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Notice: as of December 2013, this news archive will no longer be updated. To search archive, use main page instead.

As of December 2013, this news archive will no longer be updated. Instead, the main (ie- the 'home') page will provide access to all image galleries and presentations, either via an expandable time-sorted list, or via the search function.

I'll leave this page as-is for archival purposes, but again, please be aware that no new entries will be added to it.

November 16, 2013
Yard and Big Slide Mountains
Jenn wanted a new Adirondack experience. So, she chose a 4000-footer she had not yet climbed. Yet, already a 46R she is. How is this apparent paradox possible, you ask? [Read...]

Sep 27 - Oct 7, 2013
Permits and Politics
The 2013 installment of our U.S. desert southwest adventuring. This time with the added spice of having to avoid park closures! Nevertheless, an excellent mix of scenic adventures - some encountered deep within the earth, and some on the edges of airy precipices. [More...]

September 1, 2013
Up Close and Personal on Gatineau Park's Wolf Trail
Through the macro lens: A quick up close and personal look at Gatineau Park's Wolf Trail. [Read...]

August 17, 2013
The Shepherd's Tooth
A summer bushwhack up and over the Shepherd's Tooth - the rarely-visited open bump on the southern slopes of the Adirondack's Iroquois Peak. [Read...]

July 25, 2013
Parc de la Haute Gaspésie - Tour du Mont Albert and Mt Olivine
A solo outing to Quebec's Parc de la Gaspesie, where I hiked the "Tour du Mont Albert" - a loop route which crosses over the mysterious orange barrens of Mont Albert's large summit plateau. [Read...]

July 22, 2013
The highpoint of the Maritimes - Mount Carleton
A perfect-weather climb of the highest peak in the Canadian province of New Brunswick - Mount Carleton. [Read...]

July 18, 2013
Two new Lake Garda-area Via Ferrata Routes
Two new entries to my Via Ferrata Page, for the Via Ferrata Fausto Susatti and the Via Ferrata delle Taccole

June 14 - July 1, 2013
European Hopscotch
Miriam and Asmir invite us on a hopscotching adventure across Europe. From the snowy mountains of Switzerland to the minarets of Istanbul to an Italian boot factory, we packed quite a bit of diversity into seventeen days. [More...]

May 10-12, 2013
Achray to Squirrel Rapids Canoe - Barron Canyon - Algonquin Provincial Park
My first real multi-day canoe trip, across several lakes and down through the scenic Barron Canyon in eastern Algonquin Park, Ontario [More...]

May 5, 2013
Climb of the Great Gully Route, King Ravine (+ Mt Adams)
A climb of Mount Adams on a warm and beautiful spring day, via the winter Great Gulley Mountaineering route in King Ravine. A very nice combination of snow and warm weather [More...]

March 31, 2013
Mt Moosilauke via the Beaver Brook Trail
The best possible winter conditions you could imagine greet us on a climb of Mount Moosilauke, on the final day of our 3-peak Easter Weekend outing in the White and Adirondack Mountains of the northeast. [More...]

March 30, 2013
Surprising Snow Mountain
Our first visit to Snow Mountain - the little Adirondack peak with a very big view... [More...]

March 30, 2013
A Snowy, Springy Catamount
Another cold and bright spring day in the Adirondacks sees us climbing Catamount Mountain - the first mountain of a 3-peak Easter Weekend outing in the Adirondacks and White Mountains. [More...]

March 29, 2013
Ice Climbing at Heffalump
A fine and easy spring ice climbing day with Roland and Sara at Heffalump, a local Gatineau Park crag with decent icefall by the end of winter. [More...]

March 17, 2013
A Saint Patty's Hurricane - Hurricane Mtn via North Approach
A cold Saint Patrick's day climb of Hurricane Mountain via the rarely-used northern access trail. [More...]

March 3, 2013
Video clips from an aMAZEing Trip to Color Country
A revamp of the small and poorly encoded video clips from our 2007 trip to southern Utah. Video size and quality are now much better. The clips are scattered about the trip report in the appropriate places, but can be seen listed all together on the report's video clip index page.

February 25, 2013
Mt Jackson via the Webster Cliff Trail
What was supposed to be a light warmup hike in the White Mountains turns into the main event, as we experience a wintertime ascent through fresh snow to Mount Jackson, via the Webster Cliff Trail. [More...]

February 21, 2013
Video clips from Elemental Iceland
A release of several video clips from our great 2012 trip to Iceland. The clips are scattered about the trip report in the appropriate places, but can be seen listed all together on the report's video clip index page. Below is a three-and-a-half minute montage to get you started (and don't forget to turn on audio!):

(Don't forget that you can click on the full-screen icon on the lower right of the video to view it in a large format).

Proceed to the Elemental Iceland Trip Report.

February 9, 2013
Pilot for a Day
A birthday gift from Jenn sees me taking the control column during a short flight over the Ottawa Valley.... [More...]

January 26, 2013
Mount Marshall
A cold (but beautiful) winter day climbing Mount Marshall via the very nice Herbert Brook ascent route. [More...]

January 5, 2013
King Mountain Snowshoe
A beautiful sunny winter day marks our first hike of 2013: A return to a local quickie-but-goodie - King Mountain. We did it on snowshoes of course, and we did it from below (rather than from the summer trail on top). [More...]

October 11, 2012
Noonmark Mountain Team Hike
A late-fall team-hike up of one of the Adirondack's premiere short-n-easy peaks: the most-excellent Noonmark Mountain. [More...]

September 22 - October 2, 2012
Questione di Famiglia
A mostly family-oriented voyage to my Mom's home town of Avellino, Italy. Lots of pictures of aunts and babies in here... but for those of you so interested, we did get a chance to see, visit and hike a few beautiful nearby spots. [More...]

September 8, 2012
The Griffith Uplands Trail
I join the Ottawa time-out hiking group for an easy hike to a brand-new south-central Ontario trail: The Griffith Uplands Loop, 50km west of Renfrew. Very modest elevation gain, really not much more than hills, but a very quiet, gentle, and scenic route. [More...]

September 1, 2012
Whiteface-Esther Traverse
I join up with one of Julie's hikes - this time, a north-south traverse of Esther and Whiteface Mountains. And, if you like dog pictures, there's a lot of those in this report. [More...]

August 12, 2012
Hoffman Mountain
Join us on a fabulous quest, where Schroon Lake hikers Larry and Andrew toil to reach the culturally significant and rarely climbed summit of Hoffman Mountain, in the Southern Adirondacks. [More...]

July 5 - July 14, 2012
Elemental Iceland
A trip to the raw, hardbitten land of fire and ice, vikings and sagas. A trip to the land of tens of trees, hundreds of hot springs, thousands of waterfalls, and millions of sea-birds. A trip to the nation of Iceland! [More...]

July 1, 2012
Canada Day
Canada Day 2012, spent with friends Asmir and Miriam. A bit of paddling in one of Gatineau Park's pristine lakes, the ever-traditional Canadian backyard barbeque, and the flash and fireworks of the celebrations on Parliament hill. s. [More...]

June 16, 2012
Wright Peak
A super-straightfoward quick morning hike up Wright Peak - one of the Adirondacks premiere summits. [More...]

May 19-20, 2012
Pinnacle Ridge and Blake Peak (aka 'Where in the Heck is Ewart Tempest?')
A plan to climb beautiful Mt Haystack in the Adirondack Mountains turns into a search for our friend Ewart, and very large amount of walking! [More...]

March 17-18, 2012
An Adirondack Cabin Weekend
We are invited down for a pleasant weekend-in-a-cabin-in-the-Adirondacks. A bit of hiking, a bit of climbing, a bit of shopping, and a bit of bobsledding. [More...]

February 17 - March 3, 2012
A Hawaiian Kaleidoscope
A hop-scotching visit to the four main Hawaiian islands. Plenty of tropical landscapes, as you might imagine, but also plenty of interesting personalities, foods, flora, and fauna. And rainbows. Lots of rainbows. And yes, we did manage to find freezing temperatures and snow. [More...]

February 4, 2012
Winter Climb of Mt Marcy
A straightforward, scenic and speedy "ski-n-shoe" ascent of Mount Marcy. [More...]

January 22, 2012
Whiteface-Esther Loop
A mostly-fine day doing a rarely-done loop hike of Whiteface and Esther. Part of our sporadic ongoing "Helping Harold" series.... helping him achieve his winter 46R goals, that is. [More...]

