Trip Reports

Mount Osceola (4340′)  and its subordinate peak East Osceola (4156′) are always a challenging climb in winter.  Scarred by avalanche slides and ice encrusted cliffs, it is hard to comprehend how rugged these mountains are until you need to carry full winter …

I have always admired the long sweeping ridge between Mount Washington (6288′) and Mount Monroe (5372′) and wondered what it would be like to hike it in winter. While I have hiked the route a half dozen times during the warmer months …

My friend David and I popped up to New Hampshire mid-week to hike two winter 4,000 footers, Mount Field (4340′) and Mount Willey (4285′) in Crawford Notch. While I’ve climbed these peaks many times, I’d never climbed them during the winter peakbagging …

Last night was a big moment for me because my application to become a full 4 season winter leader for the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) was approved. This is not an easy qualification to get and builds on the 3 season leader qualification …

One of the most time consuming parts of the TGO Challenge, a 15 day coast-to-coast backpacking event held every May, is getting to the one’s start point on the west coast of Scotland. Challengers are required to start at one of 12 …

Yesterday was one on those perfect winter days in the White Mountains when it all came together – good friends, clear blue sky, gorgeous views, and a great climb. Our destination was Mt Nancy (3926′), a New England Hundred Highest Peak, which …

The anvil-shaped spire of Mount Garfield stands an isolated sentinel at the north-western end of the Pemigewasset Wilderness with excellent views of the other peaks that ring the 182 square mile forest. Blasted by winds, its rocky summit provides meager protection to …

Martin Rye, Grant Sible and I have been planning our Scotland coast-to-coast backpacking route for the past month. We’ll be walking together as a team in the 2013 TGO Challenge this May, an annual backpacking event, where 300 hikers hike from the …

Try as I might, I can’t put my finger on the one reason I enjoy winter hiking and mountaineering so much. While the views from the high peaks can be exhilarating, there’s also the satisfaction of intense physical exertion, using the technical …

The two most difficult winter 4,000 footer hikes in the White Mountains are Owl’s Head Mountain and the Bonds, consisting of Bondcliff, Mount Bond and West Bond Mountain. The difficulty in reaching these peaks stems from their remoteness. All of them are …

I went for the meteors, but stayed through the clouds and the cold. Somehow I loved the experience anyway and want to do it again. I hadn’t seen a meteor shower recently and really wanted to see the 2012 Geminids, which were …

History’s Lessons for Today’s World I love the history behind the Appalachian Trail and how it came into being. It’s amazing how an army of volunteers and organizers coalesced behind Benton Mackaye’s original vision for the Appalachian Trail and established a trail …

I often tell people that the White Mountains are a rain forest to explain the sheer density of trees and vegetation that you find in the forests here. That is certainly the case along the Kilkenny Ridge Trail where the trees are …

The TGO Challenge is an annual backpacking event held in Scotland that requires participants to hike coast-to-coast across Scotland, about 200 miles in 15 days. This is very challenging because hiking across the mountain ranges and moors of Scotland is very rugged …