Lyra Pierotti - Mountain Guide

The Mammoth Winter Biathlon Race 2012!

Check out race results and my final race wrap-up column this Friday in the Mammoth Times!

 

I had a rather comical finish to my Nordic Ski Training Log. After only six weeks of training, I was terrified that I was going to fall on my face during the Biathlon race. My one and only goal was not to fall on my face. I succeeded in that goal, and in the meantime, placed first in the women's beginner category. I was so focused on not falling, I didn't even notice I was out front.

 

A special thanks to Jim Barnes for his stellar photography. Here's my favorite:

 

 

Nordic Ski Training Log

I just found out that my weekly column from this winter in the Mammoth Times, the 'Nordic Ski Training Log,' has been posted online all along!

Check out the latest post here: Nordic Ski Training Log and check out the rest of the weeks on the website Mammoth Times if you're interested!

Guiding Resume 2012

Lyra Pierotti

PO Box 8486 Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546

760.709.6524

pierotly@gmail.com

 

Guiding Resume

 

 

Training

Wilderness First Responder

AIARE Level 2 Avalanche

AIARE Level 1 Instructor Training Course

AMGA Rock Guide Course/Aspirant Exam passed April 2011

AMGA Rock Guide Exam planned April 2012

 

 

Guided Trips

 

ROCK

Yosemite National Park: Rock

Royal Arches, IV 5.7, Yosemite Valley

Jamcrack, II 5.9, Yosemite Valley

Nutcracker, III 5.8, Yosemite Valley

Snake Dike, III 5.7, Half Dome

After Six, III 5.7, Yosemite Valley

After Seven, III 5.8, Yosemite Valley

C.S. Concerto, III 5.8, Yosemite Valley

Little John, III 5.8, El Capitan Base, Yosemite Valley

Hermaphrodite Flake to The Boltway, III 5.8, Tuolumne Meadows

Cathedral Peak, III 5.6, Tuolumne Meadows

Great White Book, III 5.6R, Tuolumne Meadows

Northwest Books, III 5.6, Lembert Dome, Tuolumne Meadows

 

Red Rock Canyon, Nevada: Rock

Our Father, III 5.10d, Black Velvet

Black Orpheus, IV 5.10a, Oak Creek

Solar Flare, III 5.10c, Oak Creek

Beulah's Book, III 5.9, Oak Creek

Sunflower, III 5.9, Oak Creek

Ballantine Blast, III 5.7, Black Velvet

Johnny Vegas, III 5.7, Oak Creek

Solar Slab, IV 5.6, Oak Creek

 

Eastern Sierra Nevada: Rock

Chip off the Old Block, III 5.10b

Premier Route, III 5.8 A0

Cucumbers, III 5.10a Cardinal Pinnacle

Main Attraction, III 5.8 Rock Creek

Racing Lizards, III 5.7 Pine Creek

 

Mt. Shasta County – Castle Crags, CA: Rock

Cosmic Wall, III 5.6

 

Joshua Tree National Park, CA: Rock

Top-roping trips as assistant guide

Tranquility, II 5.6

 

San Diego County, CA: Rock

Mission Gorge and Mt. Woodson top-roping trips as lead guide

 

 

ALPINE

Eastern Sierra Nevada: Mountaineering

North Arete, Bear Creek Spire, III 5.8, Inyo National Forest

North Arete, Matterhorn Peak, III 5.7, Hoover Wilderness

Snake Dike, Half Dome, III 5.7, Yosemite National Park

Southeast Buttress, Cathedral Peak, III 5.6, Yosemite National Park

Mountaineer's Route, Mt. Whitney, Class 4 rock and snow (winter ascent), Inyo National Forest

Matterhorn Peak, Class 4 rock and 38 degree snow climb, Hoover Wilderness

 

Mt. Shasta, CA: Alpine

South and West Face climbs

Hotlum Glacier climb

Hotlum Glacier icefall climbing

Hotlum-Bolam Ridge

 

Mexico Volcanoes: Alpine – guided 3 separate trips

La Malinche, 14,600ft

Iztaccihuatl, 17,000ft (glaciated)

Pico de Orizaba, 18,500ft (glaciated)

 

French Alps: Rock/Alpine

Le Mont Aiguille Regular Route, IV 5.9

Pechiney Direct, Rocher de l'homme, III 5.10a

Les Griffes de l'Ours, Chartreuse, III 5.8

 

 

SKI

Sierra Nevada: Ski Touring

Pear Lake, Sequoia National Park

 