November 22, 2011
Visiting the Flying Eye Hospital
Jody and I take time out over lunch to visit a unique and helpful tool in the fight against blindness - the Orbis International DC-10 Flying Eye Hospital [More...]

November 6, 2011
Roland and the Wolf Trail
Superfriend Roland joins us for a most pleasant and sunny November walk in the hills of Gatineau Park. [More...]

October 9, 2011
Number 115 : North Brother (and Fort) Mtns
Seventeen years after starting out, I finally complete my Northeast 111 on the top of North Brother Mountain in Maine. Also, we visit nearby Fort Mountain and it's very interesting 1944 airplane crash site. [More...]

September 22 - October 2, 2011
Southwest "Burnup" Trip
A rare second trip to the desert southwest in the same year - courtesy of use-it-or-lose-it vacation rules. Highlights include a second attempt on the longest slot canyon in the world -- Buckskin Gulch, some mountain biking, and bit of the High Sierra. [More...]

July 16, 2011
Number 114 : Mount Abraham
A beautiful summer day is the perfect way to summit my second-last NE 111er peak: Mount Abraham in Maine: [More...]

June 17-July 2, 2011
Overland to the Rock
My first ever trip to the Island of Newfoundland. We did it by a (so far) still fairly unique way of getting there - overland, via the Trans-Labrador highway... [More...]

July 21, 2011
[Mostly] Escalante 2011 Videos
After a very successful 'Utah 2011 video premiere' at a great BBQ at Pu's, the videos associated with the April 28-to-May 8 Utah 2011 trip are now available online. You can find them sprinkled about the narrative in the appropriate places, or you can find them on a dedicated video index page here...

June 4, 2011
Noonmark-Round Loop
Noonmark once again gets trotted out as an intro destination for a new Adirondack hiker: Denis! (and seeing as we're up there, might as well tack on the nice little gem of Round Mountain... no?) [More...]

May 22, 2011
Wright Peak and Wright's Nubble
A quick outing to a well-climbed peak, but with a few new twists for us that make it interesting... [More...]

April 28-May 8, 2011
[Mostly] Escalante 2011
An intensive return to the Escalante region of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (with a bit of other stuff on either side). Jenn's dad joins us, we re-visit the wonders of Coyote Gulch, and visit a few new special places... [More...]

March 9, 2011
Nut-less on Franconia Ridge
Chris and I take a mid-week vacation day to sample the winter delights of Franconia Ridge in New Hampshire. And what's with the nut reference? Well, read [More...]

February 20, 2011
Jay Peak in the Winter
Another hike, at long last. A beautiful day on Jay Peak and it's great ridge... [More...]

November 12 to 15, 2010
Aurele Lavigne's (My Dad's) 90th Birthday
Our entire family executes a covert mission to descend upon Bathurst and surprise my Dad for his 90th birthday! [More...]

November 11, 2010
Remembrance Day Ceremonies, Ottawa
Unusually beautiful late fall weather in Canada's Capital was the order of the day for this year's Remembrance Day Ceremonies [More...]

October 23, 2010
Dixes Minus One: Brian and Harold Climb their 46th!
After sixteen long years, my good friend Brian Connell finally tops his 46th Adirondack 4000-footer on the summit of Hough Peak. Friend Harold Piel also finishes today on nearby Macomb Mountain... [More...]

October 9, 2010
Another Great 3000-footer: Hopkins Mtn
We decided to expand our Adirondack horizons a bit more by climbing a superb little 3100-footer near Keene Valley: Hopkins Mountain... [More...]

September 20 and 21, 2010
A Traverse of the Rangeley-Stratton section of the Appalachian Trail
The continuing quest for the NE111 led to this somewhat strenuous traverse of a full 'section' of the famous Appalachian Trail - from Rangeley to Stratton in Maine [More...]

September 18, 2010
Luke's Cabana Destruction
Despite much wrangling, the City of Ottawa requires Luke to tear down his backyard shed, a sturdy little structure he affectionately calls the 'Cabana'. A sequence of images and a time-lapse video record the event: [More...]

September 11, 2010
A Bootspective on Rocky Peak Ridge
Jenn and I join Pu and his hiking group for another go at the most-excellent Rocky Peak Ridge traverse. In the interest of promoting new ways of looking at things, I introduce the bootspective -- a new way of documenting a hike... [More...]

September 9, 2010
Eid Dinner with Asmir's Mom
Asmir and his mom Vasvija once again graciously invite several friends to share in a feast of Vasvija's fantastic Bosnian cooking.... [More...]

Aug 22, 2010
Whitewater Rafting on the Red River
Jenn invites me on an easy day trip with some of her work colleagues on a guided whitewater rafting trip on the Riviere Rouge in Western Quebec [More...]

Aug 1, 2010
Mt Redington: Chipping away at the 111
After completing the NH48 on Monroe just the day before, we decide to make good use of our time in eastern NH / western Maine to climb a relatively nondescript member of the NE 111: Mount Redington [More...]

July 31, 2010
Mt Monroe, and completion of my NH48
A significant milestone today - the completion of my New Hampshire 4000-footers, also known as the NH48, on the beautiful summit of Mount Monroe in the Presidential Range.... [More...]

July 23 - 26, 2010
BHS Class of '85 25th Reunion
A short image gallery documenting the return home to Bathurst and attendance of my high school graduating class' 25-year reunion.... [More...]

June 16 - July 4, 2010
Europe 2010
Asmir and Miriam's June wedding triggers a sooner-than-expected return to Europe. Follow along with the festivities and with the activity-packed vacationing that followed [More...]

June 8, 2010
Cascade Mountain Team Hike
The folks at work get together for an excellent intro climb up Cascade Mountain... [More...]

May 24, 2010
Mt Isolation via Montalban Ridge
A pretty strenuous day, comprising 13-and-a-half hours and nearly 60 kilometres of combined cycling and hiking in the Whites of New Hampshire. All to summit my 47th NH 4000-footer while pursuing some rather made-up notions of 'interesting' and 'style'.... [More...]

April 2-10, 2010
Grand Canyon 2010
A moderate and extremely varied 5-day backpack in the Grand Canyon. An introduction for four Grand Canyon newbies. Wonderful Weather. Great Friends. A bit of Death Valley on the side. What more could one ask for?... [More...]
(updated: now includes video clips!)

March 27, 2010
McKenzie Mountains Traverse (& the W46r Dinner)
A climb on a beautiful cold spring morning up a near 4000-footer I'd never done before, and a great dinner with lots of great people I've definitely met before... [More...]

March 6, 2010
The Perfect Winter Mt Colden Loop
After many ascents of Mount Colden, I finally do it in the winter WITH clear skies. And the views do not disappoint. And, doing it with a bunch of great friends makes it even better... [More...]

February 6, 2010
King Mountain Snowshoe II
Mr. Hatko thinks another 'intro' snowshoe is in order before moving to higher ground.... [More...]

January 10, 2010
Mount Madison Loop in Winter
A somewhat strenuous, quite wintry, and very un-busy loop hike of the Northeasternmost of the Presidential Range.... [More...]

January 9, 2010
King Mountain Snowshoe
After a bit of a Christmas hiatus, it's time for a close-to-home intro to snowshoeing for a couple of guys from work..... [More...]

November 22, 2009
The Wildcats & Wildcat Ridge
A super-balmy and snow-free late fall day in the Whites makes for a straightforward, pleasant traverse of Wildcat Ridge.... [More...]

October 18, 2009
The Best Cycle Ride in Ottawa: The Gatineau Park Road Bike Loop
Time for something a bit more local: An account of what is likely the best road cycle loop in the Ottawa region: the Gatineau Park 'Loop' - a roughly 60km ride from the city into nearby beautiful Gatineau Park.... [More...]

October 10 - 11, 2009
A South-North Pemi Traverse
I felt it was time to hit all of the 4000-footer peaks in the central Pemigewasset Wilderness. What better way to do it than at the height of the fall color season? Hmm... hopefully the weather will co-operate.... [More...]

August 29 - September 14, 2009
Europe 2009
Vacationing and touring Southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Northern Italy, we pack in 2+ weeks of much variety, including good food, family & friends, culture, history, and [of course] a few hikes and climbs here and there...... Read [More...]

August 16, 2009
Another Serving of 'Brussel Sprouts': Owls Head Redux
Having learned that using a bike to approach Owls Head does not jive with the 111er club's rules, Jenn and I re-do Owls Head, and manage to make our second serving of brussel sprouts ja bit more palatable.... [More...]

