These three peaks provide lots of technical challenge. Steep climbs, exposed rock faces, and lots of winter blowdown. But the incredible views from the heart of the lower great range made it all totally worthwhile. It’s amazing what our bodies can do with a little gumption! Congrats to Meg on peaks 40-42 on her 46er journey!

Strong legs and great conditions turned our two-peak day turned into a four-peak day! Gotta love those long days in the mountains. Congrats to Meg on peaks 37-40 on her 46er journey!

🆕📝 7 Things This Week [#176]

Pretty classic list this time.

Is there a better way to spend the first sunny day in a while than questing up Chapel Pond Slab? We think not! Empress (5.5 X) was a total joy with Shane. We even spied the incomparable Will Roth on Regular Route!

It’s the summer of sending! Book your own climbing adventure today — both group instruction and private climbing days available on our website. Link in bio.

📸: Gripped Photo

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

A man in a red jacket stands with folded arms beside a silver Subaru on a forest road with trees and mountains in the background. License plate reads KTG 9908 DELTA. Climber ascending a rugged rock face secured by a rope in a sunny mountain landscape surrounded by greenery and a clear blue sky. Climber ascends steep rock face using ropes surrounded by greenery under a clear blue sky with a small cloud. Climbing rope stretches down a steep rocky cliff face surrounded by dense green trees in a lush forest setting. A climber ascends a steep grey rock face with a rope trailing behind wearing a helmet and backpack surrounded by a lush green forest. Climber ascends a steep rock face using a rope under a clear blue sky with sparse clouds and surrounded by some greenery. A climber ascends a rugged rock face secured by a rope under a clear blue sky with some trees visible at the base. A climber ascends a steep rock face using rope and gear under a clear blue sky.

John Gruber:

Ever since I started doing these live shows from WWDC, I’ve kept the guest(s) secret, until showtime. I’m still doing that this year. But in recent years the guests have seemed a bit predictable: senior executives from Apple. This year I again extended my usual invitation to Apple, but, for the first time since 2015, they declined.

I’m so curious if Apple had declined before or after Gruber wrote ‘Something is Rotten in the State of Cupertino’. Either way, rotten indeed.

I had the pleasure of guiding Bill and Bev up Mt. Marcy for them to reach the top of New York State for their high point journey! We lucked out with incredible weather with spectacular views clear across to Vermont. Bill regaled us with tales of their climbs across the world. He and Bev are so impressive and dedicated, showing us how it’s done into their 70s. I can’t wait to hear about their next adventures, including Mont Blanc this fall. Wow!

@rockandriver_official

Tom and I nabbed the rest of the Dix Range (Dix and Hough) yesterday to tick his 27th and 28th high peaks! The weather was glorious, though the black flies are officially out in full force. But even those little buggers couldn’t keep the smiles off our faces as we traversed that gorgeous range. We summited via the Beckhorn trail and then went down Lillian Brook for a 12.5 mile day in just about 11 hours.

Big thanks to Curt, a volunteer herd path maintainer who we met on top of Hough and who was continuing to clear the significant blowdown in the range!

@newyorkoutdoorguides @lakeplacidadk #Adirondacks #PerfectDayADK #HireAGuide

Looks like Mac Virtual Display uses Sidecar tech from the iPad. You can’t connect to both the Vision Pro and iPhone Mirroring at the same time.

The image shows an alert message on a screen, with a background of tall trees in a forest. The message reads: “Unable to Connect to iPhone Mirroring. Jarrod’s MacBook Air is currently using Sidecar.” Below the message is a “Try Again” button, and there is an icon of a smartphone above the text.

📺 Finished watching: The Last of Us (season two)

🍿 Finished watching: Fountain of Youth

🆕📝 ‘Sam and Jony skepticism’

Jason Snell brought words to the feelings I’ve been feeling about the OpenAI + io partnership.

Tom and I only planned on hiking Macomb, but it was so nice that we went out to South Dix and Grace Peaks as well! He’s well on his way to becoming a #46er with these being 24-26/46 summits for him. Great way to spend the 133rd anniversary of the Adirondack Park. 👌

A person with a red backpack takes a photo at a wooded trailhead with a sign indicating various peaks.

@newyorkoutdoorguides #nysoga @lakeplacidadk #Adirondacks #PerfectDayADK #HireAGuide

I’d love to see an org chart of how people and responsibilities flow between OpenAI, Lovefrom, and io. Sounds like some folks are heading directly to OpenAI via io (Hankey, Tan, Cannon), while Ive remains independent yet oversees all design at OpenAI’s via LoveFrom. It’d make an excellent Decoder.

🔗 Apple unveils powerful accessibility features coming later this year:

Accessibility Reader is a new systemwide reading mode designed to make text easier to read for users with a wide range of disabilities, such as dyslexia or low vision. Available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro, Accessibility Reader gives users new ways to customize text and focus on content they want to read, with extensive options for font, color, and spacing, as well as support for Spoken Content.

