Photography |

Puglia, 2026

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 -0700

My partner and I like exploring smaller, lesser known areas of countries the best. We’ve both visited the major cities of Italy – Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Bologna. However, we enjoyed our trip to Peloponnesia in Greece and had heard from folks that Puglia would be similar in terms of locality and the warmth of the people.

Monopoli from the south. Sony a6700 · Sigma 18-50mm · f/5.6 · 1/1250s · ISO 125 · 39.1mm

Daily living at the beach. Sony a6700 · Sigma 18-50mm · f/5.6 · 1/1250s · ISO 125 · 36.4mm

Matera is one of the longest continuously inhabited locations in human history. Sony a6700 · Sigma 18-50mm · f/3.2 · 1/2000s · ISO 125 · 18mm

Meandering through the alleys of Matera. Sony a6700 · Sigma 16-300mm · f/8 · 1/320s · ISO 125 · 21.6mm

Poppy fields and farmhouses. Sony a6700 · Sigma 16-300mm · f/6.3 · 1/640s · ISO 125 · 222mm

Fields and fields of poppies, all througout Puglia. Sony a6700 · Sigma 16-300mm · f/6.3 · 1/1000s · ISO 125 · 101.9mm

Lounging in Lecce. Sony a6700 · Sigma 18-50mm · f/4.5 · 1/640s · ISO 125 · 33mm

Beaches in Nardo. Sony a6700 · Sigma 16-300mm · f/6.3 · 1/640s · ISO 125 · 35.3mm

Ruth Mountain, 2026

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0700

Ruth Mountain is off of Highway 542 on the way to the Mount Baker ski resort. I’d been wanting to ski it for a few years, as a way to get eyes on Mt. Shuksan’s north and north-east faces.

Ruth itself is a pretty easy ski, but if you wait too long, it has a long approach on foot. We’d gotten a report from our friends who had done it a week prior to us that there was still enough snow to skin most of the flats. Turns out the weather got a bit too warm during the following week and we ended up hoofing it almost 4 miles before we hit snow.

Enjoying views of the Nooksack traverse. Sony a6700 · Sigma 16-300mm · f/5.6 · 1/2000s · ISO 125 · 46.9mm

North-East face of Shuksan. Someone skied this line a few days prior to our trip to Ruth. Sony a6700 · Sigma 16-300mm · f/6.3 · 1/2000s · ISO 125 · 255.9mm

A group of climbers navigating the glacier. Sony a6700 · Sigma 16-300mm · f/6.7 · 1/2000s · ISO 125 · 300mm

My dream line – the North face of Shuksan. You need very cold, stable snow. Sony a6700 · Sigma 16-300mm · f/6.3 · 1/2000s · ISO 125 · 226.2mm

Portugal, 2025

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 12:00:00 -0700

My partner and I planned a trip from Lisbon, up through the interior of Portugal, to Porto. Portugal is chock full of UNESCO world heritage sites, excellent food, and some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met traveling.

Monastery of Alcobaca. Sony a6700 · Sigma 18-50mm · f/10 · 1/200s · ISO 125 · 38.9mm

Tinned fish in Lisbon. Sony a6700 · Sigma 18-50mm · f/4.5 · 1/50s · ISO 320 · 27.7mm

Painting in the streets of Lisbon. Sony a6700 · Sigma 18-50mm · f/3.5 · 1/2500s · ISO 125 · 35.6mm

Moorish tiles in Batalha. Sony a6700 · Sigma 18-50mm · f/2.8 · 1/40s · ISO 1600 · 25.9mm

Porto roofscapes. Sony a6700 · Sigma 18-50mm · f/2.8 · 1/1250s · ISO 125 · 50mm

Reflecting on our travels. Sony a6700 · Sigma 18-50mm · f/3.2 · 1/1250s · ISO 125 · 18mm

Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art. Sony a6700 · Sigma 18-50mm · f/2.8 · 1/3200s · ISO 125 · 18mm

Batalha Monastery. Sony a6700 · Sigma 18-50mm · f/5.6 · 1/1600s · ISO 125 · 45mm

Lisbon trolley. Sony a6700 · Sigma 18-50mm · f/4.5 · 1/640s · ISO 125 · 18mm

Views of the coast from Lisbon rooftops. Sony a6700 · Sigma 18-50mm · f/2.8 · 1/4000s · ISO 125 · 25.6mm

Coastal beaches and refreshing waters. Sony a6700 · Sigma 18-50mm · f/2.8 · 1/4000s · ISO 125 · 50mm

Peloponnesia, 2024

Sat, 07 Sep 2024 12:00:00 -0700

My partner and I had each done a good bit of traveling around the Greek islands, but had never explored Peloponnesia. We’d heard it’s “where Greek people go on vacation”. We spent two weeks traveling around the area, stopping at roadside tavernas, eating little fried fish and the best Greek salads of our lives, hopping from beach to beach.