July 24 - August 2, 2009
West Coast 2009
A roughly week-long trip to the west coast, where we experienced a bit of city touring, a bit of high-school reunioning, a few nice mountains, and a lot of hot, dry, sunny weather... Read [More...]

July 5, 2009
The 'Brussel Sprouts' of the Whites - Owls Head
Jenn and I finally tackle what many consider to be the least appetizing peak in the list of New Hampshire 4000-footers: Owls Head. Turns out, it wasn't really so bad. Maybe I'm learning to like my mountain vegetables.... [More...]

July 1, 2009
Canada Day
Happy Canada Day! Here's a short mix of pictures from our day spent enjoying Canada Day in downtown Ottawa, Canada.... [More...]

June 27, 2009
A "Liquidy" Lower Great Range Loop
We accompany Julie Moran and the Hiking Mates Challenge crew for a challenging loop hike of the Lower Great Range. Dampness, Soakedness, Wettedness, Drenchedness are all words that adequately describe our day. On the flipside, there were some awesomely pretty waterfalls and cascades... [More...]

June 20, 2009
Doors Open Kingston
Visiting Jenn in the Kingston area just so happened to coincide with Doors Open Kingston 2009 - and so we (Bob, Asmir, Jenn and I) went.... [More...]

May 18. 2009
Nun-da-ga-o Ridge Loop
An intro hike for Dan and Rene (and a refresher for Asmir). Variety, Solitude, Scenery, and just enough effort. Not too much, not too little - just right! [More...]

April 3-13, 2009
Fine in '09: Packin' it In!
2009's iteration of our classic Desert Southwest trip was a finely-tuned packed-in whirlwind. Read [More...]

 

March 14. 2009
Cliff Mountain via the Flowed Lands
Helping out Brian achieve his 37th 46er peak on Cliff turned out to be much nicer than we thought. I don't think one could have asked for a nicer, more pleasant ascent of this pseudo-4000-footer. [More...]

February 15. 2009
The Shepherd's Tooth via Cold Brook Pass
A rarely-done climb up to an attractive little crag on the south side of Iroquois Peak!... [More...]

February 7, 2009
An Atmospheric Eisenhower-Pierce Circuit
A loop hike of Mts Eisenhower and Pierce in the Southern Presidential Range is wonderful on scenic merits alone -- but even more so when the weather decides to enhance the show.... [More...]

January 1, 2009
A Very Kinsman New Year's!
New Year's Day was our best shot for a decent hike over the Christmas break, so we went for it -- on the summits of North and South Kinsman Mountains.... [More...]

November 30. 2008
Loop Hike of Flume and Liberty
It's a race against the weather to summit two very pretty peaks on Franconia Ridge in the White Mountains... [More...]

November 2. 2008
Mt Carrigain via Signal Ridge
A straightforward hike on a cold but beautiful late fall day in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Mt Carrigain is also an example of a mountain where part of the approach is more scenic than the actual summit (although the summit view is still pretty nice)... [More...]

October 10-14, 2008
An Awesome Autumn Appalachian Auto Adventure
Luke and I take the S2Ks on a wonderful journey of fall colors, beautiful weather, scenic hiking, and, most importantly, ultra-twisty roads!! Read [More...]

October 13. 2008
The Dragon's Tooth
A short and easy hike to a very neat spike of rock in Virginia's Ridge and Valley country... [More...]

September 20. 2008
The Rocky Traverse with lots of friends!
An excellent west-east traverse of Rocky Ridge with Pu's hiking group and with a surprise encounter with Bill and Judy -- with Bill completing his ADK 46 this very day!... [More...]

August 31. 2008
Traverse of Porter and Cascade
Miriam's second intro-to-the-Adirondacks hiking experience. A bit more challenging than Ampersand... but what a worthy hike!!... [More...]

August 13-22, 2008
Vancouver Island
Hot on the heels of our east-coast visit, we jet over to the west coast for an additional helping of friends, family, and mountains....[More...]

August 9, 2008
Montreal Trio: The Biodome, Insectarium, and Botanical Gardens
A day-visit with Jenn's mother and niece to three very interesting Montreal attractions... [More...]

August 4. 2008
The Tripyramids
A very waterlogged loop hike of the North, Middle and South Trypyramid in the White Mountains, climbing the North Slide and descending the South Slide... [More...]

July 27. 2008
Ampersand with Asmir & Miriam
A scenic intro hike for Miriam's first Adirondack experience... [More...]

July 10-20, 2008
One Lap of the Maritimes
On this trip to the provinces of my youth - the Maritimes, a big mish-mash of all sorts of things: a bit of 4000-footering, lotsa ferry rides, some highpointing, some scenic hiking, some scenic driving, and lotsa visiting of friends and family....[More...]

July 16, 2008
The Highpoint of Prince Edward Island
An in-depth report of one of the outings of our trip to the Maritimes: a hike (walk) to the highpoint of Prince Edward Island... [More...]

July 13, 2008
The Highpoint of Nova Scotia - White Hill
An in-depth report of one of the outings of our trip to the Maritimes: a climb to the highest point in Nova Scotia -- White Hill... [More...]

July 12, 2008
Cape Split Hike
An in-depth report of one of the outings of our trip to the Maritimes: a hike that was very popular for me in my University years -- the hike to Cape split, Nova Scotia... [More...]

July 10. 2008
The Hancocks
An in-depth report of one of the outings of our trip to the Maritimes: a climb of North and South Hancock in New Hampshire... [More...]

May 25. 2008
Lyon of the North
What's the northernmost "big" peak in the Adirondacks? You might think Whiteface or Esther, but you'd be wrong. Come view our trip report of Lyon Mountain in the Northern Adirondacks - a peak I've long neglected... [More...]

March 6-18, 2008
Eight in '08 : Gulches are Great!
A big group calls for some big Utah hits -- including my first ever visit to Buckskin Gulch! Come and read the accounting of our 2008 visit to southern Utah.... [More...]

March 29, 2008
2008 Winter 46er Gathering
An accounting of the 2008 gathering and dinner of the Adirondack Winter 46... [More...]

February 23. 2008
Success! Achieving the Winter 46 on the Best Peak in the Adirondacks
Our concerted effort to finish the winters in 2008 has paid off. And just what peak is that I'm talking about? Well, you'll just have to read on to find out ... [More...]

February 16. 2008
Gray, Skylight and Marcy: The Final Countdown
Remember that jingle? It was playing through my head as I drew up the banner for this trip report, which documents the climbs of our fourth-last, third-last, and second-last winter 46er peaks... [More...]

February 3. 2008
Intro to Winter on Cascade
We introduce the world of winter hiking in the Adirondacks to Phuong and Scott. On a different tack, Jenn catches up to me... [More...]

January 26. 2008
The Trap Dike in Winter
Something I've been thinking about doing for some time now - a winter ascent of the Trap Dike route on Mount Colden... [More...]

January 19. 2008
The Allen Mountain Winter 'Skishoe'
Finally, we tackle Allen in the winter, attempting to turn the approach into something fun by combining skiing and snowshoeing - with mixed results!... [More...]

January 4-5, 2008
Marshall & Cliff : A Bushwhacker's Tale
Trailbreaking and bushwhacking, bushwhacking and trailbreaking. Plus some annoying mink-like creatures and some nice FDNY guys... [More...]

December 27, 2007
Tabletop and a bit of Cloud-watching
We quickly duck in to tag Tabletop ahead of approaching bad weather. It's quite neat to watch brooding-looking clouds seep into the High Peaks... [More...]

December 26, 2007
Giant and Rocky
Superb! A springlike day in the heart of Winter. A scenic ridge ascent of Giant and a climb of Rocky are very worthwhile objectives in conditions like these.. [More...]

December 22, 2007
Whiteface and Esther via the Toll Road
Kickoff hike (and ski) to the 2007-2008 Adirondack 46er winter hiking season.... [More...]

December 14 to 16, 2007
Visiting Stan and Pat in TO, plus a whole lotta white stuff
Stan and Pat invite us to spend the weekend with them at their flat in downtown TO. Good food, a great Christmas party, a wintry exploration of a bit of downtown TO, and a big wallop of a snowstorm. [More...]

December 12, 2007
Bye bye, "newHomePage"
Some of the more web-astute amongst you may have noticed that all of the pages on this site have been located under a somewhat superfluous "newHomePage" path. Well, no more. Starting today, there's been a restructuring of the guts of the page and "newHomePage" has disappeared.

There should be no action required by you - redirects should occur silently. You may want to update any bookmarks you might have to remove the "newHomePage" string, but this is not strictly required.

