Conditions couldn’t have been more different than yesterday! The wind was brutal! But still made it in ~6 hours while breaking trail both up and down Street & Nye Mountains with @highpeaksmountainguides. And still bunches of fun! 🏔️

Thank you, thank you! 🙌 Your support warms my heart, and has helped me fill up the rest of February with trips to get more folks out into the great outdoors! 🧡

Profile header for onwardguides displaying 100 followers highlighted with a red heart outline. Text includes Providing personal professional and fun outdoor adventures in the wild Adirondacks. Owned and operated by <a href="http://heyjb.me">@heyjb.me</a> Hike Camp Ski Paddle Climb onwardguides.com

T’was re-waterproofing day for some of my most-used layers. They say you should wash and re-DWR them every handful of wears, but I think 1-2x per season is plenty. Basically whenever I notice water not beading up so well (or da stink 😭). @nikwax gets them back in action!

A gray and an orange jacket are hanging in a cozy room. The gray one has matching pants with suspenders. The orange one has gloves attached. Background features wooden shelves with books. Two bottles stand on a wooden surface. The left bottle reads Nikwax TX Direct Wash-In Waterproofer and the right bottle reads Nikwax Tech Wash for waterproof clothing. An orange jacket hangs in the background.

🔗 The Venn Diagram of Trump’s Authoritarian Actions

This is a whole fucking lot of harm that could have been avoided had a few more percentage of people had voted with kindness and hope in their heart rather than hate and fear. We’re 23 days in. 1436 to go.

Well that’s not what you want. 😨 Just yesterday I took a photo of the massive icicle forming above this small auxiliary roof on the side of our house. When I came home today, the whole thing had ripped right off. Amazingly, no major damage done to anything below, but now I have a roof in my yard. 😬

Tree-covered house with decorative porch and fallen roof section surrounded by heavy snow, set in a wooded area. Icicles hang from a snow-covered roof of a dark wooden house nestled in a wintery landscape with bare trees and evergreens under a blue sky.

🍿 Watched: The Wild Robot

A round-eyed robot rests among tree branches, indicating wilderness. Review reads: The Wild Robot 2024 Chris Sanders. A cute movie that I enjoyed watching, though it’s not as dazzling as other reviews had led me to expect. A fun watch, and one that doesn’t sugarcoat the predator/prey dynamic of wild animals. Certainly a few my heart grew three sizes that day moments that were effective, if predictable. Rating: one thumb up.

🍿 Watched: Here

A couple stands together facing a large, white bay window with a suburban view outside. Text reviews the film &ldquo;Here&rdquo; by Robert Zemeckis, 2024. Review: Fascinating project. Telling many stories across time from one point in space made it more of a concept movie than a typical film, but it was artfully done. The de-aging wasn&rsquo;t super convincing, but I was drawn into the stories nonetheless. Worthwhile! Rating: one thumb up,

🔗 Tim Cook Teases an ‘Apple Launch’ Next Wednesday:

“Get ready to meet the newest member of the family,” he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag.

#AppleLaunch is a new one. #AppleEvent has a lot of cache. I wonder if it’s something they’ll reuse for Newsroom-only product reveals.

🔗 Use Calibre to Back Up Your Kindle Books Before February 26:

Amazon just announced that you have until February 26, 2025, to download your Kindle content. After that date, you will no longer be able to access the books you’ve paid for if you have a legacy device or a Kindle that has experienced wireless issues. The only way to load what you’ve paid for onto a device will be through wireless sync.

That’s a big ol' bummer. Lou Plummer gives the details on how to save your books from complete lockdown.

Just a stupidly gorgeous day climbing Cascade Mountain with Luis and Tasha for @rockandriver_official! It’s so fun helping new folks discover the majesty of these mountains and the self-accomplishment of summiting them!

A fallen tree blanketed with snow rests silently amid a winter forest. Sunlight filters through bare branches and tall evergreens casting long shadows on the snowy ground. Snow-laden trees stand still under bright sunlight in a wintry forest creating a serene, glistening landscape. A person hikes through deep snow along a narrow path lined with snow-covered trees, leading upward toward rocky terrain under a clear blue sky. Two people snowshoeing up a snowy hillside using poles against a backdrop of snow-covered forest and distant mountains under a partly cloudy sky. Snow-covered stump resembling a large, rounded shape leaning towards snow-laden evergreen trees surrounded by a dense winter forest. Two people high-fiving while wearing winter clothing stand near a parked car and snowy landscape with leafless trees and distant hills creating a cheerful outdoor winter scene.

Can you believe the alpenglow this morning skinning up @whiteface_mt and the powdery goodness on the way down?! I couldn’t even see my skis! 😍

Ski lifts hang stationary above a snowy slope bordered by bare trees while a skier stands near the edge under a clear blue sky. Sun setting over snow-covered trees with distant mountains in the background under a clear sky. A vapor trail stretches across the sky, creating a peaceful winter scene.