Nearing the summit of Mt. Profitis Ilias. We came upon a heard of goats being sheppered across the summit by herding dogs. Sony RX100 · f/7.1 · 1/800s · ISO 125 · 19.98mm

A small beautiful inlet beach with a local taverna and fishing boats. Sony RX100 · f/7.1 · 1/800s · ISO 125 · 10.4mm

This might be my favorite photo of the trip. It’s blurry, but it was nearly 105 degrees, and I like to think the blur mirrors the heat waves. Sony RX100 · f/8 · 1/1250s · ISO 125 · 10.4mm

Nearing the top of Monemvasia. Sony RX100 · f/5.6 · 1/800s · ISO 125 · 10.4mm

Taking a dip outside of a Byzantine-era castle. Sony RX100 · f/1.8 · 1/40s · ISO 125 · 10.4mm

India, 2024

Thu, 22 Feb 2024 12:00:00 -0700

We spent two weeks in India, first endjoying a week in Bangalore for a friend’s wedding, and then traveling further north to visit Agra, Delhi, and Jaipur.

Shaded temples in Bangalore. Sony RX100 · f/5.6 · 1/320s · ISO 125 · 26.57mm

A template in Delhi. Sony RX100 · f/4.5 · 1/100s · ISO 125 · 10.4mm

Roadside snake charmer in Jaipur. Sony RX100 · f/4 · 1/100s · ISO 125 · 18.23mm

Taj Mahal in the distance. Sony RX100 · f/5.6 · 1/400s · ISO 125 · 37.1mm

Narrow alleys in the Delhi spice market. Sony RX100 · f/1.8 · 1/20s · ISO 800 · 10.4mm

Behind the scenes at the Delhi spice market. We had the best chai tea from two men who were supplying chai to vendors on their breaks. Sony RX100 · f/5.6 · 1/400s · ISO 125 · 15.1mm

Taj Mahal at sunrise. Sony RX100 · f/4.5 · 1/100s · ISO 200 · 30.14mm

Azurite Peak, 2021

Sat, 08 May 2021 12:00:00 -0700

A lot of times, when we’re planning routes, we rely on the trip reports of folks who’ve skied that terrain before. This time, my friend Ross and I wanted a route that we couldn’t find any background information on. A line where we’d have to piece together 3D mapping information and flyover imagery. Ross had had his eye on a couloir on Azurite Peak for a while. Neither of us knew if we it had been skied, or if it could be skied, but we decided to give it a shot.

Sneak peak at our camp for the evening. Samsung Galaxy S21 · f/1.8 · 1/39s · ISO 200 · 5.4mm

The inside of our fire shelter. Samsung Galaxy S21 · f/1.8 · 1/9s · ISO 1600 · 5.4mm

Sunrise over the southern Methow Pinnacles. Nikon D5300 · 18-140mm · f/5.3 · 1/100s · ISO 400 · 85mm

Sunrise over Hardy. Nikon D5300 · 18-140mm · f/5 · 1/80s · ISO 400 · 60mm

Relishing the warmth of the sun after one of the coldest backcountry nights I’ve had. Nikon D5300 · 18-140mm · f/13 · 1/640s · ISO 200 · 38mm

Dreamy conditions on the eastside of the crest. Nikon D5300 · 18-140mm · f/13 · 1/640s · ISO 200 · 52mm

Azurite Peak – our hoped-fore line did not go, but given a larger snow year, it would. Nikon D5300 · 18-140mm · f/13 · 1/640s · ISO 200 · 38mm

Ross scoping out the last good descent of the day. Samsung Galaxy S21 · f/2.2 · 1/3657s · ISO 50 · 2.2mm

Northwest Couloir, 2021

Fri, 19 Mar 2021 23:24:17 -0700

One week after checking Hidden Lake Lookout off of my list, I skied the biggest line of my life. Ross and I had only half-heartedly talked about skiing this peak, expecting the dangerous avalanche conditions that had for so long plagued the Cascades in 2021 to restrict any reasonable access to this line, but by some luck, conditions cleared up for the perfect outing.

Mount Shuksan is a glaciated massif (a bunch of peaks close together covered in large glaciers) in the North Cascades just slightly northwest of Koma Kulshan (Mount Baker). Of these two northern peaks, Shuksan is the less-summited and less-skied of the pair, with most outdoor enthusiasts being drawn to the prospect of summitting an actual volcano. However, Shuksan is a beast of a mountain – the terrain is formidable and heavily crevassed, even in deep winter.

On Shuksan’s northwest face is a line deemed one of North America’s 50 Classic Ski Descents (a list made recently-famous by professional skier Cody Townsend) called the Northwest Couloir. And boy is this a doozy. After ascending nearly five thousand vertical feet in just 4 miles across the White Salmon glacier, the line immediately drops from 8200 feet to 3700 feet in 2 miles – an ungodly steep line. The initial descent is angled at roughly 50 degrees. However, this is followed by a short by hyper-exposed traverse over an 80-foot cliff section. In good conditions, this traverse will be covered in fresh, shaded snow, and confident skiers can make quick work of it – however, in our case, the traverse was bullet-proof ice. We scooted along, ice axes in hand, praying to the Norse god Ullr (a.k.a. mechanical engineers at Volkl and Blizzard) to grant us safe and short passage. The term “survival skiing” would be apt, to say the least. The remainder of the couloir consists of steep 50-55 degree slopes, with overhead danger from the above cliffs, and also from the sheer amount of steep-angled snow in the actual couloir. But if you keep your wits about you, make precise jump turns, and try your best not to fall, this skiing could be some of the best in your life.

