Sierra Nevada: The Range of Light & Fast FOMO —Fear Of Missing Out—I have it, in the form of an extreme case. Years ago, when we first settled in California’s Eastern Sierra Nevada, the FOMO came on strong. Living in such close proximity to so many mountain sport options, how could it not? Each day [...]
Posts under ‘Trip Report’
Italian Dolomites Backcountry Ski Camping
Huts vs. Camping “But one doesn’t really camp in the Dolomites…”. I knew further protest could jeopordize work for a favorite client, instead I listened, “But for the shoot we need camping, we want to see that kind of ski tour, no huts”. “No huts?” The pain was lessened by the fact that the huts [...]
Running the Sierra Nevada John Muir Trail
Sierra Nevada Endurance Testing Grounds by John Stamstad, part 2 Sleep deprivation is a pretty fascinating thing. Everywhere I looked, inanimate objects were moving, even the rocks, they just kept shifting around. The big rocks looked like tents, I mean they looked exactly like tents. I would stop and go up to them, usually say, [...]
John Stamstad Running the John Muir Trail Unsupported
A John Muir Trail Record Attempt by John Stamstad, Part 1 I lay down on a rock in the sun to warm up for a bit and I dozed off. A nice middle aged woman sat down next to me and looked at all my gear. She said, ‘Looks like you have some decisions to [...]
Sierra Backcountry Spring Powder
The Endless Winter Janine, Dan and a large group of friends are headed into the Sierra for 5 days of work; alpine climbing and ski touring. The Sierra got wind of this and decided it would be best to do a little tidying up of the backdrops with nearly a meter of fresh snow. Not [...]
Return to Sierra Backcountry Powder
We really thought we would get skunked today, not for snow – but for howling winds and driving snow – low vis, cold, the return of winter. Our days of skiing corn are a thing of the past. Janine was totally irritated. The woman wants warm, sunny days. But, our friend Stuart was a motivating [...]
