clothing and mountaineering gear on our shoulders, and we made a point to never let it out of our sight. We dropped our bags on the curb to consider our options, a donkey toting a hay cart plodded past. Read more…