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On their recent Ring of Fire Expedition, ski mountaineers Emily Harrington and Michelle Parker combined the hard work of climbing with the most efficient form of descent (that isn’t flying) and skied down Cotopaxi! Check out these beautiful photos by Michelle from the trip.

Emily and Michelle attempted to ski Cotopaxi a few years back but were turned around in marginal conditions – you can read all about it here. This year it looks like conditions were much better, congratulations on the summit ladies!

To the hut! Hosteria Tambopaxi. Climbing tomorrow.    // …

Cotopaxi’s summit with the steaming caldera below.

We caught up with Emily Harrington for a quick chat in Quito right before she headed into the mountains for a Ring of Fire Ski Expedition. Both she and Adrian are in Ecuador this season to complete two different objectives. Adrain will be guiding a Cotopaxi Rapid Ascent team while Emily will be skiing and climbing Cotopaxi with Michelle Parker and crew. We’re wishing the team good climbing conditions this season. They have encountered some rough storms during previous attempts!

Q: First off, can you tell us about your objective in…

Ski season is nearly upon us so it’s time to start thinking about dialing in your backcountry skills again. We caught up with AIARE instructor Ben Weaver and asked him a couple of questions about this season’s avalanche training program at Alpenglow Expeditions.

Can you start by introducing yourself? What’s your background? What drew you to teaching AIARE courses?

I am ski guide and avalanche course instructor at Alpenglow Expeditions.  I am in my third season at Alpenglow and loving it.  I was a professional ski patroller at Mt. Hood Meadows in Oregon for 5 years. …

Lunch spot across River in Phakding

We’re back to the Himalaya this week with two separate teams accomplishing different objectives in the Khumbu Valley. Our guides are joined by a team of trekkers heading to Everest Base Camp and another team setting their sights on Ama Dablam.

Touch down in Lukla with fabulous weather!

Team moving around a Moni Stone

Everest Base Camp Trek
This isn’t just any EBC trek. The team connects with our Ama climbing team in Kathmandu and tags along with the working climbing team until the climbers split off…

Photo: Philip Luedtke

Opening week of Via Ferrata was a total whirlwind and energy is running high at our home base in Squaw Valley. We had a big turnout of locals and visitors alike, with everyone from young kids to grandparents out scrambling on the rocks. We caught up with guide Braden Mayfield in between guiding sessions and asked him a couple of questions about his experience so far.

First off, can you give us a brief rundown of what a via ferrata is?  

A via ferrata is a mountain climbing route that has been modified with steel…

We had a chance to go climbing with guide Ray Hughes in Red Rocks this week. Ray is preparing for his final AMGA rock guide exam and trying not to get burnt to a crisp in the desert heat. 

If you haven’t had a chance to see Red Rocks for yourself, let us tell you, the climbing is SWEET! The red sandstone cliffs offer plenty of moderate multipitch routes and some tough sport climbing as well.

 Now, onto the interview. 

Q: Ray, can you give us a rundown of what you’re up to? Can…

An interview with Dave Nettle: Where to ski in Tahoe

We caught up with legendary ski/rock guide Dave Nettle in between a climbing trip in the Bugaboos and hosting a gondola evacuation training at the Oakland Zoo.

Q: Hey Dave, what’s one of your favorite places in Lake Tahoe to ski guide?

Dave: For me the Silver Peak – Pole Creek area is definitely a personal favorite.

Q: What’s the terrain like?

Dave: The terrain has many exposures, slope angles and forested or open bowl choices to pick from… I can…

Some creative fun with “CHO OYU” photos

After enjoying a traditional Tibetan lunch and some hot tea, the team headed out for an acclimatization hike up to 5,350m/17,552’. Guide @estebantopomena reports that everyone is feeling good and fired up to keep climbing. Tomorrow the team will organize gear and then head out for another acclimatization hike in the afternoon. The team has been traveling for the past 3 days. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s happened so far:

Traveling to Chengdu,…

Cho Oyu, the 6th tallest mountain in the world at 26,906′ /8201m

Things are heating up at Alpenglow Expeditions as we make our final preparations for our Cho Oyu Rapid Ascent Expedition, which begins next week. Just hours before guide Topo Mena boarded his flight for Tibet, we had a chance to catch up with him at our office in Squaw Valley, California. We got the full scoop on the upcoming expedition, check it out below.

First, a quick bio on Topo: …

YESTERDAY WAS A BIG DAY FOR OUR BOLIVIA EXPEDITION- THE TEAM SUMMITED ILLIMANI AT 7:30AM.

We love starting off a post with “CUMBRE!!!” The team has achieved the third successful summit of their trip!

Two days ago the team moved from base camp at elevation 4,230m up to the “Condor’s Nest” (high camp) at 5,550m. Yesterday morning, long before sunrise, the team departed high camp for their big push to the summit. They traveled across broad snow slopes, navigated crevasse fields, and traversed across the final, classic, knife-edged summit ridge to stand at 6,438m- the highest mountain in the…