 

AVALANCHE EDUCATION

Sierra Nevada

Instructor for AIARE Level 1 Avalanche course

 

 

AWARDS

Julie Cheney Culberson Educational Fund recipient, 2012

 

 

 

Resume 2012

Lyra Pierotti

PO Box 8486 Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546

760.709.6524

pierotly@gmail.com

 

Education

B.S. University of California, San Diego

    Concentration: Biology – Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution

Secondary Concentration: French Literature

AMGA Rock Guide Course/Aspirant Exam, passed April 2011

Wilderness First Responder

AIARE Level 2 Avalanche

AIARE Level 1 Instructor Training Course

 

Professions

Mountain Guide for Yosemite Mountaineering School

    Rock and Alpine Climbing, guiding and basic to advanced instruction

Yosemite Valley, Tuolumne Meadows, and Yosemite's High Country

May 2011-Present

 

Guide for California Alpine Guides, Sierra Mountain Guides, Shasta Mountain Guides

    Rock, Ice and Alpine Climbing; Backpacking

    AIARE Level 1 Avalanche courses

    Sierra Nevada; Mexico's high altitude volcanoes; Mt. Shasta; Baja California

    April 2009-Present

 

Freelance Writer for Mammoth Sierra Magazine, Mammoth Times

    Science, Outdoor and Recreation based articles

    Weekly Nordic Ski Training Log column, Winter 2012

    August 2011-Present

 

Past Experience

Volunteer Naturalist Ski Tours, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area

    USFS/Mammoth Mountain Host Department, winter 2010 and 2011

 

Substitute Teacher

    Inyo County Superintendent of Schools, January 2011-Present

 

Backcountry Research Technician

    UC White Mountain Research Station, 3000 E. Line St. Bishop, CA 93514

    Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, June-September 2008

 

Outback Adventures trip leader

    Guide for rock climbing, sea kayaking, backpacking trips throughout the mountains and deserts of California and Baja California, 2004-2008

 

Aquatic Adventures

    Directed Research Leader for high school students studying the wetlands of Bahia de los Angeles, Baja California, Mexico, Summer 2005

 

KIPP Adelante volunteer instructor (for 5^th graders)

    Ecology enrichment course culminating in overnight camping trip, 2003-2004

 

UCSD Teacher's Assistant/Tutor

    Biological Sciences and Marine Biology, 2006-2008

 

Mammoth Mountain Ski Area bus driver, winter 2008-2009

 

Research Assistant, WHOI R/V Atlantis: ALVIN Submarine

    Three week live-aboard research cruise investigating the deep sea off the coast of Northern California and Southern Oregon. Lead Scientist: Lisa Levin, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Summer 2006

 

Lab Assistant for Christine Whitcraft, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 2004-2006

 

REI Sales Representative in Outdoorwear, January-June 2008

 

 

Publications

Various publications, Mammoth Sierra Magazine.

 

Nordic Ski Training Log, weekly column for Mammoth Times, Winter 2012.

 

Various publications, Mammoth Times.

 

Jeffrey G. Holmquist, Jennifer R. Jones, Jutta Schmidt-Gengenbach, Lyra F. Pierotti, and Jason P. Love. Terrestrial and aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages as a function of wetland type across a mountain landscape. In press with Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research

 

*Whitcraft, C.R*. and L.F. Pierotti. Submitted. Trophic roles of an ephemeral seagrass, Ruppia maritima, in a southern California lagoon. Estuaries and Coasts.    

 

 

Grants/Awards

Julie Cheney Culberson Educational Fund recipient for AMGA Rock Guide Exam, April 2012

UC San Diego Chancellor's Scholar, 2003-2007

 

Skills and Personal Qualifications

Fluent in French, knowledgeable in Spanish

Class B Commercial Driver's License

Enthusiastic, diligent, focused, learn quickly hands-on

 

Professional References

Aleksandra Gajewski, Editor Mammoth Times/Mammoth Sierra Magazine/The Voice

    760.934.3929 aleksandra@mammothtimes.com

Dave Bengston, Manager Yosemite Mountaineering School

    209.372.8344 dbengsto@dncinc.com

Dave Miller, Owner/Director California Alpine Guides, Mammoth Lakes, CA

    760.709.1161 dave@californiaalpineguides.com

Neil Satterfield and Howie Schwartz, Owners Sierra Mountain Guides, Bishop, CA

    760.648.1122 neil@sierramtnguides.com or howie@sierramtnguides.com

Jeff Holmquist, UC White Mountain Research Station, Bishop, CA

    760.937.6317 holmquis@lifesci.ucsb.edu

IMPORTANT CALL TO ACTION!!! Support professional guides in America!

