Past Trips

We willl spend the week of September 13 climbing objectives in the Eastern Sierra. The nucleating event will be an incursion into the Whitney Zone from the trailhead at the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek. We have 12 slots for climbers camping at Iceberg Lake, a cirque near the base of Mt. Whitney @ 12,600 feet. One party of six will depart on the 13th in a team led by Brett Kettering and another party of six will depart on the 14th in a team led by Michael Altherr. The permits allow all participants to stay in the Whitney Zone through Friday the 18th.

We will return to a classic local hike this Saturday. Lake Peak offers huge views across much of Northern New Mexico and a true alpine experience close to home. The hike leaves the Santa Fe Ski Basin parking lot and travels a little over 3 miles and 2000 vertical feet to the summit, with the final approach across a rocky catwalk. We might return the way we came, or work our way down to Nambe Lake and out on the Winsor trail. We will meet in Los Alamos at 8:00 AM at a location to be announced, and join up with any Santa Fe participants at the Albertson's parking lot.

In the Mountaineers tradition, we will travel in style to the San Juan Mountaineers in the Silverton area. I have rented the OPUS hut, which is quite comfortable with hot and cold running water, catered meals, and drinks served. The hut is at 11,800 feet and accessible by car down a rough road. Their web site says "Old mule trails left from the days of hardrock mining, offer adventurous explorations around the hut, many of which do not show on popular maps. Many short hiking loops leave right from the back door of the hut.

Visible out the window of my home office is Chicoma Peak, the highest peak in the Jemez Mountains.  The 11,561-foot peak is visible from Los Alamos as the peak with a large triangular meadow that is located north of Caballo. Chicoma, also known as Tschicoma or Tchicoma, has the 2nd highest

Join Zack for a Rio Grande floating adventure. We will start at 9am on Sunday Aug 2 at the Red Dot trailhead, hike down to the river, continue up the river trail to the bottom of the Blue Dot. There, we will stop and enjoy lunch and inflate our floating toys/mattresses/water wings. We will then float back down to the Red Dot, wash off in the clean springs, and hike back to our cars.

Description:

This course will introduce students to the tools and techniques of modern canyoneering methods. It consists of two morning instructional sessions and an afternoon “graduation” canyoneering session. A LOT of information will be covered in a short amount of time, so don't consider this a replacement for a full introduction to canyoneering course. The basics will be covered in the most detail, and more advanced techniques will only be introduced/demonstrated. Canyon rescue techniqies will NOT be covered.

Under the new Park Service management, access to the Valles Caldera has changed. The shuttle vans are gone, but a limited number of private vehicles are permitted drive-in access to the backcountry. Many of the former roads have been closed and reserved for hiking, so the Caldera will become a wilder place than it was before. We have made a reservation for Saturday, July 18, and will drive to the backcountry for an in-and-out hike on the upper Jaramillo, a valley with a pretty little creek that rises towards Redondito.

Summer visitors are welcome!  Some old hands could be really helpful, too.  

This trip is now full.  Let me know if you'd like to be on the waiting list.