SierraDescents | 2014
August 27, 2014
Black Diamond Speed 22
The Speed is back—sort of. In its original, 2005 edition, Black Diamond's Speed backpack was a masterpiece of light-is-right design. The original, 30-liter Speed backpack gave (more)
August 22, 2014
Sierra Class 3
Insofar as I can tell, the Yosemite Decimal System, which is by far the most widely-used climbing route grading system in the United States, works extremely well provided you stay (more)
August 19, 2014
University Peak
Okay, I thought this one was supposed to be easy. When it comes to accurately sizing up a route’s difficulties, I’m beginning to fear either I’m a hopeless optimist or else (more)
August 15, 2014
Sony A7S
Here is what I remember most about film: not the waiting, to get your slides back, but the anticipation. Film added something to every shot, a twist of scene or color or light, a (more)
August 10, 2014
Waucoba Summit Panorama
I returned this weekend to Death Valley National Park to take care of some unfinished business, and let me say now, if you like to be alone, have I got a mountain for you! Sheesh (more)
August 5, 2014
Salomon X Ultra Mid
Salomon is well known for cutting-edge trail runners, but can they make a Mid? Yes—and it's a good one. The X Ultra Mid GTX is rugged, stable, and very light. I admit I (more)
July 27, 2014
Inyo Mts: Squaw Peak
At first, I thought it was simply a case of guidebook error. Later—hours later—when I was beset by flies, and covered in scratches and pine sap, when my legs were (more)
July 24, 2014
Mountain Hardwear Optic
Let's call Mountain Hardwear's Optic 3.5 a car-camping tent with backpacking aspirations. The Optic isn't light, but it is abundantly livable. You get 45 square feet of floor (more)
July 19, 2014
Mount Diablo
Rising a decidedly non-devilish 3,849 feet above sea level, Mount Diablo is not quite the highest summit in the Bay Area, but it is Contra Costa County's highpoint, and, thanks to (more)
July 11, 2014
Where’s Your Sierra?
I have a distinct mental image of "The Sierra"—and this isn't it. My Sierra is heavy on Owens Valley and fourteeners, with lots of dry, dusty, austere granite brooding high (more)
July 1, 2014
Kearsarge Peak Panorama
Great views but beware the mining trail! Kearsarge is described in Jay Anderson's Climbing California's Mountains as "possibly the quickest-to-reach significant summit on the (more)
June 24, 2014
Sony RX100-III
Is it possible the closer we get to perfection, the farther away it seems? The updates to Sony's third-edition RX100 digital compact are practically a wish list of the impossible. (more)
June 20, 2014
Fixing Your Feet
If your chosen sport has anything in any way to do with your feet, I say John Vonhof's Fixing Your Feet is a must-have. This massive 350-page book details the prevention, coping, (more)
June 16, 2014
Cirque Peak Panorama
I wanted an easy peak, but easy in the right way—and hard in the right way, too. In that regard, Cirque Peak, in the John Muir Wilderness just south of Mount Langely and (more)
June 2, 2014
Revelation Bowl
Well I'm still thinking about skiing... Here's something from 2012: Revelation Bowl, in Telluride, Colorado. What's interesting is it looks like the video was shot in black and (more)