The following is an excerpt taken directly from the American Mountain Guides Association.  The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado is threatening to ban guiding in the park because "guided climbing does not support the goal for the inner canyon zone of providing a visitor experience that is challenging, self-reliant, and adventurous."

 

I am personally shocked at the comment and the gesture.  This decision could set a precedent which could impact me directly as a climbing guide for another national park: Yosemite National Park.

 

See below for ways you can help -- we especially need the park service to hear from people who are not guides.  Thank you for your support!

 

***

 

The National Park Service wants to ban guided climbing and prohibit members of the public from being able to climb with a professional guide in one of our country's most adventurous wilderness climbing areas. This is a national threat, which could set a debilitating precedent for guided climbing access in National Parks across the country. We are requesting your urgent support to help preserve guided climbing access in the Black Canyon as well as in other National Parks the U.S.

 

Here is how you can help:

 

Send an email to Ken_Stahlnecker@nps.gov today using the talking points below. Our goal is to have 500 people (who are not guides) contact Ken Stahlnecker opposing the Park's plan to ban guided climbing in the Black Canyon and urging the Park to preserve guiding climbing access in this unique venue.

 

Dear Ken Stahlnecker,

Chief, Resource Stewardship and Science

National Park Service,

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

 

I am writing to urge you to keep guided climbing access available to the American public. Along with Yosemite National Park and Red Rocks National Conservation Area, the Black Canyon is one of only a few climbing venues in the country offering big wall climbing opportunities. There is often a scarcity of willing and adequate climbing partners to tackle the bold and remote terrain of the Black. Because climbing requires a team of two unless one is free soloing, my options for experiencing this unique wilderness area will be substantially reduced or eliminated altogether if guided climbing is banned in the Inner Canyon Zone.

 

Having the option to climb with a professional guide is necessary for me to be able to experience the vertical wilderness in the Black Canyon. Partnering with a professional guide will enhance my opportunity for an experience of adventure, challenge and self-reliance. I see no difference between climbing with a professional guide and climbing with a non-guide partner who happens to be stronger or more experienced than me. It is not uncommon for climbing partners to be of varying levels of experience. Climbing successfully in the Black always requires the self-reliance, commitment and personal fortitude of both climbing partners regardless of their varying experience levels.

 

Thank you for the opportunity to provide my opinion on this important matter.

Check out Mammoth Sierra Magazine, Issue #51, Oct/Nov 2011

Mammoth Sierra Magazine features 4 articles that I wrote centered around the theme "Preparing for Ski Season."  The first article describes an exercise routine to help train for ski season; the second is about the life and work of ski patrollers; the third is about the local ski resorts in the off-season; and the fourth is a look behind the scenes at how the local towns prepare for the changing weather...

Mammoth Sierra Magazine #51

I had a blast talking to a very wide variety of folks from town, and learned a lot of interesting little-known tidbits, so I hope my readers find a few interesting things in here, too!

 

If the link doesn't work, here is the URL:

http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1u9d2/MammothSierraMagazin/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffree.yudu.com%2Fitem%2F

 

Fast and Light: Is Fast 'Lite' on experience?

What drives the mountaineer?  What does a climber seek at the top of a mountain?  What does she find?  And what brings her back, time and time again, to the exposed pinnacle of rock, which for only a geological second happens to be a high point in our world?

It's a fascinating thought, and one which has puzzled climbers and spectators (such as they are in the sport) for generations.

It was a subcategory of this climber's reflection which occupied my mind while soloing the East Ridge of Mount Russell, one of California's several 14ers at 14,094ft.

***

I awoke wide-eyed at 6am (unusual for a non-morning person such as myself), rolled out of bed, made a pot of tea, started my truck, and was off.  I had woken up several times during the night, my mind occupied with whether I should get an extra 15 minutes of sleep or get up and cook myself the hearty breakfast I would need.  As I lay down the night before, I had settled on sleeping more and picking up a Sausage McMuffin and an orange juice from McDonald's on my way through Bishop.  Several hours later I woke up with disapproving thoughts, and decided I would make my own healthy, humane, and environmentally friendly hearty breakfast.  Two hours later I wake again briefly and decide I can accept my twice-a-year McDonald's breakfast, and really they're not so bad after all.  I mean, how can it be so bad if it tastes so good?  At 6am I am up again and finally decide I'm not going to think about it any more, and really the excess calories from who-knows-what-they-put-in-it will probably fuel me a little more than my own cleaner version of the same thing.

