Cascade Rampage

Part III   (7/10)

Next summer, I will hopefully get a chance to finish climbing the major Cascade volcanoes. Jamie, Dave, Katie and I tried climbing Mt Adams last year, but when we arrived in Hood River, the mountain had a huge forest fire burning on one side of the mountain, so we opted to wait a year before trying again.

• Mt Adams - 12,276 ft / 3,741m

• Mount Baker - 10,778 ft / 3,285m

• Mount Shuksan - 9,127 / 2,782m

Sierra Rampage

Part III   (10/10)

In October, Jamie and I will plan to go on yet another Sierra Rampage. we'll get the gang together again and take a roadie in the Westy to climb some of the other peaks we didn't get when we went on our first 2 Sierra Rampages:

• Mt Agassiz  - 13,893 ft / 4,235 m

• Mt Morrison - 12,303 ft / 3,750 m

• Cathedral Peak - 13,943 ft / 4,250 m

McGillicuddy's

Reeks

(10/11)

Jamie and I are hope to head off to Ireland for some Guinness and a traverse of McGillicuddy's Reeks.

Sierra High Route

(TBD)

Much of the Sierra High Route runs parallel to the John Muir Trail, staying east of that trail and keeping above the tree line at higher elevations—between 9,000 and 11,500 feet. About a third of the route follows maintained hiking trails (including 28 miles of the John Muir Trail); the rest of the route traverses off-trail meadowlands, granite slabs, and, at high elevations, difficult loose-talus terrain. An excellent example of technical trekking!

Cordillera Blanca

(TBD)

On this super challenging trek, we'll trek through the heart of the mountains of Huascarán National Park, where more than 40 peaks over 19,000 feet high are linked by spectacular green valleys laced with trails dating from pre-Columbian and colonial times. Some of the peaks we will encounter on our trek include Huascarán (22,205'), Huandoy (21,204'), Pisco (17,900'), and Chopicalqui (20,100'). Taulliraju (19,128'), and Alpamayo (19,455')

Click here to see more details of this trip.

Annapurna Circuit

(TBD)

Nepal's "other" classic trek. I've heard a few arguments about which trek is better--the Annapurna Circuit or Everest Base Camp. Well I've trekked out to Everest Base Camp, so I guess I'll find out for myself.

This is a lodge-based trek, that will offer terrific views, both of the Annapurnas and of Dhaulagiri. In addition we will travel through several different climatic zones, from sub-tropical through alpine to an arid semi-desert akin to Tibet. Towards the end of the trek, we will cross the Thorong La (5,416m pass).

Click here to see more details of this trip.

Everest

Kangshung Face

 (TBD)

Many people manage to make it to Everest base camp in Nepal to see Everest's south side. Some even make it to Tibet to see Everest's north face. But almost no one gets to see Everest's east face - the Kangshung face. This 30-day trek starts in Beijing (an old stomping ground for me), transfers to the holy city of Lhasa, where we explore the the Potala. Later we visit the Rongbuk monastery, with it's fabulous views of the north face of Everest and finally on to the east side of Everest for views of the Kangshung Face.

Click here to see more details of this trip.

Kamchatka Volcanoes

(TBD)

I'm a snow slogger at heart, and volcanoes offer some of the best snow slogging around. There are more than 120 volcanoes on the Kamchatka Peninsula--that's a lot of slogging. In addition, there are also more than 200 geysers constantly bubbling in the area. When we get hungry, there are tons of lakes full of tasty salmon. If this trip goes as planned, we will make attempts on the Kizimen Volcano (2400 m), the Plosky Tolbachik volcano (3000m), and the Bezymyany volcano (2800m).

This will be my third to trip to Russia. The other trips were when I took the Trans-Siberian (in winter) back in the Eighties and went to the Caucasus to climb Mt Elbrus in 2000.

Click here to see more details of this trip.