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

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.

Yes, it’s time again for the ambiguously-annual San Antonio Ski Hut Work “Party”, in which you the willing participant get to enjoy the privilege of carrying heavy awkward objects back and forth up the Ski Hut Trail during your weekend break. Festivities occur on June 13 and 14, and you must RSVP no later than May 30 (reservations are required).

You can choose to work Saturday, Sunday, or both. Fees vary from $10-20. For your efforts, you’ll be treated to lunch, happy hour, and dinner (for those working both days). Note that work party participants get the inside track on becoming Hut hosts, as well as contributing to a good cause and maybe even having a little bit of fun. For more info, see the San Antonio Ski Hut website.

If you’ve never heard of the SMS, it was founded way back in 1934(!) — compelling evidence that Los Angeles and the Southern California mountains have a rich tradition of backcountry sking. The SMS remains active today (though perhaps not so much as in its glory days), organizing regular meetings and ski trips into the local backcountry, as well as throughout the Sierra.

SMS also offers leadership courses, in case you’re interested in organizing trips of your own. I’ve found the group to be informal and friendly—and they do get out there when it comes to skiing. If you’re in SoCal and you’re interested in finding mentors, or just partners to ski with, this is a great resource (I’d join myself, if I wasn’t a reclusive exhausted grinch).

For more information on the potluck and this year’s events calendar, see the Ski Mountaineer’s Website.

Barcroft sits around 13K on White Mountain. Normally, the road is locked about a mile or two from the lab, but this Sunday the road will be open to the main station, cutting off a good chunk of walking time if you want to head to White’s 14,246-foot summit.

This time of year isn’t my first choice for hiking White Mountain, as monsoon thunderstorms can pop up with little warning, but for your troubles you’ll get short lectures from researchers, refreshments, and ‘sales of souveniers’. For more information, see the White Mountain Research Station Website.