Pilgrims of Gnar

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The video is grainy, shaky, and shot from my phone.  I didn’t make it in a shot where I wasn’t pointing the camera at myself and I missed out on capturing the tough moments, hard conversations, deep belly laughs and silent tears.  Looking back through all the footage it’s somewhat unbelievable what we accomplished.  Not because we’re strong or smart or creative. It’s amazing because we managed to say no.  No we’re not taking the easy way, we’re not looking for shortcuts.  We set out to be deliberate, to do things simply, correctly, honestly.  We managed to do this and more, to embrace our path, to pursue it with a devotion I’ve never before found.  We’re not trying to set an example, to hold anything over another.  Our goals are infinitely simpler than our lives: have fun, be happy, that’s about it.  There’s a lot of the world to be seen, a lot of mountains to be climbed, but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t want to do it any other way.   I’d like to show it to you here, but I’m not that techy, so you’ll just have to click once more.

Sherpa Peak

Finding an “off the beaten track” adventure in the Stuart Mountains can be a challenging experience.  The popularity and history of this small range have worked to make for an accessible, well known group of mountains.  There are, however, a few areas that receive little attention and fewer people then the well known basins and crags of this classic alpine paradise.  The drainage of the east fork of mountaineer creek, between Argonaut and Sherpa peaks is one of these places.  Combine this with the challenge of a completely human powered approach and you’ve got yourself a weekend.  Liz and i set out with a few scraps of route info and headed into this lesser known corner of our backyard. Continue reading “Sherpa Peak”