Welcome to the Alpine 7 Blog

Hannegan Peak & Pass

Published:  July 23, 2023

Trail Report: After a successful summit of Mt. Whitney in June, decided on a relatively easy (but beautiful) backpack into the North Cascades to kick off July. Couldn't recommend this area more highly at this time of year, Mother Nature at her finest!

Mt. Whitney

Published:  June 29, 2023

Trail Report: A summer solstice summit of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous 48 states, at 14,508 ft. This season's record snowpack (most snow on the ground since 1951) meant the traditional summit route (aka the "99 switchbacks") was not an option.

Granite Mountain

Published:  November 14, 2022

Trail Report: Was planning to do a hike further east but couldn't resist the opportunity for a November summit of Granite Mountain. Looking up from the freeway it was obvious that the avalanche fields haven't built up enough snow yet to pose a significant slide risk.

Buckhorn Mountain via Marmot Pass

Published:  October 16, 2022

Trail Report: With all the wildfire smoke over the mainland opted for the Olympics for better air quality. Couldn't have picked a better hike or better weather. 75 degree, clear and sunny weather mid-October in the Olympics was surreal. Usually by the time shadows are this long the weather has long since turned.

Silver Peak

Published:  October 3, 2022

Trail Report: A relatively mellow hike with good views and close proximity to Snoqualmie Pass. In spite of the record warm October temperatures fall colors are really starting to pop.

Spectacle Lake

Published:  September 4, 2022

Trail Report: This hike starts off with a long approach so it's best done as an overnight backpack. The spectacular views you are treated to make the extra effort more that worth it.

Hidden Lake Lookout

Published:  August 18, 2022

Trail Report: One of the crown jewels of hiking in Washington State.

This trail breaks out into three main sections. The first section begins at the trailhead and works it's way up switchbacks through a lush green valley while crossing several streams. If you time your visit right the summer wildflowers here are nothing short of incredible.

Mount Adams

Published:  August 15, 2022

Trail Report: Woke up to a near full moon rising across the cloudless southern sky...perfectly illuminating the south facing snowfields during ascent. Set the headlamp to redlight mostly to give others a visual indication (there were several groups heading up at this time) with no need for additional lighting. Reached the base of the south face just before 5 am. The snowfields were icy - crampons, an ice axe and a trekking pole were the preferred setup for the south face.

Global Failure

Published:  August 10, 2022

"Structural engineer Seth McVey will be giving today’s presentation on the Twin Towers, “A Critique of the NIST WTC Reports and the Progressive Collapse Theory.”

McVey designs bridges for a living, is an active member of his local ASCE branch, and is one of the youngest members of AE911Truth’s Project Due Diligence."

Baldy

Published:  August 1, 2022

Trail Report: Given recent beta opted to hike this as an up-and-back via the Tyler Peak Way trail (just adjacent to the Baldy Ridge trail). To whomever recently took the time to carve out more moderate switchbacks over the length of this trail, bless you and may good karma find you. It looks like a lot of hard work went into it.

Chain Lakes Loop

Published:  July 24, 2022

Trail Report: What a beautiful bluebird day it turned out to be. Started off at the parking lot below Artist Point and hiked the loop clockwise. Amazing views of Mt. Shuksan, Mt. Baker, Ptarmagin Ridge and Table Mountain. Quite a few marmots splayed out on boulders sunning. Views were surreal, the picture gallery below speaks for itself. This year's late spring means plenty of snow still on the trail but never felt the need to put on spikes.

Camp Muir

Published:  July 21, 2022

Trail Report: What started as a run-of-the-mill hike up to Camp Muir got sketchy when a thick intermediate cloud deck rolled in. Started the ascent with clear skies and had made it to about 7,000 ft when the cloud layer formed. Visibility dropped but was still maybe 100 yards or so, enough to make out the bootpack and some reference features so no biggie. About 8,000 ft it opened up to clear skies the rest of the way up.

Pikes Peak

Published:  July 13, 2022

Trail Report: Given the trailhead and peak elevations for this hike (~6,600 and ~14,100 ft respectively) opted to spend a few days in Colorado Springs acclimating to the elevation prior to attempting Pikes Peak. The morning of Day 2 was spent hiking the Manitou Incline as part of the acclimation process (roughly 2,000 ft of elevation gain in 1 mile).

The push up to Barr Camp (base camp, 10,200 ft) began around 7 am on Day 5.

Grandeur Peak

Published:  July 2, 2022

Trail Report: Started early AM and used less than 2 liters of water over the whole hike. Warmed up siginificanly after 9 am. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in the Wasatch range so getting up and down before the thunderheads form is wise.