Please let me know if you see any strange behaviour on the web site, and use the contact page to tell me about it.

Thanks!

November 10 and 11, 2007
A Frosty Traverse of the Bigelow Range
A very interesting, fun, but co-old November traverse of the Bigelow Range in northwestern Maine... [More...]

November 5, 2007
Meeting a Legend: an Evening with Fred Beckey
Our local section of the Alpine Club of Canada hosts an evening with a most distinguished figure - mountaineering legend Fred Beckey... [More...]

November 3, 2007
Ottawa in November: A quick tour
Jenn's classmate from University provides the impetus for a quick tour of Ottawa, for which I am quite grateful. Late afternoon on a late fall day can be very, very scenic!.... [More...]

October 21, 2007
The Two Gs: Garfield & Galehead
A beautiful fall loop hike in the Sunny-but-soaked Whites to bag two more for my NE 111.... [More...]

October 17, 2007
Go team, go! A team-building mountain hike up Noonmark Mountain
Another introduction, this time to a group of co-workers on a team-building outing in the Adirondacks.... [More...]

July 14-30, 2007 (posted October 14, 2007)
The Dolomites
A return to the unique and fantastic crags and spires of the Dolomites. And more Via Ferratas than you can shake a stick at! ... [More...]

October 6, 2007
Dad in the 'daks: A Loop Hike of Mount Jo
It was about time that I introduced my Dad to the rigours and rewards of Adirondack hiking.... [More...]

September 23, 2007
MacNaughton: The Forgotten One
After more than ten years of hiking in the High Peaks, I finally turn my long-overdue attention to MacNaughton Mountain... [More...]

September 7 & 8, 2007
Mt Hale and a Weekend with the Wards
Luke and Sophie invite us to visit with Luke's parents in New Hampshire, and of course we climb something along the way.... [More...]

September 2, 2007
Carter Mountains Loop
Finishing up what we wanted to do back in June - A loop in the Carter Range of the White Mountains in NH.... [More...]

August 26, 2007
The Changing of the Guard
A look at a colorful ceremony in my own home-town of Ottawa, Canada: The Changing of the Guard on Parliament Hill [More...]

July 1, 2007
Mt Colden Slides!
We try a challenging and fun way to tackle Mount Colden, by going up the Southeast Slide route and descending the Trap Dike Route... [More...]

June 16, 2007
Whiteface and Passaconaway
Unsettled summer weather conspires to limit us to two of our four New Hampshire peaks for this weekend.... [More...]

June 20, 2007
An aMAZEing trip to Color Country : Video Update
The complete set of video clips from our trip to southern Utah are now available in the web presentation, both in the narrative and in a separate video-only page... [More...]

June 3, 2007
Killington Peak
My last 4000-footer peak in Vermont was only a short drive away from Bolton Landing, where we had just finished spending a wonderful time at Mark and Linda's place.... [More...]

June 2, 2007
A visit to Mark and Linda's Place
A weekend visit with our new Adirondack Winter hiking buddies in beautiful Bolton Landing, NY, on the shores of Lake George....[More...]

April 6-14, 2007 (posted May 22, 2007)
An aMAZEing trip to Color Country
To the remotest corner of Utah we went, to experience true desert wilderness and a true dash of adventure!... [More...]

May 26, 2007
Sailing with Roland
A short outing with Roland and Johanna to Kingston, Ontario... [More...]

May 19, 2007
Algonquin Park Sampler
Four Algonquin Provincial Park newbies embark on a dayhiker's sampling of three trails... [More...]

April 21, 2007
One of the Finest Hikes on one of the Finest Days
A superlative weekend in April dictated a superlative ridgewalk -- and of the best in the east is Franconia Ridge... [More...]

October 1999 (posted April 2, 2007)
Autumn in the Desert
An account of one of the very few times we visited the desert southwest in the autumn. This was a very diverse trip, including: a long canyoneering adventure; backpacking at high altitude in the rockies; and jeeping in canyonlands national park.... [More...]

March 25, 2007
Ice Climbing with Roland at Calabogie
A bit of end-of-season wet ice climbing with Roland near Calabogie, ON... [More...]

March 24, 2007
2007 Winter 46er Gathering
An accounting of the 2007 gathering and dinner of the Adirondack Winter 46... [More...]

March 18, 2007
Hiking with class
We witness the birth of not one, not two, but three new winter 46ers on Hough Peak... [More...]

March 13, 2007
A new way up: Basin & Saddleback via the Chicken Coop Brook route
Mark and Linda help us explore an excellent winter route up to Basin & Saddleback... [More...]

March 11, 2007
Two Slides in a day: A traverse of East Dix, South Dix, and Macomb
Scaling back from our ambitious winter ascent of all five dixes, we instead do what I've never done before in the Adirondacks - climb up one slide and down another... [More...]

February 24, 2007
Trailbreaking is tough: A traverse of Gothics and Armstrong
A recent large snowfall turns the Adirondacks into a super stairmaster workout. Also, Gothics on a blustery winter day can be quite spectacular.... [More...]

February 11, 2007
Redfield... yes. Cliff... no.
Lots of tiring trail-breaking and a well-earned peak. And we fail once again to find the regular Cliff herdpath in the winter.... [More...]

January 21, 2007
Long, tiring, and cold: the Santanonis in winter
A very, very long day in the Santanonis. But ultimately, success, some cold but beautiful weather, and a lesson on snowshoes.. [More...]

January 7, 2007
Warm and Social on Big Slide
Solar and Social warmth were the key words of our ascent of Big Slide Mountain in the Adirondacks. [More...]

 

December 31, 2006
Last and First: Sawteeth Mountain
This climb is the last of 2006, and also our first winter 46er climb of the 2006-07 winter adirondack climbing season..[More...]

December 29, 2006
A "Wright" of Passage: Jenn's Dad's First Adirondack Climb
Jenn introduces her dad to the Adirondacks in the form of a beautiful day on the summit of Wright Peak...[More...]

December 10th, 2006
Mount Lafayette
A failed attempt on Garfield, but a very blustery summit of Lafayette, in storm-force winds... [More ...]

July-August 1998 (posted December 7, 2006)
Left & Back Again - The Original
My first cross-country road trip adventure from way back in the summer of 1998. Lots of sunny driving on fantastic twisty roads; an endless stream of wonderful parks, mountains, trails, and scenery... [More...]

July 1998 (posted December 2, 2006)
My First Mountaineering Course
Full of interesting twists and turns (including a real wilderness first aid scenario), this image gallery documents my first mountaineering course... [More...]

November 25, 2006
The Great Slide of East Dix
One month later, much better conditions allow us to experience the excellent scramble up the Great Slide of East Dix...[More...]

July 1997 (posted November 20, 2006)
Recent History : Sampling California
Reaching back in time to post a set of images from a July 1997 exploratory tour of California... [Image Gallery ...]

November 18th, 2006
The Osceolas and Mount Tecumseh
After weeks of warm weather and heavy rains, finally a nice day in the mountains - and on a Saturday, too!! We simply can't pass up the opportunity to scale three more 4000-footers in New Hampshire.
[More ...]

November 11th, 2006
Ottawa Remembrance Day Ceremonies
Jenn's niece accompanies us in attending the 2006 Remembrance Day Ceremonies at the National War Memorial in downtown Ottawa.
[More ...]

November 4th and 5th, 2006
The two highest Catskills
A trip to climb my last two 4000-footer peaks in New York State...[More...]

October 21, 2006
The Great Slide of East Dix
A dusting of early-season snow puts the kaibosh on our attempt of the Great Slide on East Dix. But, it still turns out to be a great day...[More...]

October 9, 2006
First Lapping at Calabogie
After many years of waiting, our group finally gets to do a track lapping session at the new Calabogie Motorsports Park... [More...]

October 7th and 8th, 2006
The Pilot and Pliny Ranges
A wonderfull fall long weekend in New Hampshire... Ewart emerges from his hiking slumber... A long, strenuous hike along a ridge of remote, northern hills...
A quaint little mountain hut all to ourselves for the night... Two unclimbed northeast 4000-footers... Don't you want to read [More ...]?

Septermber 30, 2006
The Notch Mountain Slabs, Redux
While heading to do more practice climbing at the Notch Mountain Slabs, some friendly strangers stop us and introduce themselves... [Image Gallery ...]

September 27, 2006
The Birth of a Track
Luc and I attend the pre-opening ceremonies at a fantastic new world-class racetrack just an hour away from Ottawa - Calabogie Motorsports Park... [More...]