In these thoughts, I think I have discovered a new form of climber's inner-turmoil: the modern progressive climber's ethical inner debate.

Fortunately, I made it out of the house by 6:30am, despite my inner dialogue and silly deliberating.

In Bishop, filling up my gas tank and my belly, and on the road again by 7:15am.  How American.  But fast food sure is handy sometimes.  And those Sausage McMuffins really are tasty.  But what would Norman Clyde think? 

Norman Clyde did the first ascent of Mt. Russell via the East Ridge (my chosen objective) in June of 1926.  Pre-GPS, pre-sticky rubber approach shoes, pre-McDonald's, pre-backcountry permits... free, in every sense of the word.  And he was a man known for carrying his cast-iron skillet strapped to the outside of his pack on overnight trips into the backcountry.  Maybe I'll leave the bit about McDonald's out if I meet him in the afterlife.

***

I arrive at the visitor's center just after 8am to pick up my permit.  Fortunately it is late in the season, so I knew I would have no trouble getting a permit on a walk-in basis.  However, I am forced to start about 2 hours later than I would have liked to start, because I didn't make it home the day before in time to call in a reservation (though I didn't really want to pay a reservation fee anyway, which I'm pretty sure they require for any advance reservations).  By my rough calculations and from time plans offered in the oft-revered SuperTopo High Sierra guidebook, I was estimating the whole day would take 11 hours, at best.  About 6,000ft of elevation gain in 4 or so miles equates to about 5 hours of hiking time (calibrated for me).  The book estimates 3-6 hours on route, and the descent should take half of the total time to the top.  So... 5hrs hiking + 3hrs climbing =8hrs up, that means 4hrs down, and I like to run downhill, so let's say 8hrs up + 4hrs down - 1hr running = 11hrs. 

Oof.  It's going to be a long day.  Pack the headlamp.

***

Dave was with Craig, one of our most active clients, climbing Whitney and Russell on a 4 day trip, so I was hoping to catch up to them the day they were to be climbing the East Ridge.  I knew I was way behind, since they started at 7am from 11,300ft at Upper Boy Scout Lake, and I started after 9am at 8,400ft, so I motored.

Going fast and light, hiking by myself, I relished the time to be entirely with myself: my own thoughts, my own abilities, my own limits.  So much of my time in the mountains is spent with friends and clients that I rarely get any time alone in the mountains.  But when I do, it makes me think of all those who have been here before me.  Like Norman Clyde.  What was he thinking?  Why was he here?  Was it his zen to be in the mountains, or was it the feeling of accomplishment at the end of the day?  Why did he climb so often alone?

***

I managed to catch Dave and Craig at about 12:30pm, just as they finished descending the East Ridge.  I was hoping to watch some of Dave's guiding techniques on what is a physically easy route to climb, but very technically challenging to protect from a guiding standpoint.  I missed it -- they were already unroped.  Bummer.

We chatted a bit, and I told them I had set a 3:30pm turnaround time for my climb, such that I would make it back by dark.  They said they climbed the route in about an hour and a half.  Sweet.  SuperTopo appears to be way off the mark in their timeplan.

We decide to reconvene at the trailhead for burgers, and I set off up the route.  Within an hour I am on the summit, flipping through the summit register, and enjoying an amazing view of an unusually (for September) snowy Mt. Whitney.

 

In the register, I randomly flip to a page with two names that I recognize: Brian Martens and Andrew Dickie, two of my friends from Shasta Mountain Guides.  They had been out last summer and climbed Whitney's East Buttress and Russell's Fishhook Arete, with stopovers at my house on either end of their trip.  It's a small world atop these summits.

Then I flip to the end, and find Dave and Craig's entries.  Craig's is a normal celebratory entry, noting where he is from, some plugs to friends and family at home, and what route they came up.  Dave's simply reads: "I beat Lyra to the top."

But with him long gone, I get the last word: "Dave Miller cheated."

***

Under an hour and I am off the route and sprinting down the sandy slopes, letting my legs do the thinking.  Heart pounding, body straining, and I am grinning ear to ear.  This is the freedom I seek in the mountains.  I get to a steep drop-off; what had been a miserable climb due to the sandy substrate becomes a whoop-worthy rapid sand-surfing descent.