Icicle Ridge via Fourth of July Creek

Published:  June 20, 2022

Trail Report: Icicle Ridge is "open"...what snow remains is well consolidated. Postholing was minimal and there was no need for gaiters, microspikes or snowshoes.

Plenty of water stops along the trail at this time, several snowmelt streams cross the trail at multiple points.

Early start is better (6 am was perfect, hit the ridgeline just as the sun broke through the cloud cover and temps started to rise). If you're up for a longer day recommend heading up Fourth of July Creek trail, traversing the ridge and coming down the Icicle Ridge trail into Leavenworth.

Wildflowers are in bloom, you can click through the link below for pics. This hike is a wonderful start to a summer!

Alpine Lookout

Published:  June 13, 2022

Trail Report: Snow starts just past the clear cut and is intermittent until just after Round Mountain. Some of the snowbank angles were steep where the trail was covered in this section, found hiking poles with snow baskets extremely useful for maintaining balance here. Most of the ridgeline is under consistently deep, consolidated snow - postholing was minimal and rarely went beyond ankle deep when it did occur. The ascent had the feel of walking on a beach in soft sand. Up on the ridge it was firm.

Bottom line? Boots alone and hiking poles did the trick for this hike (microspikes/snowshoes were not needed). If you are going all the way to the lookout recommend heading up early or doing this as an overnighter.

Protecting All Protectors Alliance

Published:  June 13, 2022

Retired Seattle Fire Captain Raul Angulo and Former Seattle Fire Fighter Erik Lawyer speak with Al Magaletta of the Protect All Protectors Alliance at the 2022 National Fire Protection Association Annual Conference in Boston, MA.

Chelan Butte & Beckler Peak

Published:  May 31, 2022

Chelan turned out warm and sunny with lots of springtime green and wildflower blooms. Traffic was lighter than expected for a Saturday morning, even had the good fortune of coming across a marmot (!) at around 2,200 ft while heading up. Have never seen one of these at such a low elevation nor this close to the Columbia river gorge. Coming down it got warm quickly, bring whatever water you need as there were no obvious sources on the trail. Had a late breakfast in Chelan then headed back down Hwy 2 for Beckler Peak.

Icicle Ridge

Published:  May 23, 2022

Made it up to 5,200 ft, just kissing the edge of the ridge. Brought along gaiters and microspikes and wouldn't attempt going past the 4,500 ft line without them. Once the snow started it got deep quick, typically knee to waist deep postholing with the occasional sink in to chest level. If I had to do it over again today I'd (grudgingly) bring along a pair of snowshoes. They would have definitely sped up the ascent.

9/11 families and experts file response to NIST’s motion to dismiss in lawsuit

Published:  April 12, 2022

4/12/2022 - "Late last night, eight 9/11 family members, ten architects and structural engineers, and AE911Truth filed a response to NIST’s motion to dismiss in our ongoing lawsuit against the federal agency.

The lawsuit challenges NIST’s decision on the “request for correction” that we originally submitted in April 2020 regarding the agency’s final report on the destruction of World Trade Center Building 7. The ultimate aim of the request was to compel NIST to reverse its conclusion that fire was the cause of Building 7’s destruction.

The goal of the lawsuit is to obtain a court order that forces NIST to comply with the request for correction. This would require NIST to perform new analyses and develop a new “probable collapse sequence” that is physically possible and consistent with the available evidence — which NIST’s current probable collapse sequence is not."

- Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth

Hex Mountain Loop

Published:  February 13, 2022

Did you know a 3rd tower fell on 9/11? Click here to head over to the homepage for more information on that 3rd tower.

Did this hike as a loop, up the traditional Hex Mountain trail and then down the snowmobile trails and roads to the south. Icy to start shifting to crusty as the day progressed. Brought along both snowshoes and microspikes, never felt like either were needed so some additional training weight is all. Have been carrying a whippet on my last few snow hikes and I'm kinda sold on it.

2,700 ft of gain, 11+ miles as a loop. Beautiful sunny day.

"We can handle the truth about 9/11"

Published:  February 11, 2022

A new press release from Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth: An "extended interview with psychologist Robert Griffin, who appears throughout The Unspeakable discussing emotional trauma and the power of bringing suppressed truths to light.

In this extended interview, he elaborates on the consequences of being a “post-truth” society and argues that facing the truth about 9/11 would not cause us to fall apart but would actually make us stronger."

Windy Knob

Published:  January 30, 2022

Brought along snowshoes and microspikes for this hike but never felt compelled to use either. Snow surface was quite crusty on the slopes and icy in spots within the gulley between Diamond Head and Windy Knob peaks.