May 2000 (posted September 23, 2006)
Recent History : Desert Southwest Trip with Luke and Sophie
Reaching back in time to post a set of images from a May of 2000 outing to the Desert Southwest... [Image Gallery ...]

Septermber 17, 2006
The Notch Mountain Slabs
A quick little image gallery of a short bit of ropework practice at an easy climbing cliff in the Adirondacks... [Image Gallery ...]

Septermber 1-3, 2006
The Willey Range
A backup plan to avoid the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto sees us climbing three new New Hampshire 4000-footers with Luke and Sophie... [Image Gallery ...]

August 26-27, 2006
Sailing with Roland
After a two-year hiatus, we are finally back on Roland's sailboat for some fun on the Saint Lawrence River... [More...]

August 5-8, 2006
A Visit out East
A quick visit to my home province of NB and a quick intro to the mountains of Gaspe. Also of note: this summer is the first time I've been to the east and west coasts of Canada within the space of two weeks! [More...]

July 20-27, 2006
Island Visiting
After almost two weeks of nonstop mountain stuff, it was time to visit with Jenn's friends and family on Vacouver Island (and Gabriola Island)... [More...]

July 20, 2006
The Stawamus Chief
We'd been driving by this mighty granite monolith for a week and a half now. So, Jenn and I decided to hike up to its three highpoints... [More...]

July 17-19, 2006
Putting skills to the test : Mount Garibaldi
Hot on the heels of our mountaineering course, Jenn, Sara and I decide to tackle a mountaineering route by ourselves - on Mount Garibaldi... [More...]

July 9-15, 2006
Summer School with Canada West
The great outdoors is our classroom as we take a week to learn and re-learn some basic mountaineering skills in the coast range of British Columbia... [More...]

July 3, 2006
Google Maps, version 2
I've upgraded all of the integrated google map capabilities on my site to the most recent "version 2" of the google maps API.

What does this mean for you? You get more satellite imagery at the "higher" resulotion level, a new overview map on some displays, and an improved ability for me to include custom maps.

I've also reworked sections of my map software to give better user feedback. Please send me a feedback note if you see any unusual behaviour or bugs in any of the map stuff. Thanks!

June 24, 2006
Return to Jay Peak
A much-less-snowy visit to the Jay Range with Luke and Sophie...[More...]

June 17, 2006
A quickee to break-in my bootees
A short hike to visit to a new little peak and to break in some new boots....[More...]

June 3, 2006
Ishpatina Ridge
Roland and I (and Jenn) finally get around to making an overland-only attempt on Ishpatina Ridge, the highpoint of the province of Ontario. [Image Gallery ...]

May 15-24, 2006
San Francisco, JavaOne, and Soggy Hikes
A work-related conference brings us to San Francisco, where we explore a bit of the city by the bay and knock off a few Northern California hikes....[More...]

May 7, 2006
Cannon and North Kinsman Mountains
Finally... we get back to New Hampshire and summit some new peaks (well, for us, anyway). [Image Gallery ...]

April 30, 2006
View the Image Gallery...Noonmark and Round
Summer arrives very early to the High Peaks, as we undertake a short, easy, but way scenic loop hike over Noonmark and Round Mountains. [Image Gallery ...] [Trip Log ...]

April 9, 2006
View the Image Gallery...Mount Marshall
A beautiful spring day, and an enjoyable - and also un-enjoyable - loop hike up Mount Marshall. [Image Gallery ...] [Trip Log ...]

March 10 - 19, 2006
Exploring the Escalante
A texture, color, shape and solitude-filled week in a remote slice of southern Utah... [More...]

March 5, 2006
View the Image Gallery...Colvin and Blake
A fine day for our last winter 46er hike of 2006.[Image Gallery ...] [Trip Log ...]

February 19, 2006
View the Image Gallery...The Wolfjaws
Sigh. Traverses. What is it about them? Something always goes wrong! [Image Gallery ...] [Trip Log ...]

February 12, 2006
View the Image Gallery...Street & Nye
A moderate winter hike up two peaks I need for my winter list and which Jenn needs for her... well, her list!. [Image Gallery ...] [Trip Log ...]

February 1, 2006
View the Image Gallery...All-New Via Ferrata Page
I've finally revamped and updated my Via Ferrata page. Much improved from the old page, with more routes, an integrated locator map, and a much tidier look. [Click here ...]

January 29, 2006
View the Image Gallery...Race against the clock
One more time to the Corey's road trailhead to get a winter ascent of Seymour, before the weather turned (and in case the road closes!)... [Image Gallery ...] [Trip Log ...]

January 22, 2006
View the Image Gallery...Celebrities on the Sewards
Beautiful weather, good trails, famous hikers, and a short approach make for a memorable and enjoyable winter ascent of the Sewards... [Image Gallery ...] [Trip Log ...]

January 15, 2006
View the Image Gallery...A Key Objective
A seemingly-simple traverse of Porter-Cascade ends up being a bit more interesting than we had planned... [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

January 12, 2006
A New Web Server
At 10:00pm (EST), alavigne.net was hot-swapped over to a brand-new web server. My old machine, a trusty 677Mhz Celeron II with 12 Gb of drive space, was getting a little long in the tooth.

The new machine is a lot faster and has a lot more space, and is running much a much newer OS and web page-serving software. Hopefully you'll see an improvement in speed and reliability.

If you encounter anything unusual or if something is broken, please let me know by leaving me a message here.

January 4, 2006
View the Image Gallery...New Year's Resolve
Armed with more time, better trail conditions and a healed muscle, we decide to give Nippletop and Dial another go... [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

December 31, 2005
Update of recent major trips with satellite maps
A while back I promised that I would add my new integrated track-and-photo-locations satellite maps into 'selected earlier reports'. Well, I've completed that activity. The following trip reports have been updated with this new map information:

Vancouver Island (2005)

Italy (2005)

Kilimanjaro (2004, 2005)

The Grand Canyon (2005)

Tragedy in the Torngats (2004)

 

 

 

 

 

December 27, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Attempt on Dial
Oh, no! Another one of those frustrating winter defeats! [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

December 18, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Re-vectored Intro Hike
We were going to do an intro winter hike... except no "intro-ees" came along! so we did Giant instead. [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

December 10, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Graham's Catamount Hike
Graham has me along as his personal Adirondack hike consultant. And, the choice for a short, scenic hike today is... Catamount! [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

November 27, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Near-failure on Tabletop
A badly placed tree almost causes a repeat of the 2003 failure on Tabletop..... [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

November 12, 2005
Mount Mansfield Traverse
A very interesting,exciting, and beautiful traverse of Vermont's best peak.... [Image Gallery ...]

October 30, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Snowed out in October?
My first explorations of the Jay Range are thwarted by some unexpectedly heavy October snows.... [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

October 22, 2005
The Monroe Skyline
Ewart, Jenn, Caro and I bag two more of Vermont's 4000-footers: Mounts Ellen and Abraham. And the traverse hike along the Monroe skyline to do them was kinda different and interesting.... [Image Gallery ...]

October 15, 2005
The Wolf Trail
A quick local hike in the scenic Gatineau Hills north of Ottawa. [Image Gallery ...]

October 10, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Big Slide via the Brothers
A vain attempt at a "nice weather" fall hike in the Adirondacks. [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

October 1, 2005
Google Maps Integration
I've discovered that with a little programming (er, ok - a lot of programming), I can have very nifty interactive maps containing GPS tracks and where photos were taken, and with your choice of highway, satellite, and, in some cases, topographic maps.

Look for all image galleries and trip reports posted after September 2005 to have this integrated map capability. I'll also be adding this capability to selected earlier reports in 2004 and 2005.

September 2 - 11, 2005
Vancouver Island
A foiled attempt to climb Mount Baker has us instead exploring the remote wilderness of Vancouver Island. And there is much to discover... [More...]

September and October, 2005
Automated Website Notification Difficulties
I have been getting indications from subscribers to my e-mail web update notification system that updates are in some cases no longer being received. I suspect that tighter spam filter controls may be to blame. I will investigate and try and find some sort of solution. If it is possible in your particular situation, please specifically allow e-mails from the domain 'alavigne.net'

August 21, 2005
Pu Guides Charleston Lake
We join Pu as he leads a bunch of friends around a pleasant loop in Charleston Lake Provincial Park. [Image Gallery ...]

August 14, 2005
Camel's Hump
A wet day on the back of the beast! [Image Gallery ...]