Got in a few extra laps after work at Pitchoff Quarry with some new friends from @sportrock! The Quarry’s a little bonier lately, but still tons of fun to burn the arms out on. A perfect conclusion to @mountaineerbandana Mountainfest 2025. Can’t wait till next year!

@adirondackclimberscoalition @newyorkoutdoorguides @lakeplacidadk #Adirondacks #PerfectDayADK #HireAGuide

Six people wearing winter gear stand in snow-covered forest holding climbing equipment smiling and posing for a photo amidst snowy trees and backpacks on the ground around them. People wearing winter gear stand outdoors. They are gathered at the base of a snowy cliff with icicles. Leafless trees surround the area, suggesting a cold environment.

Was thrilled to represent @adirondackclimberscoalition at the @mountaineerbandana Mountainfest gathering tonight. Very thankful for all our new members and advocates!

Three people in winter clothing smiling indoors in a hall with flags on the right. Two are sitting and one is standing, posing for a selfie with a wooden floor beneath.

Ticked off another killer climb today with @saw_dust_ery during @mountaineerbandana Mountainfest! Green Gully was open for the taking while The Cascade had a congo line next door. I love ice climbing!

@adirondackclimberscoalition @newyorkoutdoorguides @lakeplacidadk #Adirondacks #PerfectDayADK #HireAGuide

Kicked off the @mountaineerbandana Mountainfest by finally leading this ADK Classic, Multiplication Gully. What a stellar route! 🤩 Saw the incomparable Doug Fergalicious up there too. Can’t wait for more pitches tomorrow.

@adirondackclimberscoalition @newyorkoutdoorguides @lakeplacidadk #Adirondacks #PerfectDayADK #HireAGuide

A climber ascends a steep frozen waterfall while secured with ropes surrounding snow-covered rock formations and icy terrain. A climber ascends an icy cliff while two people stand on snowy terrain observing surrounded by rocky, mountainous landscape. Two climbers wearing winter gear smile in a snowy forest. One holds climbing ropes. Both are standing near a large snow-covered rock and surrounded by trees. Climber ascending a snowy slope using a rope surrounded by snow-covered trees in a winter forest setting.

Ever wanted to live in a Pixar movie? It’s coming! You gotta check out this Apple research video of an expressive robotic lamp they’re cooking up. It took all of 30 seconds for me to want one dearly.

I just put a couple of new climbing things up for sale! A Petzl Pur Line great for rappelling so you can use the full length of your climbing rope. And Escape Drytooling Picks for Petzl Tools.

A coiled climbing rope rests neatly on a multi-colored striped bedspread featuring shades of green, red, orange, blue, and yellow.

Orange climbing grips and an Allen wrench rest on a colorful, striped fabric surface. A coiled rope and a cardboard box are nearby. Text on the grip reads &ldquo;ESCAPE.&quot;

Went out for a solo recon mission of Marcy and Whale’s Tale. With the howling wind and blowing snow, I was unsurprised by the empty trails. Pretty cool to put in fresh tracks both up and down the mountain!

Both trails are in great shape. Only a couple of small obstacles on Marcy Trail above Indian Falls — both easily avoidable. I turned around near Little Marcy due to whiteout, so I can’t give you beta past there! Ski trail was mega fun.

@newyorkoutdoorguides @lakeplacidadk #Adirondacks #PerfectDayADK #HireAGuide

Go home, Reminders, you’re drunk. (FB16446212)

Screenshot of Reminders app suggesting that a task be set for Feb 4 2026 when it should be set for every two days.

🆕📝 7 Things This Week [#169]

I've been laid out by another sickness 🤧, so your 7 things are a day late.

Harlot (2/1/25) Fat, plastic ice today! Great conditions.

A climber wearing red ascends a vertical icy cliff using a rope in a snowy forest setting with bare trees surrounding the scene. Climber ascends frozen waterfall using ropes and crampons in a snowy, forested environment surrounded by bare and evergreen trees. A climber in a red jacket ascends a large ice formation while a person below belays. Snowy trees and a winter landscape surround them. A climber scales a vertical ice formation using a rope surrounded by bare trees against a cloudy sky.

Had my first very funny Apple Intelligence notification summary today. 😆

Notification from Jo states, &ldquo;Fed the hobbits a second breakfast.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s displayed over a rainbow-striped background, with a small profile picture and message icon beside the text.

I love the @whiteface_mt uphill program for starting the day with a great morning workout even before lifts are going! Pretty awesome to ski the mountain with wide-open runs.

Steep ice and smiles last night at Pitchoff Quarry for Thursday Night Ice Club! Thanks to everyone who came out and put in some laps. ⛏️

B-T-dubs, for anyone suffering through using a Squarespace site (🙋‍♂️) and growing ever-more frustrated by the limitations of its iPadOS app, adding it to the Home Screen as a web app works surprisingly well. Now I’ve got an Invoices “app” that shows up that shows up in Spotlight/App Switcher!