Our little girl is here! Roxanne and I are so happy to announce the birth of our daughter, Alice Rose Lewicky, who arrived a little early last night but safe and sound and very healthy. Mom and baby are together and doing great. I am having a lot of spontaneous tears of joy as I sit here thinking of how lucky we are to have a tiny miracle in our home—and thinking of all the wonderful times ahead. Owen is eager to meet his baby sister…he’s grabbing my hand and pulling me to the door. I’ll post some more photos later today. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers and support! It’s a girl!

I’m not panicking, I’m not panicking, I’m not panicking…

I’M PANICKING!!! I’M PANICKING!!! I’M PANICKING!!!

The Arizona Daily Sun ran a nice Father’s Day article on my dad and brother, both of whom are practicing doctors in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Having two Orthopedic Surgeons in the family certainly comes in handy given the impressive array of aches and pains I manage to accumulate when I’m wandering the hills. Though I must admit, my father’s standard advice for all my ailments has historically been, “Ice it.”

A big part of what makes my dad and brother such fine sports medicine doctors, in my opinion, is their passion for the outdoors. My brother appears here and there in my photos and trip reports, especially whenever the Grand Canyon is involved, and my dad is the one who taught me how to ski. Both of them understand the unique concerns of athletes because they’re athletes themselves. My dad has been active with various athletic programs in Arizona, including NAU Sports and the Arizona Cardinals. He still gets a kick out of seeing football players whose knees he’s fixed playing on tv.

Did I ever think about following in my dad’s footsteps and going into medicine? Absolutely. It would be nice to be in the operating room with my dad and brother—give me a No. 7 scalpel, gentlemen…I’m going in! Though in the end, other interests proved a bit too hard to resist…

Friends of Jordan Minyard have organized a benefit climb on Mount Baldy this Saturday, June 20th, 2009. Jordan, 27, was diagnosed with testicular cancer and began chemotherapy March 9, less than one week following the birth of his first child, Hunter Gabriel. The goal of the climb is to raise $10,000 to help cover Jordan’s expensive cancer treatments, child birth costs, and living expenses during Jordan’s 3 month leave from work.

If you are interested in participating, it works like this: registered hikers/donors who climb and summit Mount Baldy on June 20 via the Manker Flat Trail or the Devil’s Backbone Trail will have their donations matched by several generous sponsors of the event. Even if you can’t afford to donate anything, just by climbing Mount Baldy, a pledge will still be made on your behalf when you summit. And, of course, you can always just make a tax-deductible donation and forgo hiking entirely.

Note that people who summit via the Manker Flat trail will get a matching donation for each successful round trip! Okay, that’s a lot of vertical, but it does put a little extra incentive into the mix for the ambitious mountain goat.

For more details, donation form, and registration information, please see Baldy for Baldy, a website put together for the climb. You can also check out Jordan’s Blog, One Day at a Time to read more about his progress.

Maybe Bob is right—maybe the big MSM outlets (CNN, NYT, MSNBC) are obsolete and no longer deserve to exist. I was certainly one of the MSM’s holdouts, believing that traditional media still has an essential role to play in covering news…and then this happens: the almost-total failure of the MSM this past weekend to report on what’s happening in Iran.

For those of you who are understandably wondering just what the hell I’m talking about, Andrew Sullivan’s coverage has been outstanding. Sullivan has even re-themed his blog in green to show solidarity with the Iranian people as they demand that their votes be counted.

I don’t know what the outcome of this story will be, but I feel that same sense of energy in the air as I did when the old-guard Soviet regime staged its death-throes 1991 coup that resulted in the end of the Soviet Union and the rebirth of the Russian Republic. Events in Iran today, I believe, are no less significant and could well be no less consequential for the world.

There are widespread reports of Iranian leadership shutting down traditional communication channels. The result? People have been using Twitter and other internet-age modes to tell their story. This has always been the ultimate promise of the internet, hasn’t it? Make it impossible for any person or government or organization, however possible, to control the information. As I say, I don’t know what the ultimate outcome will be, but we’re thinking GREEN over here too!

Is there skiing in Iran? Yes — Andrew McLean had a great visit & skied 18,000′ Mt. Damavand.

UPDATE: ARS Technica reports the US State Department has asked Twitter to postpone a scheduled system update to prevent disrupting services in Iran. Astonishing.

UPDATE:

‘I’m always a little reticent to draw lessons from things still unfolding, but it seems pretty clear that…this is it. The big one. This is the first revolution that has been catapulted onto a global stage and transformed by social media. I’ve been thinking a lot about the Chicago demonstrations of 1968 where they chanted “the whole world is watching.” Really, that wasn’t true then. But this time it’s true … and people throughout the world are not only listening but responding.’