August 6, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Whiteface and Esther
Jenn starts her 46er quest in earnest by tackling the two most northerly of the 46. [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

July 1-July 25, 2005
Italy 2005
Click here to read the account of a jam-packed trip to the big boot. Included are almost 1,000 pictures of hiking, mountains, cities, via ferrata climbing, family pictures, modern art, classical ruins, twisty roads, and [More...]!

June 26, 2005
Shannonville Lapping Session
Graham invites us to a pre-track BBQ at his cottage before we hit the Fabi portion at Shannonville Motorsports Park... [More...]

June 26, 2005
Golfing with Dad
During my dad's recent visit to Ottawa, Jenn, George, my Dad and myself play a quick 9-holes of golf at a local Ottawa course. [ More...]

December 31, 2005
Update of recent major trips with satellite maps
A while back I promised that I would add my new integrated track-and-photo-locations satellite maps into 'selected earlier reports'. Well, I've completed that activity. The following trip reports have been updated with this new map information:

Vancouver Island (2005)

Italy (2005)

Kilimanjaro (2004, 2005)

The Grand Canyon (2005)

Tragedy in the Torngats (2004)


December 27, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Attempt on Dial
Oh, no! Another one of those frustrating winter defeats! [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

December 18, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Re-vectored Intro Hike
We were going to do an intro winter hike... except no "intro-ees" came along! so we did Giant instead. [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

December 10, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Graham's Catamount Hike
Graham has me along as his personal Adirondack hike consultant. And, the choice for a short, scenic hike today is... Catamount! [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

November 27, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Near-failure on Tabletop
A badly placed tree almost causes a repeat of the 2003 failure on Tabletop..... [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

November 12, 2005
Mount Mansfield Traverse
A very interesting,exciting, and beautiful traverse of Vermont's best peak.... [Image Gallery ...]

October 30, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Snowed out in October?
My first explorations of the Jay Range are thwarted by some unexpectedly heavy October snows.... [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

October 22, 2005
The Monroe Skyline
Ewart, Jenn, Caro and I bag two more of Vermont's 4000-footers: Mounts Ellen and Abraham. And the traverse hike along the Monroe skyline to do them was kinda different and interesting.... [Image Gallery ...]

October 15, 2005
The Wolf Trail
A quick local hike in the scenic Gatineau Hills north of Ottawa. [Image Gallery ...]

October 10, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Big Slide via the Brothers
A vain attempt at a "nice weather" fall hike in the Adirondacks. [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

October 1, 2005
Google Maps Integration
I've discovered that with a little programming (er, ok - a lot of programming), I can have very nifty interactive maps containing GPS tracks and where photos were taken, and with your choice of highway, satellite, and, in some cases, topographic maps.

Look for all image galleries and trip reports posted after September 2005 to have this integrated map capability. I'll also be adding this capability to selected earlier reports in 2004 and 2005.

September 2 - 11, 2005
Vancouver Island
A foiled attempt to climb Mount Baker has us instead exploring the remote wilderness of Vancouver Island. And there is much to discover... [More...]!

September and October, 2005
Automated Website Notification Difficulties
I have been getting indications from subscribers to my e-mail web update notification system that updates are in some cases no longer being received. I suspect that tighter spam filter controls may be to blame. I will investigate and try and find some sort of solution. If it is possible in your particular situation, please specifically allow e-mails from the domain 'alavigne.net'

August 21, 2005
Pu Guides Charleston Lake
We join Pu as he leads a bunch of friends around a pleasant loop in Charleston Lake Provincial Park. [Image Gallery ...]

August 14, 2005
Camel's Hump
A wet day on the back of the beast! [Image Gallery ...]

August 6, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Whiteface and Esther
Jenn starts her 46er quest in earnest by tackling the two most northerly of the 46. [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

July 1-July 25, 2005
Italy 2005
Click here to read the account of a jam-packed trip to the big boot. Included are almost 1,000 pictures of hiking, mountains, cities, via ferrata climbing, family pictures, modern art, classical ruins, twisty roads, and [More...]!

June 26, 2005
Shannonville Lapping Session
Graham invites us to a pre-track BBQ at his cottage before we hit the Fabi portion at Shannonville Motorsports Park... [More...]

June 26, 2005
Golfing with Dad
During my dad's recent visit to Ottawa, Jenn, George, my Dad and myself play a quick 9-holes of golf at a local Ottawa course. [ More...]

June 25, 2005
Re-visiting the Canadian War Museum
A few new pictures (from a visit we did with my dad) have been added to the tail end of my May 8 image gallery of the new Canadian war museum. [ More...]

June 19, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Pu guides Ampersand
We join Pu as he leads a bunch of friends up to the summit of Ampersand Mountain [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

June 10-11, 2005
Maine Mountain Visit
An intro to Katahdin for the uninitiated; making some new friends; and a climb of a new 4000-footer. [ More...]

June 4-5, 2005
The Connell Cottage Visit
We combine a ropework training session with a very excellent visit to Brian's lakeside cottage. [ More...]

June 4, 2005
Doors Open Ottawa
A quick tour of some of the neat buildings open to the public during the 2005 Ottawa "Doors Open" event! [ More...]

May 21-23, 2005
A Visit Home
A very very rainy May long weekend in Northern New Brunswick. Oh well, at least there was good italian cooking! [ More...]

May 8, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Canadian War Museum Grand Opening
A quick photo-montage of the new Canadian War Museum, which opened its doors on May 8, 2005. Quite a impressive place! [Image Gallery ...]

May 7, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Meghan's First Hike
Jenn's sister-in-law Meghan joins us on her first ever Adirondack Mountain hike [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

April 16, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Mount Adams
Luke and Sophie invite us on a hike to get them back into the ADK hiking scene - and we end up re-doing mt Adams!! [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

April 1 to April 10, 2005
Alone in the Grand Canyon
Or at least that's what it seemed like, hiking for days without seeing hardly a soul. Join us on a fantastic journey through the depths of the Grand Canyon! [ More...] (as of June 8 - updated with inline video clips).

(To whet your appetite, here's a cool Video Clip teaser!! -
warning - requires a high-speed connection)

March 25, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Mount Adams
A trip to an interesting 3000-footer that I'd never done before, and a final prep hike before the big Grand Canyon backpack trip ... [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

March 19, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Phelps Mountain
Getting in a last 46er winter climb for the 2004/2005 season, and, prototyping the Jalbuttski! ... [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

March 13, 2005
Gatineau Park XC Ski Traverse
My longest cross-country ski outing ever - A combination snowshoe/xc ski in Gatineau park from Lusk falls to the fire tower and all the way back along the entire length of Ridge road.... [Image Gallery ...]

March 5, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Indian Head Ski and Snowshoe
An unexpected gear failure does not put a damper on a very fun cross-country ski and snowshoe hike in the Adirondacks... [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

February 27, 2005
Mount Mansfield Winter Climb
A short but fantastic winter climb of Mount Mansfield, Vermont, via the sunset ridge trail.... [Image Gallery ...]

February 13, 2005
Ice Climb with Roland in Gatineau Park
Roland takes us on a simple little ice climb in Gatineau Park... [Image Gallery ...]

February 6, 2005
View the Image Gallery...Algonquin and Iroquois Peaks
A beautiful winter loop hike on a suprisingly warm day in February... [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

December 30, 2004 to January 19, 2005
Mount Kilimanjaro Trip Report
Please forgive the huge delay in getting this report up! There was so much to tell! Click here to go to the main Kilimanjaro trip page. Make yourself a coffee and get settled, though - This one is big!

December 30, 2004
The Mount Kilimanjaro Trip Commences
Well, we are off on the trip to the roof of Africa. Click here to go to the main Kilimanjaro trip page, including an up-to-the-minute real-time trip log. [Jan 20 Update: The full trip report will be posted shortly]

December 12, 2004
View the Image Gallery...Wright Peak
An excellent training trip for Crampons! Ice coats everything on Wright Peak's summit. Yi and Jenn get to try out crampons for the first time... [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

December 3, 2004
View the Image Gallery...Mount Kilimanjaro Preparation
[latest update: Dec 24, 2004]

The big trip to Africa nears, and we now have most of the preparation done. Tickets, Visas, vaccinations, routes, hotels, and many other minutae have been taken care of. Here's a summary of the events and details leading up to this exciting trip!

