August 9, 2008
Beijing Olympic Debut: Stunning, Terrifying
Could any other city in the world have staged an Olympics opening ceremony to match the scale and spectacle of Beijing’s debut Friday?
I doubt it. My jaw kept dropping as I watched what will surely be remembered as one of the most awe-inspiring opening ceremonies in Olympics history.
Any one of the many set pieces would have been the centerpiece of any other games. But ceremony director Zhang Yimou (China’s celebrated film director) delivered one ground-breaking moment after another, flowing easily from symbolic imagery to sublime artistry on a scale that Olympic audiences have never before seen (more…)

Thermarest Dreamtime
Bloody Mtn - Bloody Couloir
Williamson - Bairs Creek Cirque
San Jacinto - Snow Creek
North Peak - North Couloir