— NYU professor Clay Shirky on TedBlog

Crabtree Meadows

As much as I love sleeping under the stars in the High Sierra in Summertime, I also enjoy staying warm, dry, and free from mosquito bites.

I am therefore a big fan of Black Diamond’s single-wall tents, which remain the lightest ‘real’ tents available—freestanding, breathable, highly water-resistant shelters that shine in most conditions.

The smallest of the bunch is the solo 2 lb 5 oz (tent & poles) Oneshot. Initially the OneShot didn’t make a lot of sense to me. I thought it was a bit cramped, and too close in weight to Black Diamond’s two-man Firstlight tent. But I’ve reconsidered. If weight is a critical consideration, say for a little Shepherd Pass fun, maybe the Oneshot makes sense after all.

The 2 lb 11.5 oz Firstlight is the original, first-generation Epic™ tent, and compared to its more refined siblings, it is a little primitive. Soloists will find the Firstlight quite roomy, but partner up and things get real cozy real fast. Ventilation can be a problem with the Firstlight, and the interior feels a bit claustrophobic as well.

I really like Black Diamond’s HiLight tent. The two-man HiLight is almost identical in size to the FirstLight, but it feels much roomier: a cross-pole awning and trapezoidal floor open up the view and the ventilation. This is a sharp, airy design that considerably improves upon the features of the Firstlight. Note, however, that while the HiLight is supposed to be lighter than the FirstLight, my scale says it is two ounces heavier, at 2 lbs 13.5 oz.

The largest tent in this roundup is the 3 lb 3 ounce Lighthouse. The Lighthouse is a two man tent for climbers who don’t want to rub shoulders all night. Taller hikers will appreciate the tent’s extra length and breadth. The design is identical to the Hilight, but with a big 87 x 51″ floor for extra room. And look at that weight: just barely over three pounds!

If you’re new to Black Diamond’s tents, they can be tricky to set up at first. Be especially careful not to puncture the tent body or floor with the poles! As you gain experience, this becomes much easier. Each of these tents will do 4-season duty if needed. As always, choose protected camp sites and be realistic in your expectations. To add room for cooking or extra gear, you can purchase optional vestibules for each tent. The vestibules add about a pound to the total weight, however, which pushes into the double-wall tent range (and makes the single-wall’s upside less appealing).

Perhaps the greatest concern with Black Diamond’s single-wall tents is their Epic™ fabric, which is listed as “highly water-resistant” rather than waterproof. For more on that subject, see Epic tents in rain. For experienced backpackers, I don’t hesistate to recommend using Black Diamond’s ultralight tents in Alpine environments, including rain and snow. So long as the wet weather doesn’t go apocalyptic on you, I think these are the finest lightweight shelters you can buy.

Black Diamond Tent Reviews:

• OneShot
• Firstlight
• HiLight
• Lighthouse

A hiker on the Pacific Crest Trail near Horseshoe Meadows got hit by Wednesday’s weather and pressed “911″ on her Spot Satellite Messenger when she became cold, wet, and afraid she would not survive the night (read her account here).

In the morning, she sent an “OK” message and hiked to Lone Pine, where she was met by worried family members (more…)

Well, I think I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t point out that heavy rain is falling here in the basin, and snow has fallen, is falling, and will fall all over the Sierra. We’re into some very strange freaky June weather here…but maybe we stuck the skis in the closet a little too early.

Looking ahead to the weekend, watch for unsettled weather to continue, with thunder and lightning potential wherever you go. Hard to know what to say about avalanche hazard at this point in the season (ESAC is already closed), but in addition to the usual threats, do beware of that potent June sun poking out and burning brand-new snow. Things can go from sublime to scary glop in minutes.

I’m still trying to shake off a nasty playground bug, so I may be forced to sit the weekend out. If you do get out there, have fun and be safe. It might just be fantastic.

Born To Run

Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run arrived on my desk with impeccable timing. I’d just finished a mammoth 19-hour climb and ski of California’s Mount Tyndall, and while nursing my wounds I began asking hard questions about my physical limits.

If your experience is anything like mine, you’ve been conditioned over your entire life to believe that human beings were not meant to run.

Give us tools, weapons, or wheels—anything but our own two feet. We are the slowest, most awkward creatures in nature, conventional wisdom goes, and while a very few of us engage in marathons or ‘ultra’ marathons, such refusals to accept one’s destiny inevitably end in injury (more…)

Leacock Memorial Trail

LOS ANGELES HAS A WEALTH of good metro-area hikes, though finding them can be a bit of a challenge. One of my favorites is the Phil Leacock Memorial Trail, which connects Pacific Palisades to the vast Topanga State Park trail network.

For the urban hiker, the Leacock Trail offers tremendous bang for the buck. You get a sharp climb right from the start, great ridgetop city and ocean views, and a quick loop (about 1.5 miles) back to the car (more…)