The backpacking trip I look forward to each year is not the longest, hardest or most exotic, it’s the one we take in Tahoe with our godson, Chase, and his mom, Laura. We used to be a group of six, but goddaughter Taira, at 16, is focused on water polo, and her dad, Ken, is …
In the related article, Top Intermediate ski runs at Blackcomb, I listed the top moderate runs at Blackcomb. Here’s the rest of the baker’s dozen–13 runs total, including these runs at Whistler. This list was compiled based on my experience skiing at Whistler Blackcomb for over 15 years, and an informal poll of long-time skiers here, …
We moved from California to Seattle, Washington in 1992, anxiously leaving our favorite ski runs at Squaw Valley behind as we headed north. We were told that the resorts around Seattle offered excellent skiing but after a season battling howling wind, wild weather and often funky snow conditions in the shadow of 14,411 foot Mt. …
We ended Part 2 of the High Sierra Trial soaking in the wonderful Kern Hot Springs and Part 3 takes us up over Mt. Whitney to the end of the trail in Lone Pine. Day 5-Kern Hot Springs to Wallace Creek (12 miles, 10,409 feet) We didn’t mean to walk 12 miles but we did. We had …
The High Sierra Trail (HST), a 72 mile trail in Sequoia National Park, is a major undertaking. There are a few roads on the eastern side of the park that lead to the popular Lodgepole Visitor Center and the Giant Sequoias, but there are no roads that go through the park so there is …
The High Sierra Trail (HST), a 72 mile trail in Sequoia National Park (NP), is a classic hike in the Sierra Nevada. It evokes the very ghost of John Muir with its soaring peaks, highly varied terrain, grand vistas and spectacular ending at the top of Mt. Whitney. Cutting through a cross-section of some …
We rounded the corner, and after a stretch of densely forested trail, broke out into Alta Meadow. Though my feet were aching after trekking 5.6 uphill miles with a heavy pack, I practically ran toward the meadow, arms outstretched in my Julie Andrews Sound of Music moment. The vista before me made me gasp, and …
Walking along the trail behind the Wuksachi Lodge I stumbled repeatedly because I just couldn’t get enough of the views of the Great Western Divide with its craggy peaks etched against the blue sky, a tiny puff of pure white cloud forming like whipped cream on an upside down pointy sugar cone. I didn’t pass …
Hong Kong is such a small island but boasts an endless number and variety of world class restaurants, and every kind of eatery you can imagine, from bakeries to dim sum to international cuisine. There’s also a lot to do, and not all of it involves shopping, though there are plenty of opportunities for that …
Having skied Whistler Blackcomb for many years we have accumulated a short list of our favorite advanced runs at Blackcomb. There are hairier runs, but either they are too dangerous, too difficult to describe in print, or too sacred to the local ethos to write about. Below are our favorite runs, with a few tips on …