I have high hopes that this will be a big upgrade to the ‘Speak Screen’ and ‘Speech Controller’ features.

Finished reading: Brian’s Hunt by Gary Paulsen 📚

Thus ends the Hatchet Adventure series. They sure do make you want to escape to the woods.

Fewer podcasts. More audiobooks. 👍

Om Malik blogs about censorship being a core goal in Chinese AI development:

Pete’s assessment suggests that Chinese authorities have shifted their focus from simply blocking information to creating sophisticated models that provide alternative narratives. You can’t filter these models, for they have finessed and developed evasion techniques and thus will be offering alternative sanitized versions of history that align with government narratives. This represents a fundamental shift from previous censorship approaches.

The sinking feeling in my gut tells me it won’t only be that government.

Finished reading: Brian’s Return by Gary Paulsen 📚

Food for the soul.

What a pleasure it was to help Shane review technical skills ahead of his Single Pitch Instructor exam! I should have taken more pics, but we were too busy practicing belayed rappels, knots and hitches, rescue techniques from above and below, creative anchors with limited gear, and much more.

I love hearing from climbers that it’s mastering the skills that they value most. That they want to feel more confident and competent when cragging with their friends, even if they never formally instruct with their certification. Climbers looking out for one another — this community rocks. 🤘

Thanks, Shane, for a great day and smiling through the rain!

Want to shore up your own technical skills? Book a private day with us, or keep an eye on our group events calendar for upcoming clinics! Link in bio.

Climber balances on rock ledge while holding climbing rope taut, stretching down textured rock face surrounded by overcast sky and sparse vegetation.

I had the pleasure of guiding Tom up his 22nd and 23rd High Peaks this past week. That’s makes that 19 we’ve summited together! The weather wasn’t certain it was going to give us great views, but it smiled upon us in the end.

And the mountain gifted us with some rare trailside wildlife sightings — a fox and a snake! These mountains give and give.

@newyorkoutdoorguides @lakeplacidadk #Adirondacks #PerfectDayADK #HireAGuide

Two people wearing outdoor gear smile while standing on a rock ledge overlooking a river winding through a valley. Text reads Indian Head & Colvin May 15 2025. A hiker ascends wooden steps using trekking poles in a forest setting surrounded by trees and underbrush on a wet and muddy trail. Forest-covered mountains stretch across the landscape with a river at the bottom and patches of clouds hanging over the peaks under a clear blue sky. A person in hiking gear climbs a rocky slope in a dense forest, surrounded by evergreen trees and patches of snow. A person wearing hiking gear and a yellow cap stands smiling near a waterfall in a forest setting with trees and rocks nearby. A person with a hiking backpack stands on a wooded trail overlooking vast green mountains under a clear blue sky. Text reads Esther Mountain May 16 2025. A wooden sign saying ESTHER MOUNTAIN path not maintained or marked is attached to a tree in a dense forest under sunlight filtering through branches. Trees stand tall with bare branches foregrounding a distant mountain peak under a blue sky textured with clouds. The surrounding area is dense with green foliage. ![A metal plaque embedded in rock commemorates Esther McComb’s first recorded ascent of Mt. Esther at age 15. Text reads:

1839 MT ESTHER 1939 4270 FEET TO COMMEMORATE THE INDOMITABLE SPIRIT OF ESTHER McCOMB AGE 15 WHO MADE THE FIRST RECORDED ASCENT OF THIS PEAK FOR THE SHEER JOY OF CLIMBING TROY N.Y.](https://jb.heydingus.net/uploads/2025/17953004720954229.jpg) A pair of hiking shoes rest on a rocky surface surrounding an orange water bottle labeled Onward Mountain Lodge and a Lunchables Turkey & Cheddar pack during a break on a hike. A snake lies camouflaged among rocks and leaves in a forest setting with scattered sunlight filtering through the trees. A snake with a patterned skin slithers among dry leaves, twigs, and pine needles on a sunlit forest floor, partially camouflaged by the natural debris. A person wearing a red shirt and yellow cap sits on a rocky ledge viewing a vast green mountain landscape under a cloudy sky.

Finished reading: Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen 📚

Finished reading: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen 📚

I’m enjoying going back through books I loved as a kid. This is one that shaped me.

🆕📝 7 Things This Week [#175]

Heavy nostalgia in this one.

Jason Kottke shared another platform-agnostic music linking service with a catchy name, but my favorite is album.link. It’s more full-featured, and has a great URL. (And does songs and podcasts too.)

🔗 Trump illegally fires Democrats on Consumer Product Safety Commission:

On Friday, Donald Trump abruptly removed the three sitting Democrat appointees on the five-person U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission – the independent watchdog agency that issues recalls and regulates everyday products, including consumer electronics. With no apparent cause for removal, the firings violate existing Supreme Court precedent dating back to 1935, as did Trump’s removals of the Democratic commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) back in March.

It feels hopeless when nothing comes of it.