To cover so much terrain entirely of my own power is an exhilarating experience.  To go where so few people go, to see things so much bigger than myself -- it's a grounding experience, to say the least.

I catch Dave and Craig just before the trailhead.  We have arrived with time to spare (referring to the 8pm closing time at the grill).  Shoes off, sweaters on, burgers ordered.  Now it's time to share stories of our adventures.  They had some grand climbs in the area over 4 days.  I had a thrilling 7 hour race through the mountains.

I often wonder how much we miss in modern climbing's obsession with speed-ascents, "fast and light."  Perhaps if I had more time off, I could take a leisurely time by myself in the mountains.  Have I been working too much this summer?  Am I trying to cram my own experiences into inadequate "me-time?"  Or do I discover something else in pushing to my athletic limits, stretching my mind and body as far as it can go?

My own experience by myself in the mountains is so different from my days climbing with my best friends, and different again from the days I spend guiding.  There is a social and anti-social element in there, and I enjoy them all for the different experiences they provide.

At times, I can find myself frustrated.  Frustrated to be limited by myself, pushed too far by my partner, or challenged by a client who needs an unanticipated amount of emotional or physical support.

And then, when I take a step back, relax in the moment, wherever it is I find myself, I realize how present I am.  I realize how raw the experience is.  In such a complicated world, my life is reduced to the most basic and fundamental of concerns: how am I right now?

And it is in this moment that I realize how grateful I am to find my own limits, to push through my own mental and physical barriers, and to have the tool set to give someone the same experience.

***

My time in the mountains gives me the reality check I need in a complex world.  With more and more people expanding the world of climbing, introducing new styles and focuses, it is easy to judge, categorize, and shun certain branches of climbing we don't understand.  And of course, some ethical debate is healthy.  But at the very core of it, we are all out there to learn something about ourselves, and this is what is important.

Yosemite Mountaineering School

Spring has been a whirlwind of activity for me, whipping from my 10-day AMGA Rock Guide Course and Aspirant Exam to several days of work to a WFR Recert to a YMS guide training to... lots of rock climbing and down time and waiting to get officially hired by Delaware North Companies, the corporation that owns Yosemite Mountaineering School.  After much paperwork and thorough background checks, they decided I was a worthy candidate, and hired me.  Yes!

I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but the stars seemed to align for me this year.  YMS had a few positions open up this year, and I had just passed my Aspirant Exam with very high marks.  After 7 years of guiding (the last 2 completely full time, year round), I was able to send  them a relatively modest but solid and well-rounded guiding resume.  Add to all that a dramatic paradigm-shift in a professional world once comprised exclusively of men -- now, a worthy female candidate finds herself to be quite the commodity.  And while I have experienced some mild gender-specific challenges and set-backs while pursuing the profession of mountain guiding, largely, I have found my experiences to be positive, and I have always felt appreciated, trusted and valued by the companies I have worked for -- not only as a female guide, but as a mountain guide.  It has been pretty awesome to be a very small part of a very big change.

I had it in my head to bust my butt this summer climbing and mock guiding while still working for Shasta Mountain Guides, with the goal of taking and passing the AMGA Rock Guide Exam this Fall -- only then, I thought, would I even be considered for a position with YMS.  This was a bit of an acceleration of one of my many professional goals/dreams, and I am psyched.  And still gunning for that certification this fall -- with all the mileage I'm going to get here at YMS, that is looking much more reasonable.

***

It has been a very wet spring here so far, which is never the most inspiring nor motivating weather for rock climbing, but I have been able to get out for lots of half-days of cragging, and some shorter routes, and have only had one epic (but I blame that on the red ants).  Okay, not really an epic, just a frazzle-fest of bites and itchy-crawlies.

Otherwise, I've had a fair amount of early-season work since my official hire date, and am thoroughly enjoying the day-guiding routine (another great day at the 'office'!).  As much as I miss the beauty of Mt. Shasta, the skiing, and most importantly the very unique and special camaraderie among my Shasta coguides and directors, pages turn, chapters end, and others begin.  Same book, just a change of scenes, a few new sub-plots, and a whole fleet of new characters.

