I don't feel like my family and I should be pushing our limits with hard climbing all of the time. We had previously done a video about learning to find satisfaction with some of the less demanding forms of adventure so that our risk profiles aren't always high. Well, exposing the boys to backpacking was one of those experiences we wanted them to try and see if they enjoy. This is a preview to a short film we made about it.

A climbing partner from Denali (seven years ago) put together a trip for the Skillet Glacier route on Mount Moran (12,605') in Grand Teton National Park. In the full film, she and I embraced hiking the long approach, bushwhack off trail, and 6000 feet of elevation gain to get our fill of summer snow climbing on a direct and impressive line.

Spring time in the Rocky Mountains means snow couloir season for climbers, and this year, we figured out how to get technical crampons to work on the boys' small feet. In the full film, the boys and I took a short camping trip that culminated in their first real alpine snow climb, including a few small snow fields before a 500 vertical foot gully. They learned the mental and physical persistence that direct snow lines can demand, and I was admittedly in awe at their incredible capabilities while being so young.

The boys wanted to go on a "mini" expedition, complete with backpacking, camping, moving camps, and a mildly technical climb to a summit. But as the trip started, I received notice that one of my climbing friends and mentors was succumbing to cancer. As My trip ended, I received notice that she was gone. It struck me as fitting that, while all of this was happening, the lessons she taught me were being passed on to my boys. I dedicate the full version of this short film to Deb as a testament to a life well lived, full of impact which will carry on.

I was there when my 8 year old nephew climbed his first 14er, and I was there again - 9 years later - when he did his first technical, class 5 climb on a classic alpine climbing route: Mount Bancroft's East Ridge. High winds and intermittent clouds made for a day demanding focus and confident movement.

My twin boys are changing. They are growing up, gaining confidence, and improving their mountaineering skills. After a spring time working on ice axe techniques, the boys wanted to take on "a real snow climb." With feet too small for front-point crampons, we did a summer time climb of a permanent snowfield: the remnant of the glaciers that used to dominate the Rocky Mountains over ten thousand years ago. Like my boys, the mountains are changing, too.