2025 was a year of change. I left my role at Canny to take a few months off. Visited New York and San Francisco for work, and did some really cool trips. It was also my lowest of days spent outdoors in all the years I’ve been tracking.
The year was slow to start because of my inability to ski due to my 2023 injury. It hurt my fitness and generally set the stage for a slower year.
Highlights
Two 11kers: Mount Victoria & Mount Willingdon
Willingdon was more of a backpacking trip than a mountaineering trip, but it was still great to get out with a good friend. Can’t say I loved Quartzite Col, but it was an exceptional destination and cool to bag a peak while I was out there. Victoria was not something I expected to achieve this year and it was an outstanding day out, testing my confidence and mountaineering abilities in a way that I haven’t done previously.
Grand Canyon
A one-in-a-lifetime kind of trip. I would have loved to do the rim-to-rim (or rim-to-rim-to-rim, if my fitness were better), but it was closed that early in the year. It was really fun to test my fitness despite my inability to ski during the winter.
Neil Cogan Hut
Going up to the hut and bagging peaks with the Southern Alberta ACC was a great experience, I’m going to try to lean into that opportunity again. I build some great connections and another opportunity for some very unique peaks with a fun crew.
Old Baldy, Mount McDougall, Volcano
I love big linkups and I was psyched to fit one in before the end of the year, despite the brutal descent off of Volcano.
My new website
Using Obsidian to manage my posts is great. I have tons of ideas of tweaks I want to make, but mostly happy with it for now!
Lowlights
My fitness waned this year, and is going to take some concentrated effort to get back to where I’d like it to be. It was a little disappointing missing out on Crown Peak, but it’s a good reason to get back into a beautiful destination someday in the future.
Every time I visit a great destination on a vacation I wish I could spend several years exploring it and Arizona was no different. There were so many great hikes and climbs I wish I could have fit in, but it’s a reason to go back again someday.
2026 goals
Into the new year, the big thing I want to focus on again is fitness. After a few more days testing out my skis and getting my boots adjusted, I’m finally ready to get out for some touring.
A great ski trip
The Wapta Traverse comes to mind, but ticking off an interesting objective would also scratch the itch. Maybe Miner’s Gully or Cirque Peak.
A rad local climb
I’ve been eyeballing Achilles Spire and Mount Bell for the past few years, but they haven’t worked out. Maybe this will be the summer. The ridges on Mount Lorette and Mount Lady Macdonald have interesting climbs too. Plenty of other big interesting options exist too though, like The Fold on Mount Kidd or the Little Sister.
Hikes
Hikes are inevitable and I generally intend to pursue the lists that I have setup on this site, but one that continues to stand out for me is Roche Miette in Jaspet. It’d be a bit of a stretch, but I’d love to make it happen.
A linkup
I’m flexible here, but a few ideas are:
- Bryant ridge Seven Peaks + Mount Bryant
- Castle Mountain, Stuart Knob, Television Peak
- Mount Richardson, Pika Peak, Ptarmigan Peak
Travel
I’d love to setup a backpacking trip in the Yukon later in the summer. Fingers crossed that that I can get the dream team coordinated to make it happen. Otherwise, travel plans are a bit light this year, so I can’t say I have any big ambitions in this area.