Heading back out on the road this weekend for a few more adventures.

First stop is Boulder, CO to film a pilot segment with old friend Michael Brown of Serac Adventure Films, Bellevue Entertainment’s crew from Chicago, and cohort, Majka Burhardt.

Then, it’s on to Aspen for some climbing, and some music- Michael Franti at the Belly-Up..can’t wait!

The third stop will be Crested Butte for more outdoor fun, followed by a stop through Telluride en route to the Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City during the first week of August, wrapping up with a possible last stop in Jackson to do some adventure training with our Tibet expedition crew.

I’ll check back in next week with some stories from the road.

Happy mid-summer everyone!

The trip to Yosemite definitely lit a fire in me to get back on the rock in a more consistent fashion. So, of late, I’ve been making some trips to Ophir, Ouray, and our Box Canyon spots to get in some pitches with local friends.

On Friday, one of my best buddies, Katja Wichland, and I headed up to Cracked Canyon, an area just outside of the town of Ophir. Katja rallied to support me, and belay me, on a climb that I never thought I’d step up to.. and it was really thrilling to finally have the guts (mental headspace) to attempt a goal that has been high on the “will it ever happen” list for a lot of years- actually pretty much since the day I started climbing more then 10 years ago.

My forays into the pure rock realm have been fairly inconsistent. With expeditions and skiing (and an injury last summer) at the forefront over the past few years, it has been hard to get into true strong form to excel in various climbing endeavors. With only some desert weekends in Indian Creek to carry me through in the fall and the spring, that has been the extent of the experience in the recent past.

So, it felt pretty darn special to take on a long term and distant goal and get’er done. Sometimes you just need the mileage to have a little faith. For me, climbing is analogous to life; you gotta build the foundation, believe in yourself, and step up to the challenge. You might surprise yourself with the outcome.

If you haven’t seen this film, you should.

Rocky Mountain Sherpas (RMS), a cutting edge film company based in Whistler, Canada, looks at new angles on telling important stories. The below is one of them.

RMS’s Dave Mossop was our head film guy in Morocco, in conjunction with Switchback Entertainment and Salomon Freeski TV, and he is putting together another film due out next year. His latest project will be sure to impress from a cinematic standpoint, and the story and the message will wow audiences in its new form. I’ll keep you posted.

Sometimes, when you have no plans, the best of times can fall into place. For this trip to the High Sierra and to Shasta, such was the case.

To keep this short, I’ll keep it to the basics. I met some truly incredible, strong, talented and inspiring people– ALL generous in nature and full of adventure and fun, who move about the mountains in strong form and in good spirit, living the most honest path. From 70yr old Otto who stormed up Bloody Mountain to 24 yr old Brett who shralped the heck out of Shasta to 26 yr old Kevin who quietly sends some of the hardest routes in the valley, every player is in love with the great outdoors.

Together, we all enjoyed nights in meadows and in forests, by lakes and by mountains, circled around fires, throwing down dance moves, and dipping in hot springs, all while pursuing our favorite activities by day. Scout also joined the traveling adventures and was welcomed by all our different hosts.

My first few days were spent skiing with the “Sierra Slayers”. Dubbed so by the talented Chris Davenport, these California fellas crush it on the East side of the Sierra range and far beyond. My friend and past expedition partner Glen Paulson rounded up the troops and we took on Mt Dana (Solstice Couloir to Powerhouse Couloir), Bloody Mtn (Hanger Face to Connector Couloir) and Black Mtn (main side), along with a climbing session in Granite Canyon one afternoon after some stellar corn shredding.

Just by luck, I met up with a friend from Indian Creek and elsewhere, Sam Piper, and joined the Yosemite Search & Rescue (YOSAR) crew up at the Tuolumne campground for a couple of weeks of climbing adventure. With numerous new friends and a different climbing partner every day, we climbed the classic longer routes in Tuolumne meadows, and I even got a chance to lead a climb at the base of El Capitan (Moby Dick 5.10a)- a dream come true. I truly can’t wait to go back.

From there, I joined Logan Talbott (YOSAR member) on a quick jaunt up to Mount Shasta (14,162ft) to attempt a day climb to the summit (7,000ft gain), along with a corn filled ski descent, from the top through the Trinity chutes on the South Face. We had a young and strong crew that were laughing and charging all day long.