Mount Shuksan in the early morning light, from the Mt. Baker resort parking lot. We got a good view of our line, just to the right of the large black rock face.

Ross’ photo of me as we ski out of the Mt. Baker resort towards our objective in the distance.

Ross, just after ascending the White Salmon glacier. Fortunately, we beat the sun on the way up!

The views of Koma Kulshan were absolutely gorgeous.

Ross entering the first part of the couloir, about to reach the cliff traverse. I didn’t take any pictures after this until the bottom (for obvious reasons – I needed my hands completely dedicated to my ski poles).

We made it to the bottom! With beautiful views of the Shuksan Arm to boot.

It was pretty hard not to smile after making it down as smoothly and safely as we did. Pictures can’t put into perspective how steep this was…

Our line. What. A. Day.

Hidden Lake Lookout, 2021

Sat, 13 Mar 2021 23:24:17 -0700

I’d been vying to ski the Hidden Lake Lookout in the North Cascades nearly the entire time I’ve lived in the PNW. Sneakily tucked away off of Cascade River Road near Marblemount, this peak offers some of the best views the Cascades have to offer. On a clear day, you can see Koma Kulshan, Shuksan, the Canadian Cascades, and the entire Boston Basin with peaks like Forbidden, Boston, Sahale, Eldorado, and Johannesberg all seemingly within grasp. The weather for this weekend was shaping up to be beautiful, and avalanche danger was rated as Moderate by NWAC, so I convinced my friends Ross, Mike, and Sam to join.

The approach in the Winter follows a gravel Summer road, so we ended up skinning on flat and mild terrain for roughly 3 miles before we even started the actual uphill off-trail section, but the grade quickly ramps up after leaving the road. The first section consisted mostly of skinning over frozen chucks of snow dropped from the tree tops, which made the intial ascent slow, but we quickly ascended nearly four thousand feet, and popped out of the trees near six thousand feet.

No, this was not a ski tour for my birthday… but it could have been! The Birthday Tour is another classic PNW route on the east side of the North Cascades off of Highway 20 near Washington Pass. This is a relatively quick tour, with a mild amount of elevation gain, but some pretty enjoyable downhill bits.

Mike, Sam, and Ross ascending Hidden Lake Peak from the North.

Sam staring back up at the line he just skied! Shortly after this, we saw a bald eagle circling the peak – we took this to be a good omen for fun to be had!

Sam and Ross giving each other the classic skiers’ pole bump a.k.a. high-five.

Sam’s behind the lens this time. Ross, Mike, and myself (sitting down) stopping for lunch on Hidden Lake.

View from the West near the lookout of Hidden Lake Peak in the foreground, and Eldorado in the background. What a day!

Buck Creek Pass Loop, 2020

Sat, 17 Oct 2020 23:24:17 -0700

My friend David moved to London recently, so we set out to do a long trail-run before he left the States. We decided on Buck Creek Pass Loop, a 36 mile loop on the east side of Glacier Peak in the Eastern Cascades. It had been on my list for a long time, and I was considering doing it solo for a while, but am glad David ended up joining. We camped near the trailhead the night before, and departed for the long slog around 6am. This wasn’t my longest run, but this one definitely hurt the most. Scroll down for some beautiful scenery, courtesy of David’s fancy camera!

Nothing beats the morning alpenglow of the Cascades.

Chiwawa Peak in the background. With so much green on the western slopes of the Cascades, you could be forgiven for forgetting how magnificent the eastern is.

Ascending the Spider Glacier. We saw some small crevasses on the way up, but the ice was so melted out (nearly gone, in fact), that we chanced the rope-free climb.

Alpine tributary turbulence in Lyman Lake

Glacier Peak: another one of my top 5 Spring skiing goals for 2021.

Eldorado, 2020

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 12:00:00 -0700

It’s that time of year again! Every year for the past few years, I done a solo ski tour of Eldorado Peak in the North Cascades. This doesn’t preclude doing it with friends – it’s just a climb that really tests your mettle (you gain a little over 7000 feet in roughly 5 miles), and sometimes I want to attempt this sufferfest in peace! Eldorado is one of the crown jewels of the Cascade Range, and one of North America’s 50 Classic Ski Descents. I’ve been lucky to have pretty good snow conditions for each of my attempts, although the same can’t always be said for the weather!

Looking south from the Eldorado boulder field at Johannesburg Mountain. Just to looker’s left of Johannesburg is a narrow couloir called CJ’s Couloir – one of my top-5 goals for the upcoming 2021 Spring skiing season.

Looking northwest at the Boston Glacier just as you cross the ridgeline onto Inspiration Glacier

View of the Eldorado summit from the Inspiration Glacier.

Looking south from the top of Eldorado at Forbidden Peak and Moraine Lake (frozen over).