Portering on Rainier for @madisonmtng last summer with Ed, Terray, Peter, Sarah, Lewis, and Jared.
Pretty neat crowd on this one.. Ed was the first American to climb every 8,000m peak, and the fifth ever to do so without oxygen. This was his 216th lap on Rainier. Terray was coming right off of a six-week stint guiding on K2. He and Peter met on an Everest / Lhotse double-header a few years back. Sarah is the youngest person to perform a spacewalk, and her husband Lewis helped engineer the rocket that got her up there. Jared is in charge of NASA.
Three days in the mountains with these folks lent itself to some really cool conversations. We talked about space, career changes, and romance. And in the delirium of the descent, we gossiped (of course). It’s affirming to me that the most accomplished members of the climbing community tend to be as kind and approachable as they are admirable.
Bonanza last July with Kelly and KP.
This one was a ride! We hiked in after an unsuccessful jab at Copper (and Martin, kind of) the day before. We left camp at 4am and climbed the waterfall slabs, a glacier with a big ol’ moat, and sustained class 4; rapelled 14 times (into the night and the waterfalls..) and crawled back into our tents around 2am. We slept a couple hours, hiked 11 miles back to Holden Village, shared our cached beers with a kind man from the valley, caught the bus to the boat, ferried across Lake Chelan, and drove through the Cascades back to Seattle, phew.
We were the first team to summit that year, apart from a wild fellow we met on the ferry who solo’d the thing a few days before. He left a cigarette for us at the top.
Applications for the @washingtonalpineclub Basic Climbing Class are open until November 30th!
The BCC program teaches the fundamentals of alpinism, mountaineering, and rock climbing. We do this over a four-month period each spring, and because we’re an entirely volunteer-led organization, we can do this at a fraction of the cost of weekend-long commercial itineraries. Woohoo!
If you or anybody you know is vertically inclined, please consider sharing or applying. The class will pop up with a quick google search.
Here are some snaps from my year taking the class. Mt. Rainier / Tahoma, Mt. Baker / Kulshan, Snoqualmie Pass, Vantage..
Human Footprint won Best Science + Nature long form at Jackson Wild earlier this month 🥳
I was really lucky to be introduced to the wildlife filmmaking community through a festival filled with so many inspiring filmmakers, scientists, and environmentalists. I don’t think any of the folks on the HF crew take it for granted that we were recognized alongside groups like Nat Geo, Netflix, and Anonymous.
I also had the pleasure of working on the festival’s volunteer team to help make the thing run (and to dodge hotel prices in Jackson). The volunteers are as driven and talented as those showing projects at the festival. I’m really grateful to have met you all.
Here are some stills (aired and unaired, colored by me on a red eye flight) from my part in shooting this last season. A really big shout out to @ricksmith_media , who shot all of Season 1 and so many of the awesome sequences in Season 2. He set the bar for a stunning visual language and work ethic, and he has been a supportive friend to everyone on the crew, even (especially) when things get crazy.
And, of course, thanks to @natedappen and @neil.losin for driving the show, for directing while cam opping, and for pulling us all out of bed at 3am for the right light. Seems it was well worth it.
A murky Shuksan earlier this summer with Jeff, Iz, Rachel, Kevin, and Kevin.
Dark jaggedy rock in the fog, glaciers hidden in clouds, a misty summit block.. so moody! Mm! Warm cabin (thanks, Erin’s dad) and good coffee on either side, too.
Kevin F. – a drop of water on the lens blurred your face in the group shot – I’m sorry! It looks a little ominous.. be careful out there..
On the Wonderland earlier this month with Rachel, Evelyn, Adithya, Morgan, and Kenzie.
We walked a 93-mile circle around Rainier / Tahoma over the nine days. The landscape was really neat (of course) but as always the company is what made it special. I had my birders and entomologists around to tell me what I was looking at, a human encyclopedia to answer our many questions, and another photographer to ogle at the light and the views with.
Thanks y’all for having me along last-minute. It was a joy to get to know each of you a little bit better :)
Rainier / Tahoma via Emmons Glacier last season with Peter, Jeff, Iz, Allie, Evelyn, and Holly.
I decided to move to the Pacific Northwest after catching a distant view of Rainier. Nowadays, I’ll book flights based on whether I can get a window seat that faces the mountain (and you should, too!). I spent the first half of this month walking the perimeter of the mountain, and then up to high camp a few days later — the sense of awe really only grows with each new perspective.
Thanks to Peter for leading the team (his 28th summit!). And what a special thing to climb it with Jeff and Iz — things felt like they were coming full circle.
Crusty old roll of film lurking in the back of the fridge since the early New York days..
Gunn Peak last August with Rachel, Zeke, Allie, Kevin and Jennifer. The Infinity Tarn revealed to the party our deepest wishes and desires, but for a terrible price.
And then Hawkins Mountain with Zeke, Jeff, and Iz.
Cragging at Frenchman Coulee this spring with the WAC crowd.
I’ve been working on an aid system to shoot from up on a rope, and man it’s been such a fun time. It’s similar to the sort of puzzles I enjoy in my regular work — tinkering with gear and techniques to achieve something that’s simple and efficient, and doesn’t look like garbage — but with the added joys and challenges of climbing.
Thanks Fede for lending me your hardware, I will get it back to you soon maybe 🫶🏻
Ep. 1 of Human Footprint airs on PBS tonight at 10/9c!
If you’re curious about our impact on the planet – and how it has, in turn, impacted us as a species – please give it a watch. Right now is a particularly good time to support science-based public broadcasting, too. It’s free to view, it’s important to protect, and I think you’ll learn some really neat things along the way.
Lots of love for the team at Day’s Edge – Page, Kori, David, Frankie, Christian, Elliott, Angel, Sami. I’m very grateful to call each of you my friend. Rick, you’ve developed an awesome visual language and technical approach to the show, and it’s been a blast to run with it. Shane – you have an incredible mind, but it’s the friendship that I value most. Thank you for the campfire conversations, even though they messed me up.. Nate and Neil, thank you for bringing me into the fold and trusting me with your vision. You guys work hard, you care deeply, and you make some very silly jokes.
Directed @neil.losin , @natedappen
Written @nlosin
EP @delosta
Prod @nlosin , @natedappen , @pagebuono , @koriprice24
Camera @ricksmith_media , me
Add’l camera @matthewbusch , @stevegiralt , @sassafraz_ ,
@the_newt_estimate , @hutchinsonmedia , @christianhealy_ , @jasonjaacks , Skip Hobbie
Field mix @sassafraz_ , @hutchinsonmedia ,
@ricksmith_media
Edit @theaustinjayshow , @hutchinsonmedia , @camelscabana , @angelmorris.edit
Edit lead @edoran1234
Sound and color @dc.color , @otthouseaudio
Score @adrianyounge
Scanning the San Juan Islands for Southern Resident killer whales alongside the team at Wild Orca Conservation Research. There was another (unpictured) marine biologist on board that I’m very excited for everyone to meet..
Season 2 of Human Footprint is out this summer!