November 27, 2004
View the Image Gallery...Ampersand Mountain
Due to the weather, we do another short training hike for Kili (or else we'd have done a longer one!) [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

November 20, 2004
View the Image Gallery...Pitchoff Ridge and Mountain
For our second kili training hike, the weather forces us into a short half-day trip. It turns out to be an amazingly scenic, super-camera-fest. [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

November 13, 2004
Mount Moriah
The first of our "kili training hikes". The Kilimanjaro climb team starts preparing in earnest with a beautiful late fall hike in the White Mountains of New Hampshire....[Image Gallery ...]

October 23, 2004
A Fall Mountain Drive with the S2000s
Too late for the prime fall colours season... but a fine clear late autumn day nevertheless...perfect for a last run of the season on some of the Adirondack's best twisties....[Image Gallery ...]

Oct 4, 2004
View the Image Gallery...46er Achieved!!!
Finally, the day has come... my last Adirondack 46er peak! [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

Sep 3 to 25, 2004
West Coast Road Trip
After seven years, Luke and I finally hit the road together again in another cross-continent, twisty-road finding adventure.
[ More...]

August 3-15,2004
Go to the Tales from the Torngats Page... Tales from the Torngats
Amazing tales of beauty and tragedy from a wild frontier of Canada: The Torngat Mountains of Northern Labrador and Northern Quebec. [ More...]

Aug 1, 2004
Twisty Roads in the Adirondacks with the S2000s
A hazy, humid, adirondack hike and twisty road drive - a good intro to some of the folks from S2KI.com.....[Image Gallery ...]

July 11, 2004
View the Image Gallery...The Dixes
A Markus-catch-up hike. Fortunately, one the very nicest of ADK hikes, too..... [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

June 26, 2004
View the Image Gallery...The Crazy Eight
Our intrepid hiking group finally attacks the classic super-hard Adirondack outing: The traverse of the Great Range! Was it easier or harder than expected? Read on to find out.... [Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

June 20, 2004
View the Image Gallery...Catamount: An Intro hike
An easy trip up a very scenic small peak... perfect for hooking newcomers on the Adirondacks! [Trip Log ...] {Image Gallery ...]

June 5-6, 2004
Sailing with Roland
A sailing weekend with Roland on the Saint Lawrence River [More...]

May 30, 2004
View the Image Gallery...The Sewards, Take 2
A re-attempt of the Sewards after the cold and unsuccessful winter attempt back in january. .[Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

May 21-24, 2004
The 2004 Golden Triangle Cycle Tour
This year we return to do the excellent Golden Triangle Cycle Ride. The weather forecast looked horrendous. How did it turn out? find out [More...]

May 9, 2004
Shannonville Lapping Session
An evening of lapping the nelson track (including the "esses") at Shannonville Motorsports Park... [More...]

May 5, 2004
S2000 PLX Devices M-400/M-500 [M-300] Install
Want to know how to connect a good Wideband 02 Sensor kit and display to an S2K? Read on! [More...]

April 17 , 2004
Mount Moosilauke
A quirky name for a very nice peak. And finally, finally, finally, we get to the White Mountains after waiting through endless weekends of bad weather. [More...]

March 21, 2004
View the Image Gallery...Gothics
Squeaking in a final winter 46er ascent for the 2003/2004 season! .[Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

March 20, 2004
S2000 DRL Install
A fairly detailed how-to on how to install factory-like DRLs [More...]

March 13 , 2004
View the Image Gallery...Hurricane Mountain
An intro winter hike for a couple of new recruits to the hiking group.....[Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

Feb 29, 2004
View the Image Gallery...Cliff Mountain, Take 2
On a very warm leap year day, Markus, Caroline and I make an attempt on Cliff Mountain (my second attempt this year). .[Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

Feb 21, 2004
Trip Proposal : Mount Kilimanjaro
Our intrepid hiking group starts the process of making it to the roof of Africa.[More...]

Feb 8, 2004
View the Image Gallery...Esther Mountain
We climb the only Adirondack 46er peak named after a woman on a very nice sunny, cool and windy winter day.[Trip Log ...] [Image Gallery ...]

Jan 18, 2004
View the Image Gallery...Cliff Mountain
A superbly beautiful winter day sees Ewart and I make an attempt on a somewhat nondescript peak. [More...]

Jan 11, 2004
View the Image Gallery...Winter Rocky Peak Ridge Traverse
A clear but cold day enticed us into trying one of the Adirondack's best trails in the dead of winter! [More...]

Jan 8, 2004 [original date Spring 2001]
Seven Techies in the Desert
Back in 2001 seven 'comrades' from work explored Arizona, Utah, and California for a couple of weeks. I've dug up my old slides and scanned some of the best images into this Image Gallery:[More...]

Jan 1, 2004
Register for Notifications... Be Notified!
I have created a new service for those who want to be automatically informed of changes to my web site. Simply register your e-mail address with me and you will receive a notification e-mail when I add new content. [More...]

Dec 14, 2003
Go to my Adirondacks High Peaks pages The Adirondack High Peaks
Finally... A centralized repository for all of my Adirondack-related web material. Including, of course, detailed documentation of my quest to become an Adirondack 46er! Also serves as a resaonably good overall Adirondack Mountain Hiking page. [More...]

Dec 13, 2003
View the Image Gallery... Cascade Mountain
A short hike on a clear winter day offered the perfect opportunity for me to test out a recently-sprained ankle. [More...]

Nov 16, 2003
View the Image Gallery... Big Slide Mountain
Big Slide via the Brothers offers excellent views, making it a perfect intro hike for a newcomer to the Adirondacks. A warm, clear, and snowy mid-november day is an added bonus. [More...]

Nov 09, 2003
A day flight to Mirabel
Caroline invites us on a recreational flight from Ottawa to Mirabel. [More...]

Nov 08, 2003
A Total Lunar Eclipse
For once... an eclipse WITH clear skies at my location. A few pictures therefore had to be taken! [More...]

Nov 02, 2003
View the Image Gallery... Allen Mountain
Complicated trail. Rain. Messy trail. Clouds. Long. No views. But, Ewart celebrates a milestone, and we all get a character-building experience. [More...]

Oct 18, 2003
View the Image Gallery... Mount Redfield
Intended to be a relatively straightforward and run-of-the-mill trip to summit a trailless 46er peak, our trip to Mount Redfield turned out to be an amazingly diverse and scenic outing! (and a long one, too) [More...]

Oct 11, 2003
Katahdin
Finally.... an attempt on one of the most, if not THE most, interesting mountain in the east! [More...]

Sept 27, 2003
View the Image Gallery... Seymour Mountain
A bluster-y early fall day turned out be an excellent time for Markus and Andrew's first foray into the Seward/Seymour region of the High Peaks. [More...]

Sept 14, 2003
View the Image Gallery... The Trap Dike... Can't Stay Away!
Graham and his pals are going up the Trap Dike. They invite me along. Who am I to say no?.[More...]

August 31, 2003
View the Image Gallery... Mt Colvin and Blake Peak
The objective: ultra-boring Blake Peak. Fortunately, there are many scenic delights along the way.[More...]

August 25, 2003
View the Image Gallery... The Santanonis
A mission to bag three Adirondack 46ers in one day. Add in great weather and good company = an excellent day! [More...]

July 17 - August 2, 2003
View the Image Gallery... A Rocky Road Trip
A road trip out west to climb pointy, rocky peaks... ...and we certainly experienced a rocky ride (Especially Ewart)! [More...]

July 12, 2003
View the Image Gallery... The Rocky Ridge Traverse
One of the most interesting and varied hikes in the Adirondacks. And lots of elevation gain! [More...]

July 5, 2003
View the Image Gallery... The Trap Dike
My 3rd time up the classic mountaineering route of the Adirondacks. Not hard, but a very enjoyable scramble.[More...]

June 22, 2003
View the Image Gallery... Phelps Mountain
Markus needs to bag Phelps for his 46er list. We all tag along.[More...]

June 16, 2003
2003 Grand Prix of Canada
Montreal plays host to the racy jet-set world of Formula 1 auto racing. Luke and I get a brief glimpse (expensively, even with "bronze" tickets) into the rich (read: high-priced) world of F1 Racing. And as it turns out, the racing is pretty good! [More...]

June 7-8, 2003
2003 Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour
Once more I subject myself to 354 kilometres of weekend cycling... [More...]

May 25, 2003
Shannonville Lapping Session
An evening of lapping the long track at Shannonville Motorsports Park... [More...]

March 18-25, 2003
Click here to view the trip report... Dad in the Desert
Join my Dad, my brother George and myself on a journey of exploration to the magical lands of the Colorado Plateau [More...]

March 8, 2003
View the Image Gallery... Mount Marshall
Another Trailless peak in the winter, and this time with some companions who are first-timers in the Adirondacks. Again... Will we make it? Click 'more' to find out. [More...]

