SierraDescents.com

SierraDescents | 2011

The Muir Disconnect

The Muir Disconnect

Seen from nearly any angle, Mount Muir's East Buttress would seem to be self-evidently unskiable. And then, from atop Thor Peak last April, Dave Braun and I saw what appeared to (more)

A (Virtual) White Christmas

A (Virtual) White Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and your family from (more)

Exped DownMat 7

Exped DownMat 7

Yes, there is down (as in feathers) in Exped's DownMat-series sleeping pads, which include the DownMat 7 and the DownMat 9, in lengths from short to long. Putting feathers inside (more)

Canon XF100

Canon XF100

I understand that Canon's XF100 is currently one of the very hottest items in the compact professional camcorder market, and I understand why. But to my eye, the XF100 is (more)

Dressing High vs. Low

Dressing High vs. Low

One of the things I pride myself on is belated insight—meaning, I do have good ideas, but they tend to occur to me a little bit late. That was definitely the case going up (more)

Scarpa Charmoz GTX

Scarpa Charmoz GTX

Scarpa's Charmoz GTX is a light Alpine/Mountaineering boot in the same class as the very popular La Sportiva Trango S EVO. On my scale the two boots are almost identical. The (more)

Mount Muir Panorama

Mount Muir Panorama

A very chilly December day atop 14,012' Mount Muir, enjoying the hair-raising exposure off the summit block. I wanted to get some photos of Muir and Trevor wanted to check Muir (more)

Sony NEX-5N

Sony NEX-5N

Sony's next-generation NEX-5N looks pretty much the same as its immediate predecessor, the intriguing NEX-5A, but there the similarities end. The NEX-5N is in many ways the (more)

The Malache Jacket

The Malache Jacket

I'm a big fan of non-fleecy fleece. Yes, we all know the performance advantages of fleece, and we've all got at least one fleece jacket lurking somewhere in our closets—but does (more)

Review: ‘Salt’

Review: 'Salt'

One of the most satisfying things a great film can do is also one of the simplest—it can take us someplace we've never been before. Michael Angus and Murray Fredericks' (more)

Review: The Swiss Machine

Review: The Swiss Machine

I wasn't sure I'd enjoy 'The Swiss Machine', but it was definitely on my must-see list. Ueli Steck's fame skyrocketed when he successfully soloed the north face of the Eiger in (more)

English Asymmetries

English Asymmetries

I had no idea I'd be going to Austria until about two weeks beforehand. Given more time, I might have tried to learn some rudimentary German, but instead I focused on other (more)

Review: Cold

Review: Cold

Anson Fogel's 19-minute Alpine documentary 'Cold' was one of the films I was most looking forward to seeing in Graz. The film documents the efforts of Simone Moro, Denis Urubko, (more)

Extra Sunset, Served With Ice

Extra Sunset, Served With Ice

Back home in L.A. now, having flown in from Graz via Munich last 'night'. My plane took off from Munich in daylight and promptly headed north into darkness. Eventually, (more)

C2N Goes to Graz

C2N Goes to Graz

I am very pleased to announce that my short film, The Couloir to Nowhere, is an official selection of the 2011 Internationales Berg & Abenteuer Filmfestival in Graz, Austria. (more)

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About SierraDescents

When there is snow, SierraDescents is Andy Lewicky's California backcountry skiing and mountaineering website. Without snow, sierradescents becomes an ill-tempered hiking and climbing blog.

Pray for snow.