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THE GREAT BOOK LIST

Since I was a young boy, I have kept a list of the books I've read in a red three-ring binder where the scraps of various kinds of paper, written with a variety of pencils and pens are preserved.  Amazingly, I had never… Read full post »

Shiprock 

Spring break, March 18-20, 1962 (or was it 1961? I'm getting old) my friends Milt Hokanson,Dave Wood and I loaded my little Jeep and drove from Salt Lake City to Shiprock, NM to climb the famous 1,700-foot high volcanic plug.  I had read Jack Kerouac's "On… Read full post »

It's a rare treat to climb with Renny Jackson. And even rarer to climb with Catherine. Now, there is a third member: Jane. This October we arranged to meet in Indian Creek, best crack climbing in the world.

Renny and I go… Read full post »

Mystery attends the Anasazi peoples who lived in the Four Corners area from about 700 AD until they suddenly left in the 1300's AD. Who were they? Why did they leave? Were they killed, or did they migrate? Where did they go and what has… Read full post »

It seemed like a great alternative to dying.  The morning started great.  We drove 50 miles from Indian Creek to climb the Unbalanced Rock in Arches National Park.  After climbing seventy feet up a wide crack without finding  a single spot to place any climbing gear to… Read full post »

Hamburger Rock, a flat rock perched in the middle of the Indian Creek plain, is a Mecca for climbers, campers, and off-road vehicle enthusiasts. Its dust-bowl campground with the vast panorama of sandstone cliffs and and
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There are two "Six Shooters" in Indian Creek, the North and the South. They dominate the horizon for 30 miles in every direction, making them an irresistible goal for a rock climber.

I was enjoying the morning eating a leisurely breakfast at the campground. A car… Read full post »

"Ralph, I met this French woman, Marthe, in Yosemite this week; I told her I'd teach her to climb cracks in Indian Creek. She's suppose to be there this weekend, and she'll be looking
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Ouray, Colorado, snug in the middle of the San Juan mountains of southwestern Colorado, has become my winter home for the past six years. I migrate down from Anchorage, Alaska, each fall to my friends' home where I store all my winter climbing gear. Ouray, where… Read full post »

The candy-apple red bike caught my eye. Thor, Sarah, and I were walking up the street through Truckee, California, to meet Garry and Linda at "Burger Me", our favorite watering hole. Although there are millions of motorcycles, and some very cool ones, I couldn't help… Read full post »

"A good pickup is a thing of beauty and a joy forever." John Keats

At one time I drove a pink Cadillac, but it disappeared to the Kidney Foundation. Renting a car for every road trip has cost me a ton of cash. So!/…

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In the mid-1950's my uncle, Bill Hurst, whom we called "Dee" by his middle initial to distinguish him from his father, grandfather, and son, was a forest ranger on the east side of the Uintah Mountains of eastern Utah.  I and my sister Judy spent part of those/…

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Fresh Mexican cuisine is my favorite.  Cafe Rio on 33rd South in Salt Lake City is the consummate fast food bar.  They have all the traditional Mexican dishes: burritos, enchiladas, tostadas, and it's along the lines of many fresh taco restaurants.  You walk in, get in the/…

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Pete and Connie are the coolest folks. Pete is a gentleman, scholar, father, husband, author, mountaineer, and was the senior Jenny Lake Ranger when I first worked in the Tetons. Connie comes from an old Jackson Hole family and worked for the/…

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A trip to Portland, Oregon, is a gastronomic adventure. My son Thor and wife Sarah live there, and on each visit for the past seven years they have taken me to a new restaurant. Every one has been excellent, or as Thor says, 'If they/…

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Our father, Ralph Lee Tingey, M.D., the patriarch of our clan, died June 6, 2003. Our mother, Margaret Anne Hurst Tingey, went to live with our sister, Judy, on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. Judy and husband Grant are saints to/…

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The older I get, the more fragile I become. You can only be young once, but you can be a child all your life. I must still be somewhat of a child, since I allowed my son Thor and daughter-in-law Sarah to talk me into going… Read full post »

"The Grand Rescue: A True Story of the 1967 Teton Rangers" recreates three days in August, 1967, we spent on the North Face of the Grand Teton rescuing Gaylord Campbell and Lorraine Hough.
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Fall is rushing in; the leaves are turning yellow and brown; the clouds are boiling over the peaks.  My knee has been sore for the past two weeks from a fall, but I was antsy to get into the mountains again and not lose the fitness I'd gained… Read full post »

THE GREATER JOURNEY: AMERICANS IN PARIS 1830-1900, David McCullough

Having read TRUMAN and also JOHN ADAMS by David McCullough, I was sure it would be a winner.  I had just finished reading THE AGE OF WONDER: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science, a… Read full post »

We all loved Wister. He was Amy McCarthy's faithful friend who followed her and Forrest to the tops of a hundred peaks and down a thousand trails. For the past few summers Wister had led me to the top of Taylor Mountain, the southernmost peak in… Read full post »

In the lobby of the Chateau Lake Louise was the only place we could find a restroom, and what a fine one it was! On the walls hung black and white photos of the early days at the hotel. The original chateau was conceived by/…

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Rebecca and I ticked off the best of the best hikes. Next on the list was Isis Lake, at the other side of Temple Mountain. As we drove up Highway 1 from Canmore, the sky turned horribly dark and the rain began to fall. We… Read full post »