A late-season hiker contemplates the downed cables beneath the final pitch of Yosemite's Half Dome. Normally, the cables form a stairway of sorts up the smooth granite slabs to the summit, but the forest service has taken the cables down for the approaching winter, making the ascent far less palatable.
See also: Hiking Half Dome via the Cables
San Jacinto Peak: Snow CreekConnecting San Jacinto Peak's snowy summit all the way to the Palm Springs Desert 9600' below.
Iron Mountain: The Couloir to NowhereA multi-year effort realized—and a high water mark in Southern California ski mountaineering.
Mount Tyndall: North RibThe author attempts to climb and ski Mount Tyndall via Shepherd Pass Trail in a single, merciless push.
San Jacinto Peak: East FaceA winter ski descent of Southern California's San Jacinto Peak, with untracked powder galore.
Birch Mountain: Southeast FaceA daytrip up an Eastside Giant turns into a marathon of snow fingers, sun cups, and shark fins in the dark.
Lone Pine Peak: East CouloirA challenging search for continuity and self on Lone Pine Peak's massive Northeast Face.
North Peak: North CouloirWinter snow turns this classic Sierra ice climb into one of the range's more challenging ski descents.
MT. SHASTA: AVALANCHE GULCH7000 vertical feet of superb July skiing down Avalanche Gulch, 14,162' Mount Shasta's popular climbing route.
MT. WILLIAMSON: BAIRS CREEK CIRQUE18,000 vertical feet in 24 hours — a big-mountain climb and summit ski descent of 14,375' Mt. Williamson.
MT. LANGLEY: NORTHEAST COULOIRSummit ski descent of 14,027-foot Mt. Langley's Northeast Couloir, plus the east face's 55° 'Needle Variation.'
