My Denali Prep course with AMS was both awesome and disappointing all at the same time. It was awesome because I was in Alaska for the first time, on the Kahiltna Glacier for 8 days, with “the tall one” standing right there. Our instructors were awesome too! Greg Runyan has an incredible amount of experience…
Tag: mountaineering 101
Denali Prep on the Kahiltna Glacier
DAY 3 – Flight In, Basecamp Setup, Anchors 101 The weather finally broke on the third day, allowing us to fly into the Range. We loaded an Otter aircraft, considered by many to be the quintessential “bush plane” due of its short take-off and landing (STOL) capabilities. Within an hour, our Talkeetna Air Taxi had us…
Denali Prep Grounded at AMS HQ
DAY 1 – Arrive at AMS HQ After a few days hanging out in Talkeetna, it was time to meet up at the AMS Headquarters to begin our Denali Prep Course. Participants arrived at 8am sharp with the anticipation of a big day, starting with a short tour, introductions and overall course orientation. I had…
Crampons vs. Cleats
If you are new to mountaineering or haven’t experienced much spring hiking, let’s clarify a few things about traction systems beyond snowshoes. There is a big difference between crampons and “cleats”. Crampons This tractions system is hardcore! Here we’re talking about serious mountaineering with more extreme conditions that would involve glacier travel, crevasse danger, ice…
White Baldy from American Fork Canyon
Still pretty new to mountaineering, I jumped all over an opportunity to get more crampon experience from a spring ascent of White Baldy. This invite also allowed me to knock off another Wasatch 11er, so I was super stoked to do this! Our adventure started from the Silver Lake Trailhead above Tibble Fork. The first…