Climbing U.S. State High Points

When : 2018-09-25 Route : Borah Peak Trail (standard) On the   summit : 12:56 Our 8th U.S. State High Point. We arrived at the trailhead the evening before and slept in our car. The next morning, we began our hike at 8:00 a.m., encountering cold temperatures of -5°C. The Borah Peak Trail was dry and clear, the route to the summit was unsustained class 3. Along the way, we encountered three unmarked use trails at the base of Chicken Out Ridge. We chose the left path, which took us up the north slope. This route was exposed and the low temperature made our fingers cold on the rock. The crux of the route, known as "Notch," was a class 3 section with no exposure and not much height. After that, it was mostly class 1 all the way to the top. At the summit, the temperature was a pleasant +1°C with no wind. We were the only party on the mountain for most of the day, but we did meet two other hikers on the way down. We decided to take the middle trail on the descent, which was less ex...

When: 2017.05.26 Route: standard On the summit: 15:00 In late May of 2017 my climbing partner Weiwei and I climbed Mount Hood, a potentially active stratovolcano located about 50 miles east-southeast of Portland, Oregon. At 3,429 meters, Mount Hood is not only the highest mountain in Oregon, but also one of the loftiest in the United States based on its prominence. We chose to tackle the south route up the mountain, which begins at Timberline Lodge and proceeds up the Palmer Glacier to Crater Rock, a large prominence at the head of the glacier. We spent the night in our Toyota Matrix at the Timberline Lodge parking lot, waking up to clear blue skies on the day of our climb. After a quick breakfast, we gathered our climbing gear and made our way to the ski lift, hoping to ride it to the top of the Palmer Glacier. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to ride the lift due to not being the skiers. Weiwei was determined to rent skis so we look like "skiers", and cache them at the to...

When : 2016.01.29 Route : Guadalupe Peak Trail (Standard) On the summit : 10:19 a.m. Guadalupe Peak is the highest peak in Texas, with an elevation of 8,751 feet (2,667 meters). It is located in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which is in the Chihuahuan Desert of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. We took the standard route to the summit, which is the Guadalupe Peak Trail. This is a well-maintained, 8.4-mile (13.5-kilometer) round-trip hike that begins at the Pine Springs Campground in the national park. The trail was well-marked and relatively easy to follow, with only a few steep sections that we tackled with ease. We brought our microspikes, which were helpful on the icy parts of the trail. The views from the top were beautiful and it was satisfying to reach the highest mountain in the state of Texas. At the summit, we found a stainless steel pyramid that marks the top. It was erected by American Airlines in 1958 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Butterfield O...

When : 2016.01.27 Route : H umphreys Peak Trail (Standard) On the   summit :  11:21 a.m.

When : 2015.09.23 -  2015.09.25 (2 nights) Route : Kings Peak Trail (Standard) On the   summit :  2015.09.24  13:11 

When : 2015.09.17 Route : Mt. Elbert Northeast Ridge (Standard) On the   summit : 11:42 a.m.      

  When : 2015.03.13 - 2015.07.16 (3 nights) Route : Mountaineer's Route On the   summit : 2015.03.15 9:49 Two of us climbed Mt. Whitney via Mountaineer's route on Mar-15 2015. Because we arrived from sea level (Vancouver, BC) to make sure the climb will be smooth without altitude sickness stayed first night at Lower Boyscout Lake(3,150 m) and second at Iceberg Lake (3,850 m). Climbing day conditions were perfect, freezing overnight and zero wind at the top. The usually crowded summit was empty so we enjoyed it all to ourselves. We returned same way. Perfect trip.

When : 2014.07.08 - 2014.07.10 (2 nights) Route : Emmons Glacier On the   summit : 2014.07.09 16:20 In the morning of July 9 2014, two of us moved camp from Camp Curtis to Camp Schurman. We wanted to acclimatize before summit bid next day, so we went up for a walk on Emmons Glacier, just to take a look. Of course we were geared and roped up. It was still too early when we reached half of the elevation gain, so we decided to push for the summit, which we reached at 16:22. We were back at the camp exactly at sunset. This photo was taken next day when we left back home. Mount Rainier, the highest peak in the state of Washington, was the first summit of our conquest of  U.S. State High Points  .