March 1 , 2003
View the Image Gallery...Tabletop Mountain, Take II
A re-attempt on the mountain we failed to summit in January. Will Markus and I make it? [More...]

February 14-15, 2003
View the Image Gallery...Whiteface Mountain Winter Backpack
Sleeping outdoors. -34C. Layers of clothes. Neoprene face masks. Icicled beards. Crystal- clear views. Don't you want to read [More...]?

January 26, 2003
View the Image Gallery...Mount Colden Winter Loop
A winter snowshoe hike on a blustery winter day. Through rugged Avalanche pass and up the steep, steep trail on the southwest side of Colden. Join 10 cheery adventurers on their journey. [More...]

January 12, 2003
View the Image Gallery...Tabletop Mountain
A winter snowshoe hike to a trailless 46er. Lots and lots and lots of fluffy white snow. Lots and lots and lots of dense Adirondack brush... [More...]

December 28, 2002
Via Ferrata Page Update
I've updated my Ferrata description page to include all of the protected climbing paths that I explored during the Europe 2002 trip. There are now over 10 ferrate documented. Have a look! [More...]

December 16, 2002
Formerly Tokagoka
From now on, I'm going to post the results of our Top Karting race results within the structure of my main site, instead of on tokagoka.webhop.net. See the race results for December 16... [More...]

December 9, 2002
Titan
A documented account of an October 14 game of Titan between myself, Gilbert and Dave. This presentation incorporates a new feature... a java applet that displays digital images of the actual gameplay.. [More...]

November 17, 2002
Mount Mckenzie
A late fall loop hike in the Adirondacks. Gloomy November weather and lots of ultra-fancy cottages... [More...]

November 2, 2002
Aviation Gallery Update
Updated with pictures taken during the "2002 Europe Odyssey"... [More...]

October 28, 2002
2002 Europe Odyssey
An incredibly diverse and eventful journey, taken by 7 intrepid adventures, through Germany, Italy, France and Switzerland during the last week of September and first week of October, 2002. Click the 'more' link to listen, watch and read all about it! [More...]

October 22, 2002
Mt King Team Hike
A quick image gallery of a recent fall foliage hike myself and my team went on in Gatineau Park [More...]

September 17, 2002
The Edgars at White Lake
While my Mom was up visiting this week, we visited my Sister's camp setup at nearby White Lake. [More...]

September 2, 2002
Nun-Da-Ga-O Ridge
A weird name, but a really nice ADK hike. Plus lots of flora and fauna pics! [More...]

August 28, 2002
Kennedy's Artwork
While on my trip out west, I visited my friend Kennedy, and his artwork. Click the 'more' link to see some of it! [More...]

August 27, 2002
Mountaineering and Hiking in the Washington Cascades
August 2002 sees Markus, Peter and I doing a thorough exploration of Northwestern Washington state. From beaches to glacier-draped summits, we visit it all. [More...]

July 28, 2002
Local Weather Data
I've added a section to this home page (right-hand column) that shows the latest Ottawa weather conditions, with data coming from my friend's homebrew weather station.

July 20, 2002
Shannonville Lapping Session
An evening of lapping at Shannonville Motorsports Park... [More...]

July 13, 2002
Equinox Noonmark Hike
A bunch of co-workers and I hike an introductory hike up the short and very scenic Noonmark Mountain in the Adirondacks. Click on [More...] to read and see all about it.

July 6, 2002
Two more ADK 46er Peaks
Markus, Phuong, Ewart and I tackle two of the trailless 46er peaks in the Adirondacks. [More...]

July 1, 2002
Big Slide Mountain Hike
Gilbert, Peter G and I hike a short but scenic loop in the Adirondacks. [More...]

June 29, 2002
HADA Lapping Session
Luc, Luke and myself spend a day at the Driver Development Track at Mosport International Raceway... [More...]

June 12 , 2002
The Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour, 2002
350+ kilometres in two days. A bunch of us ride ride over a lot of eastern Ontario, participating in one of the region's most attended cycle tours.. [More...]

May 25, 2002
The 2002 Golden Triangle
Lorraine and I recently rode the world-famous Elbow Valley Cycle Club's Golden Triangle Cycle Ride. Tthree days and 330+ kilometres of cycling through (and up and down) beautiful rocky mountain scenery in Alberta and BC. [More...]
June 4: Updated with images sent by John Roberts!

May 6, 2002
Pictures of my Home Town
Recently I went on a short trip to my home town of Bathurst, NB. I've put together an image gallery of all of the places, friends, and family that I visited. [More...]

April 26, 2002
Seafarers of Catan Game
On April 26, 2002, Dave R, Dave S, Andrew and Gilbert played two games of Seafarers of Catan. See the results! [More...]

April 21, 2002
Aviation stuff, finally
After having the aviation section empty for more than 3 months, I've finally thrown some pictures in there. [More...]

April 17, 2002
The Hike that Started it All
Back in 1994, an easy-going manager and a rare astronomical event started off most of what you see on this webpage. Read all about it here: [More...]

April 8, 2002
La Famiglia Perugini
A short picture-story about my Mom's family and home town in Italy. [More...]

March 29, 2002
Feedback Capability
By popular demand, I've added a way to leave feedback and/or contact me through this webpage. To do this, click on the Contact button in the title bar of the home page.

March 23, 2002
History of the World Game
On March 23, 2001, Dave R, Dave S, Andrew, Gilbert, Geoff and Luke played a game of History of the World. See the results! [More...]

March 25, 2002
Porter-Cascade Mountains Hike
A ragtag group of Wilderness First Aid Course Graduates (& Markus) get together for a late winter hike along Porter ridge in the Adirondacks. [More...]

March 15, 2002
The Vie Ferrate
A Via Ferrata is a climbing path with permanently affixed iron protection, and are mostly found in the Dolomites mountain ranges in Northeastern Italy. I've written up a report - have a look. [More...]

February 23, 2002
History of the World Game
On Feb 23, 2001, Paul, Luke, Rob, Gilbert, Dave and Andrew played a game of History of the World. See the results! [More...]

February 25, 2002
Configurable Gear List Page
I've finally finished a totally revised trip planner/gear list page. This new gear list page allows you to tailor the list to your needs, and generates a nice, printer friendly output. [More...]

February 20, 2002
Mount King
Pictures from a couple of February snowshoe outings in Gatineau Park [More...]

February 13, 2002
Hurricane Mountain Hike
Pictures from a hike up Hurricane mountain in the Adirondacks. [More...]

February 10, 2002
Titan Game
On Feb 10, 2001, Gilbert, Andrew, and Dave played a looong game of Titan. See the results! [More...]

February 6, 2002
Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour 2001
Documents the June 2001 cycle ride from Ottawa to Kingston and back. [More...]

February 6, 2002
Andrew & Luke's Boxster Rental
Non-annotated pics of the foray into the desert with the boxster. [More...]

February 4, 2002
Site Map Page Completed
Auto-generating site map is now up and working.

January 31, 2002
The 2001 Leonid Meteor Storm
The Leonid Meteors of 2001 were spectacular, with rates in excess of 1000 meteors per hour observed. Read the trip report of an outing to view them at the top of an Adirondack peak. [More...]

January 31 , 2002
Advanced Civilization Game
On Jan 27, 2001, Gord, Gilbert, Andrew, Jean, Luke, Jeff, and Geoff played big game of advanced civilization. See the results! [More...]

January 24, 2002
Rocky Mountain Snow & Ice Long Weekend
Updated this Image Gallery with map and climb info [More...]

January 22, 2002
Ampersand Mountain Hike, Nov. 2001
The Image gallery of our recent Ampersand Mountain hike in NY State (on Nov. 4, 2001) is now up. [More...]

Rocky Mountain Snow & Ice Long Weekend
Markus and I recently attended a 3-day Mountaineering course given by Yamnuska Mountaineering at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park, Alberta. [More...]

January 16, 2002
Web Page Redesign Update
The basic structure of the site has been roughed-in. There are many sections which are still empty, and some links are not active. However, the basic infrastructures are in place, and now content will appear more rapidly, especially in the Image Gallery sections.

December 22, 2001
Web Page Redesign
Welcome to my redesigned web page! My aim is for this page to be more concise, useful, and logical.

November 7, 2001
Italy 2001
Lorraine and I have just returned from visiting Italy and Southern Germany. I got to visit many of my relatives and my old manager Brian Connell. Read the full set of pictures and the trip report. [More...]

 

 

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