High Sierra Topix

Tie - thanks for sharing. Amazing peak list in 19! Phenomenal coverages of East side trailheads and classic peaks. Great pics too

@tie Wow! Incredible peak list and beautiful photos

Great photos Tie.

I took my best shot and hiked the Alta Via 2 in the Dolomites in June. I went with a French-Canadian friend and we were literally the first on the trail, where we encountered all sorts of late snow, dangerous conditions and interruptions. I am fortunate to have the time and resources to do a trip like this, and will post a report in December, but I have to say that I enjoy my time in the Sierra a lot more. I even actually feel a bit robbed of "Sierra time", because my work picked up and for the rest of the summer I was only able to go off on a few peakbagging trips, and even fell short of making it up Ritter. Next year... Day 8, Alta Via 2, Passo della Farangole, 2814 m. Normally one of the two most challenging passes on the AV2, the ferrata cables are covered by snow and it is a vertical snow ascent with rocks below. The local alpinist said “non ne vale la pena” (it’s not worth it). I agreed and bailed but Éric went anyway with no axe and just microspikes. Several plaques around honoring the dead. So I descended and added an extra 4-hour detour around the mountain that day.

Did a 34 day trip from Mammoth to Mineral King. Should get something written up this winter and when I do I'll post it up on here. Also day hiked Mt Tom, did a one nighter in desolation, day hiked Pyramid, Tallac, and few overnighters in the Grouse ridge area.

despite being the dad of a 3 year old, my wife somehow made it possible for me to spend almost 3 weeks in the sierra this summer. reports someday.

july: emigrant (big/hyatt lake)
august: tamarack lake/lonely lake/tablelands (aka the maia special)
september: SHR from roads end to lake basin, then cartridge pass, JMT, 60 lakes, and out via bubbs.
october: emigrant (iceland/emigrant lake)

frozenintime wrote: ↑Wed Nov 13, 2019 1:55 pm despite being the dad of a 3 year old, my wife somehow made it possible for me to spend almost 3 weeks in the sierra this summer. reports someday.

Amazing photo. Thanks for posting. Please share the location.

2019 was a complete blowout for me. I was diagnosed with Retroperitoneal fibroses (an auto immune disease that forms a mass around the abdominal aorta and entraps the utterers. This made a renal stint necessary to relieve the pressure on my kidney. While this will save the kidney, it has made any kind of exercise result in extreme pain. Add the effects of the prednisone and cellcept to reduce the mass, and the fact that a 3 mile day hike resulted in me passing blood, and I knew my hiking was done for the year.

So now for the better news...as of my last scan the mass had reduced and I am pretty confident that the scan I will have next Tuesday will show that I can have the stint removed. So, I am back to planning to hike the JMT. I'm not sure if I'll be able to regain enough strength and stamina to do it (I've lost 30+ lbs. and a lot of muscle mass) but that will be my goal.

Get well soon.

rlown wrote: ↑Thu Nov 14, 2019 12:32 pmGet well soon.

Thanks

Get well soon.