The Ice Capades

Winter finally returned here in the Eastern Sierra, dumping over 3ft of snow in many places.  With all the fresh powder, my psyche for skiing returned (spring-like conditions brought out the rock climber in me!), and I finally managed to connect with Ali, a friend of several of my friends, and another athletic young woman I have been trying to coordinate with for a while.  We skied Punta Bardini out of Mammoth Lakes on a stormy Thursday -- a great venue for storm skiing.  It was sheltered from any wind, and the snow was lighter and fluffier than I am accustomed to in the Sierra Nevada.  John Dittli, a local photographer and excellent tele skier who learned almost entirely by skiing the backcountry (impressive), happened to be at the trailhead at the same time and asked to join us.  It was a stellar day with a couple of lovely locals.

The next day, with the storm moving in stronger, we decided it was a good day to burn our legs out at Mammoth Mountain.  It took approximately 3.5hrs for my legs to be completely toasted in the waist-deep powder.  So we called it a day... sort of.

Back at the car, the sun had come out, and it was a beautiful bluebird day.  My legs were fried, but with the sun, my psyche for climbing inevitably returns.  I asked Ali if she wanted to join me in Bishop for some bouldering.

"Grab a burrito first?"

Perfect.

Ironically, the weather was colder and windier than on the hill, but we managed several boulder problems, and with Ali's beta, I almost sent one of my long-time projects.  Next time.  Next time.

Finally, the fatigue started to set in, the wind started really whipping, and we decided it was okay to call it a day.  Call it, that is, a fantastic day.

***

After an inspiring multi-sport day with Ali, I craved another.  I just got a new pair of ice climbing crampons, and have been eager to try them out.  As a child, when I received something new and exciting, like roller skates, I would sleep in them.  Fortunately for my boyfriend, I didn't insist on wearing my new crampons to bed, but I did insist on getting out to use them.

The only problem -- the skiing is still way too good to pass on a day of skiing for ice climbing.  The result?  A compromise: Both in one day.  In June Lake, we could take a relatively short backcountry ski tour up Hemlock Ridge, drop back down to the car, and speed over to the ice climbing for a couple of quick laps.

Steve, a friend of a friend, has been visiting from Scotland.  Also a mountain guide, and just generally a hilarious, savvy, and way fun guy, he was all over the idea of double-dipping.

Dave, however, having just returned from a guiding trip, and Rick, who got back late from a Search and Rescue mission (successful! phew), were not up for as early as a start in what Rick dubbed "Lyra's Ice Capades."  Since the two of them have passes to Mammoth and June Mountain, they would take the lifts up and traverse over to meet us at Yost Meadow.

Oh, how backcountry travel has changed.  Just a couple of phone calls and a few hoots and hollers later, we regouped on the skin track and topped out Hemlock Ridge.

Unbelievable powder skiing all the way down to the car, a quick transition and car shuttle, and we were on the ice for a couple of laps to top off the day.  Roadside Ice in June Lake has been fantastically fat this year, and an absolute joy to climb.

And in true mountain town style, the day was nowhere near over.  We caught happy hour at the Double Eagle, all had a great dinner and a couple of beers for under $10, completing what Dave calls "The Trifecta."  Then it was off to Snowcreek Athletic Club for the weekly slideshow.  As if the winter psyche wasn't already at a major high for the day, seeing some photos from Dan Mingori's "Tick List" brewed many new ideas for adventures in the snowy days to come.

When homework is your hobby... and vice versa.

As can be deduced by the scarcity of postings in the past couple of months, things have been a little busy around here...

January was as busy as a summer peak month for me, teaching a rock climbing clinic, several winter mountaineering trips on the east and west side of the Sierra Nevada, and assisting some ice climbing courses.  Weather was variable, but mostly good -- a far cry from the storms of December, where we got 10 feet of snow in one weekend!

Winter seems to have forgotten us for the latter part of January and the beginning of February.  I suppose if I were preparing for my Ski Guides Course with the AMGA, I would be rather unhappy.  But alas, that course is on my agenda for next winter -- this winter, I am preparing for my Rock Guides Course in April, the second of three in the AMGA Rock Guide certification process.  Needless to say, I am thrilled at the impeccable climbing weather, day after day.

No photos to produce from our trip to Joshua Tree last week, but here are a few for a bit of a photo diary of my past month:

 

  The ice on Main Wall at Lee Vining canyon has been fat and gorgeous this year -- a bit more than in our recent history here...

 

Some of the last good snow before our long dry spell: skiing Little Morrison Col with Mt. Laurel in the background.

 

The biggest cornice I have ever seen, which prevented us from climbing our favored winter route up Alta Peak.

 

And a little fun in the sun -- practicing self-arrest before glissading down from Alta Peak.