I spent the majority of the ascent in a cloud and wrapped up in my thoughts. Just as I got to the col, the sun popped, god smiled down upon me and if there were animals on the mountain they would’ve started singing like something out of Snow White.
Author Archives: mallorie estenson
Mallorie is an alpine guide, writer and climber based in Seattle, WA.
Infinite Bliss: Not the infinite choss I expected (4 Star)
It’s not very often that you get to clip bolts in an alpine setting for 23 consecutive pitches with very few B.S. walking pitches to link up the route. I guess you could say that I consider myself a connoisseur of alpine bolts (or a lazy alpinist.)
Mal’s Mountain Yelp Reviews
Short, sweet, sarcastic little anecdotes about my alpine endeavors.
Late Stage Quarantine
At one point, I discovered that I could crawl out of a window and onto the top of my house. Standing there in a slight breeze, I felt a simulated sense of what it’s like to summit a mountain.
A Frozen Moment
I tried to place a screw in thick ice covered by a layer of slush. The screw wouldn’t go in. I tried a second screw. And this is how I simultaneously clogged and eliminated two screws from my rack. When I realized that I wasn’t going to get a screw where I wanted one, I willed myself to climb higher to find a better placement.
Return to Red Rock Canyon
After my first season of learning how to climb outside, I visited Red Rock Canyon. A couple of friends and I piled into my Dodge Durango and we made the epic voyage south. Here’s a short list of the things that I did wrong on that first trip: zero trip planning, zero climbing with myContinue reading “Return to Red Rock Canyon”
Yosemite
For years, I told myself that I wasn’t going to visit Yosemite until I was a solid 5.11 climber. That was dumb.
I AM A CROC CLIMBER
I didn’t choose the Croc life, the Croc life chose me. #thecrocisticking
AMGA Rock Guide Course
The Rock Guide Course, or RGC, is the entry level course to pursuing any level of certification through the AMGA.
The Picket Range
“Because of the rugged terrain, the Picket Range has remained the wildest and most unexplored region in the North Cascades. It is not an area for the wilderness novice; its isolated bushy valleys and jagged ridges are a test for the most seasoned mountaineers. The length of climbs, combined with steep mixed terrain and variable conditions demands all-around competence and fitness.”
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