The afternoon started with a swim in the snow up a hill by Frisco, CO

The swim afforded me this shot peering into the Gore Range.

From a near by vantage, I snagged up this shot. Then, called it a day after a few hours of snow groveling.

Then, this evening or not really, almost this morning I got a few shots of the Flatirons.

I got a total of four shots in about 45 minutes.

The Full Moon to my back was a wonderful fill.

The new American Alpine Club

The American Alpine Club (AAC) has some sweet new ideas sprouting into a gold mine of new support for it’s members and non-members.  This new gauntlet runs from the “Choss Boss” photo contests  for every photographer out there to great rescue insurance.

The new member benefits for May 2011

• Improved Rescue Benefits: New $5,000 domestic INSURANCE added to current $5,000 worldwide rescue service
• New Insurance Options: Health, Accident, Life, Trip & Travel
• New AAC Clubhouse in Kathmandu ($15/night)
• New Lodging Discounts
• New Gym Discounts
• New Gear Discounts
• New Guide Service Discounts
• New AAC Cornerstone Grant ($25,000/year) for crag infrastructure
• New Online: Post your trip reports on americanalpineclub.org
• New Online: Connect locally through interactive section websites
• New Online: Digitally update your library book mailing address
• New Online: Entire library collection now searchable
• More Local Programs: Events, conservation, mentorship, advocacy
• More Local Support: Full-time Regional Coordinators hired across the U.S.

(Note at time of publish: Some of the above links from AAC may not work)

Another cool thing the AAC is doing to connect with the climbing public.  They are showing up to  climbing events like the Zanskar Odyessy film premier that took place at the Eldorado Springs Art Center.

The AAC at the Zanskar Odyssey Premier

One the other new things the AAC is doing.  They are cutting down on surplus by only printing the American Alpine Journal (AAJ) for it’s members in the future.  This is a good thing since most the books they print end up sitting on a shelf not purchased, therefore not helping the club funding and also wasting product and time that could have been spent in a more useful manner.  Besides, the AAJ is available online after the print issue has been out.

Lyle Guthmiller near Loch Lomond.

Lyle and I went to recon the East ridge of Bancroft on April 30, 2011. Instead we found something more interesting.

Yours tuly at Loch Lomond

We had a fun filled 5.5 hrs total of snow wallowing in an average of knee deep snow and some stretches crept up to our waists. Good fun.

Our snow pit analysis showed to icy weak layers, both visible in photo. The first layer was a thick sun crust which will be a bed surface for coming weeks.

We dug the snowpit near the face.

Approaching the face from here was all waist deep snow.

The sweet spot!

Mount Toll from the summit of Mount Audubon

Southeast ridge of Audubon which I climbed today.

Looking back down the SE ridge.

Self Portrait on the ridge crest

A view of Monument Peak above East Weaver Lake

A view through the Monument-Bally saddle towards Sawtooth Mountain

Yours truly: self portrait

An excellent 3/4 moon was the fill for this shot. 350sec f8.0 18mm Canon 40D

We went out to Smith Rocks again this week! My wife took the sharp end of the rope for another round and squashed the spider on the first pitch of Spiderman Buttress a 5.7 slab for her third lead climb ever. Naturally while out there to climb I also seized the opportunity to get some more photos.

Our neighbor in camp

Bracey/Helliker, Alaska, new routes from Matt Helliker on Vimeo.

For another Alaskan feat this summer go here.

This is my wife getting to that above view

Then later that week we went to Estes Park for some bouldering in the area known as Lumpy Ridge below the formations of rock called Twin Owls.

After our time on the rocks I set up this wonderful self portrait of us utilizing a fairly large shelf on the boulder we were previously climbing.

I will update more info after my climb during the next two days.

I got this shot the other evening when Ariel and I were taking a sunset hike up to Silcox Hut.

Below is a posting of the above image in a competion that I entered:

Photo Shoot Out 2 Brickfish

Going through my Photos I found these two shots I took this winter on Mount Hood about a quarter of the way up the Palmer Snowfield on the south side of Mount Hood.  I thought they merited a quick post.  I loved how the moon lit the snow around me that night.