Everyone told me it was a fool’s errand. “There’s no ice in Evergreen,” they’d say with certainty. “Nothing. Nada. I’ve looked, and it isn’t here.” For a while, I simply took their word for it, acquiescing to the apparent reality that I’d have to drive to Silverplume or down into Clear Creek Canyon to climb […]

It's difficult at best when a hero passes on to the next chapter. On May 6, 2023, the world lost a great light with the death of Dr. Tom Hornbein, a remarkable climber, doctor, father, husband, inspiration, and friend. I will forever miss his spirit and friendship, and be forever inspired and motivated by his example.

I can’t see myself coming down defeated. - George Mallory to his wife, Ruth, 1924 - Each spring, the news reports inevitably flow in: horrendously long queues high on Mount Everest, nose-to-butt climbers waddling toward the summit, an unnaturally, irrationally high number of them bound to die not from falls, not from storms, not from […]

When things seem hopeless - as they often do now - it is time more than ever to embrace hope, embrace the risk it entails, and gather its energy to drive us forward into the unknown.