Amazing views of the Teanaway to the west and Mt. Rainier making an appearance to the south.

South Sister

Published:  January 27, 2022

Did you know a 3rd tower fell on 9/11?

This hike takes longer than you think it will so plan accordingly. Oregon's third-tallest mountain (10,358 ft) requires no technical climbing skills and the clear day reward for climbing was incredible views in every direction. Plan your water stops and usage well, there are limited spots for harvesting and most of the route is exposed to direct sun.

Skyline Lake

Published:  January 17, 2022

Did you know a 3rd tower fell on 9/11?

In a word, crusty. Probably a half-inch or so of brittle ice over several feet of soft snow. Snowshoes provided just enough surface area to keep one "afloat". Without them, it was knee to thigh deep postholing in some areas.

Artist & Huntoon Points

Published:  January 1, 2022

Did you know a 3rd tower fell on 9/11?

Don't let the sunny sky fool you, layer up! With temperatures in the single digits and a gusty breeze the chill factor was nothing to take lightly. Snowshoes really made a difference today, without them it was ankle deep postholing at best, some areas you could easily sink in to waist deep. Those on the slopes without them were at a distinct disadvantage speed-wise.

Ruling against NIST and FEMA denies summary judgement and grants discovery

Published:  December 24, 2021

A six-year legal battle against the National Institute of Standards and Technology [NIST] and the Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] to get access to data they used in preparing FEMA’s Building Performance Study of the collapse of World Trade Center [WTC] buildings on 9/11 has culminated in a court decision granting discovery to 9/11 researcher David Cole. Cole, the plaintiff, is represented by Lawyers’ Committee attorney Mick Harrison.  The Lawyers’ Committee has supported this litigation from the start.

NIST and FEMA fought to dismiss Cole’s Freedom of Information Act case but on December 21, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied their motion for summary judgment and granted Cole discovery. Discovery will allow Cole to inquire via depositions, document requests, and interrogatories into why FEMA and NIST failed to disclose key records known to exist regarding the collapse of WTC buildings on 9/11.

The Unspeakable

Published:  November 11, 2021

"Why did I wait so long, like so many others, to start digging? It astonishes me, until I look at the size of what happened and also at my inability to believe that my government could have betrayed the families of those killed that day by not giving them the first thing they were owed: the truth."

- Actor and Producer William Hurt

AE911Truth celebrates the milestone of 3,500 architects and engineers

Published:  October 8, 2021

The achievement heralded in the headline of this article was accomplished, coincidentally, on the 20th anniversary of that fateful day the world calls “9/11.” Such an important milestone is worthy of a closer look.

Cynthia McKinney, PhD. “My Fight Inside and Outside Congress for 9/11 Truth”

Published:  September 30, 2021

Cynthia McKinney is a 6 term member of the U.S. House Representatives from Georgia and a 9/11 Truth activist. Hear her thoughts on the fight to expose the truth surrounding the events of 9/11/2001 both inside and outside of Congress.

Mt Dickerman

Published:  September 26, 2021

Did you know a 3rd tower fell on 9/11?

This hike started off with a big downed tree across the main road to this trailhead which blocked both lanes and took and hour and a half to clear. Made the decision to drop some weight and push straight to the top sans breaks to recover some of the lost time. The gambit paid off with a pre-noon summit.

Fall is settling in with a blanket of incredible colors. The pictures speak for themselves but do not do justice to seeing it all in person. Trail traffic was moderate as many were taking advantage of the good weather window and rain forecast over the next week.

9/11 Questions (2021)

Published:  September 19, 2021

"When the Department of Defense failed to defend, the families questioned why and how. When the White House refused to investigate, the families pushed for the Commission Report, which left most of their questions unanswered."

UK Family Seeks New Inquest for Son Who Perished on 9/11

Published:  September 18, 2021

"For 20 years, my family has suffered because Geoff was taken from us long before it was his time,” said Matt Campbell, Mr. Campbell’s surviving brother. “Our grief was then compounded by the gradual realization that we did not have the full truth about his murder. Today, we are one step closer to knowing the truth.”"

9/11 families sue NIST over World Trade Center Building 7 report

Published:  September 7, 2021

9/7/2021 - "A group of eight family members who lost children, parents, siblings, and spouses on 9/11 filed a lawsuit today against the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The lawsuit alleges that NIST violated federal law in its denial of a request for correction calling on the agency to throw out the conclusions of its 2008 report on the collapse of World Trade Center Building 7."