Upon return, Sam rallied us to go do my first on sight free solo of Cathedral Peak’s Southeast Buttress (5.7 variation). Joined by super strong Ben Doyle, we had a fun ascent in beautiful weather, and a zen like climbing experience making our way up the 6 pitches to the top with no rope. I’m no Alex Honnold, but it was an ethereal moment of the trip.

Shortly thereafter, new friend and strong woman, Stacey Boore hatched our plan to go climb The Incredible Hulk (11,120ft) as a lady’s team. It was stepping up for me but we got it done in 17 hours, 12 pitches (1,200ft), and 12 miles of hiking (6,800ft) gain/loss of elevation on the approach/descent. It actually surpassed my longest day climbing and skiing the Grand Teton a few years ago. We climbed The Red Dihedral (5.10b) and I was beyond psyched to share a lead with a woman who is extremely encouraging, and supremely talented.

It took me a long time to get to the Sierras, and it won’t be too long before I get back. The tick list is growing by day…a shout out and a huge thanks to all my new friends and all the old friends that added to the incredible fun and adventure of the past few weeks. You are all my inspiration!

XOXOXOXO

Here’s one last video before I hit the road for some skiing and climbing adventures on the CA Eastside with the Sierra Slayers.

The stars of this short are some of my new most favorite skiers to watch, as well as being friends that I have had the opportunity to ski and hang with this past year. They are impressive guys, and ones to look out for in the upcoming years. And, they telemark..

Nice work by the Howell brothers at Powderhore for putting this one together.

So, I just posted an episode yesterday that stars Chris Rubens and some other Salomon teammates, and it turns out Chris just posted a great video of his select shots from our Morocco ski expedition this past spring. See below to enjoy his creative and talented take on our journey.

Below is one of my favorite episodes from Salomon Freeski TV this past season, and it stars one of my newest pals and ski partner in Morocco, Chris Rubens.

Hoping to hit the road here soon again for more adventure. Enjoy this ski stoke at the start of our summer!

Live Sauce Media group, based in Telluride, has asked me to join their team as a Live Host for various media, sports, and industry gatherings.

Below is one of my first interviews that was conducted during Telluride’s Mountainfilm Festival with friend, climber, producer, writer and much more Majka Burhardt.

It’s always fun to learn.

As always, Telluride’s MountainFilm weekend is one of great inspiration and call to action. It is a time of meeting new friends, like kinded and minded individuals, and reconnecting with people who are always on the move. There are inspiring discussions, cinematic beauty pieces, cultural shocks, environmental eye openers, and so much more. By the end of the weekend, I am fully over stimulated.

This year, Salomon teammate and Freeski TV producer, Mike Douglas, “the Godfather of Freeskiing”, came into town to premier the Salomon Freeski TV Episode- Hawaii Wave Ski on the big screen. The short had great reception from the huge crowd, and it was fun to spend the weekend with a teammate and a visonary from both the sport of Freeskiing and the future of ski filming. Douglas and I also had the chance to catch up with Greg Stump and check out his rough cut of “Legend of Ahhhs”, which was a pretty dreamy opportunity for a girl that grew up addicted to “The Blizzard of Ahhhs”.

There were also some great climbing films this year including a heart wrenching “First Ascent: Point of No Return”,  and the unbelievable “Alone on the Wall”, both by Sender Films. Renan’s Ozturk’s short pieces also continue to impress as his video dispatch compilation of an adventure with Cory Richards on Tawoche in Nepal was really enjoyable.

And, one of my most favorites was “Eastern Rises” by Telluride local Ben Knight and Travis Rummel, starring the great humorist and spectacular fly fisher pro Frank Smethhurst.

But, in the larger picture, there were some films that touched on some very serious issues and concepts. “Bag It” – check out the trailer at www.bagitmovie.com, “Gasland” by Josh Fox, and “I Am” by Tom Shadyac – www.iamthemovie.net.

My personal call to action…and the brief armchair preach I can do from here:

1. Always bring your own coffee mug (including on planes)

2. Always bring a  bag for groceries (never use a plastic bag ever again)

3. Don’t drink bottled water (tap water is safer anyway)

4. Simplify