Yosemite National Park. The best granite climbing in the world. The Tuolumne region of YNP is famous for its giant granite domes: Stately Pleasure Dome, Lembert Dome, Fairview Dome, and Pywiack Dome. One of our favorite multi-pitch climbs in Tuolumne is Zee Tree on Pywiack Dome. We've completed this ascent…
Katharine, Defining Feminist
People remember Katharine Hepburn as a feminist icon, but it's worth noting how many of her films could actually be construed as anti-Feminist fables, stories that show how far a prideful, powerful woman can and should fall. My favorite of these is The Philadelphia Story (1940), a film following the…
Trip Report: Boy Scout Rocks (Butt Rock)
With its wildflowers, abundant wildlife, and sparkling, emerald panoramas, Mt. Diablo State Park is an East Bay must-see for any visitor, but it's also a popular destination for climbers. Jonathan and I have climbed there multiple times over the years. The photo at left shows me atop the Lower Tier…
Saturday Morning Reading & Coffee Dates
Jonathan and I are both avid readers. Though we continue to debate who reads the better stuff , we do agree on one thing: there are few things more comfortable or nurturing than sitting together, in a coffee shop or on the couch or in bed at night, reading side by…
Trip Report: The Leaning Tower of Pizza
After a year's sabbatical, Jonathan and I are back on the wall. It feels good and, to keep our spirits high, I thought I'd do some retrospective chronicling of our past climbs together. LEFT: Me, topped out on Deep Dish on The Leaning Tower of Pizza. Climbing. It's a sport…
Get out of my underwear drawer, boys.
The following is a cross-post from my second blog ( Feeding the Trolls ). I feel strongly about this issue, and I hope that, upon reading my remarks, you will, too. The United States of America, my home country, is stepping into a new era regarding the availability of health care. Because…
Procrastination
I've been writing every day. That's what you're supposed to do when you're a writer. Everyone says so. Annie Dillard, Stephen King, Pam Houston, Lynn Freed, Michael Chabon, Flannery O'Connor. These are people I listen to. And I always thought taking that kind of intentional step in my writing would…
Bound for Geilo
On Saturday we venture to Geilo. It is a city I know little of, save that it is one stop along a famed railway line between Oslo and Bergen, and that it holds an annual Ice Music Festival each February. Our trip will coincide with this festival, a happy coincidence.…