Located in the most popular alpine arena in the North Cascades--Boston Basin--the Quien Sabe Glacier is rapidly diminishing.

National Geographic writes that "Guides are portals to the outdoor world."  Mountain guides are portals to the glacial world and today they are on the front lines of climate change, threatened both economically and physically by changes in the mountain environment.  Through their daily connection to glaciers and their interactions with client-climbers, guides are uniquely positioned to communicate about climate change in mountain environments and to take a lead in creating a healthy future for both mountain guides and all mountain enthusiasts.

Home on the range in the South Fork Valley ©Doug Shepherd

Running from Crested Butte to Aspen, CO on a late summer day Photo © Doug Shepherd

It's been a hectic late summer and fall season so far.  First off, my wife and I moved from Los Alamos, NM to Denver, CO in August and I have been trying to take advantage of living at the base of the Colorado Rockies as much as possible.  The weekend after moving, I joined good friends for a 40ish mile run from Crested Butte to Aspen, CO.  We passed through some beautiful scenery and paid way too much for pizza and beer at the end of the day in Aspen.  The next week, my friend Phil Wortmann talked me into "running" Kiener's Route on Longs Peak, a classic mountaineering route that traces up the edge of the Diamond face.

It has been a fantastic summer for climbing in the Alps. A big winter and continued spring snowstorms put the glaciers in good shape, and unusually long periods of high pressure during July and the start of August have allowed for fantastic climbing conditions.