Year in Review, 2023

2023, in all the ways that “count”, was a spectacular year. In all the ways I count, 2023 was pretty darn average. What counts? Family time counts. Health counts. Adventures count. And I got lots of family time, lots of adventure time, all in good health. What did I count? I counted work stats and I counted training/activity stats. Those are way below. In the meantime, the little slideshow paints a literal picture while a subjective summary of the year spells things out in bulleted prose.

2023 Year in Review

  • Winter:

    • Stormy winter of Teton Ski Mountaineering. Including guided descents of Grand, Middle, South, Buck, Disappointment, and dozens of powder days.

    • Stormy winter of shoveling and cozy family time etc.

    • Multi-family yurt trip in the Tetons.

    • Ski explorations of Palisade Range, Wyoming

    • A February family escape to Hawaii

  • Spring:

    • High Sierra day trip ski mountaineering. Middle Palisade, Slide Peak, Bishop Bowl, Paiute Crags

    • Sierra High Route ski traverse

    • Zion National Park family trip

    • West Buttress, Denali

  • Summer:

    • Teton alpine rock. Including “The Snake”, multiple Grand Tetons, Dem Bones, Silver Lining attempt, Mount Moran CMC

    • A mid-summer family vacation that included rock climbing in the Adirondacks and Gunks and a daddy-daughter 3-day backpacking trip in the Northern Tetons, WY

    • Wind River Range family trip

  • Autumn. A series of roaming family and fun and work travels:

    • Flatirons, CO

    • Eldorado Canyon, CO

    • Rocky Mountain National Park, CO. South Face Petit Grepon, North Ridge Spearhead

    • Yosemite. Including Steck Salathe, NE Butt Higher Cathedral, North Butt Middle Cathedral

    • Red Rock. Including Dark Shadows, Olive Oil, Solar Slab, Epinephrine

    • Thanksgiving mountain bike and family visit to Sisters, OR

  • Early winter:

    • Back into Teton ski season. Including a rare end-of-December ski descent of the Grand Teton. My 11th ski descent and my 11th unique calendar month to the summit.

    • Hyalite Canyon, MT. Ice.

    • Cody, WY. Ice

    • Launched a supervised physical training plan under a coach’s supervision.

Working stats.

  • 131 days field guiding (12 year average is 115). 39 days of “other” work. Guiding admin, freelance writing, landlord stuff. Of course, in the ever-connected age, parts of virtually all of those other 195 “non work” days held some sort of productivity.

  • 44 trips had a specific goal (peak or route) in mind. Of those, we made the summit and/or completed the route 36 times. That's a "sending percentage" of 82%. (12 year simple average is 72%)

  • 36 days of alpine guiding. (12 year average is 38)

  • 4 days of ice guiding. (12 year average is 7)

  • 34 days of rock guiding. (12 year average is 27)

  • 57 days of ski guiding. (12 year average is 42)

  • 130 days as an employee of another company. That's 99%. (12 year average is 90%)

  • 1 day working for my own company. That's 1%. (8 year average is 15%)

  • 94 days were with returning clients or clients that came directly to me in some fashion. That's 72% of my volume. (12 year average is 60%)

  • 100 days I worked in the field largely or entirely without a co-guide. That's 76%. (6 year average is 77%)

  • 31 days I worked directly with at least one other co guide.

  • 33 nights in a tent in the wilderness. For work. (Rec time added 11 more. All of them with at least Charlie, if not Charlie and Rosie both)

  • 32 nights away from family in other accommodations, for work. For a total of 65 nights away from family for work. In past years I counted nights away from "home". This year, for a few gigs, I traveled with the family. Since, on those trips, I could come back to the family at the camper or borrowed guest room or whatever after working I didn't count them as being away from "home". 7 year average is 68. Omit 2020 (for Covid) and 2022 (for a new family balance) and average work travel was 76 nights away. I cut way back for 2022 and largely kept that cut intact for 2023. It crept a little, to be sure. But not anywhere back up to pre-family status.

Athletic and Adventure Stats

All this is drawn from my “training” spreadsheet. So the focus is on athletic development and such.

  • 947 hours of action (9 year average is 1003)

  • 487150 vertical feet ascended (6 year average is 552442)

  • 615 climbing pitches (7 year average is 553)

  • 205 days outside, active.

  • 131 of them were work, as noted above.

  • 25 of the non-work outdoor exercise sessions were with Charlie. Mainly hiking, Nordic skiing, and stroller running.

  • 32 alpine climbing days (9 year average is 28)

  • 81 BC skiing days (9 year average is 86)

  • 3 bicycling days (dedicated “exercise” cycling. Lots more errand cycling around town. 9 year average is 4)

  • 10 Rock Cragging days (7 year average 17)

  • 39 Rock Multipitch days. A personal best, in terms of the years I’ve recorded (7 year average 27).

  • 4 cross-country ski days (2 year average is 8)

  • 17 hiking days (9 year average is 21)

  • 22 climbing gym days (8 year average is 24). That’s 22 days in which the primary or only activity was at the climbing gym. I also went to the climbing gym (and/or lifted weights or went for a run or went to the ski area) on days that get logged with a different “primary” activity. For the climbing gym, that’s 8 more sessions. For a total of 30 visits to the climbing gym.

  • 8 days Weight Training (9 year average 15). Plus 10 more times as a secondary activity. For a total of 18 weight room sessions.

  • 8 ski resort days (9 year average 7). Plus 6 more times as a secondary activity. For a total of 14 ski resort visits.

  • 4 Running (9 year average 6). Plus 4 more times as a secondary activity.

  • 1 paddling day (2 year average is 2). Plus 2 more times as a secondary activity.

  • 91 rest days (9 year average 85)

  • 16 sick/injury days (9 year average 12)

  • 23 travel days (9 year average 25)

Service

I engage in tiny bits of community service. 2023 saw a ramp-up in this sort of involvement. In increasing order of commitment/complexity.

  • The Teton Rock Gym in our home town of Driggs Idaho is a non-profit business offering a community gathering space, fitness and training facility, and kids programs. A few times a year I offer volunteer instruction in the gym.

  • The Teton Backcountry Alliance is a grassroots organization representing, educating, and communicating to human-powered skiers of the greater Jackson and Teton region. We offer a variety of programs, including an active social media presence, Teton Pass Ambassadors, Beacon parks, automated beacon checkers, periodic events, and a weekly free Teton Pass Shuttle. As of early 2023, I am on the board of the Alliance. We meet monthly, and converse more frequently than that.

  • The Certified Guides Coop is an entity that supports sustainable income for mountain guides in the US. I am the president of the board and the interim, volunteer operations director. 2023 saw significant upheaval in the CGC and, as a result, a huge increase in the commitment requires. Rosie estimates I spend up to 20 hours a week on CGC matters. This is an exaggeration, but not by much. The future is uncertain, but the mission is important.

Press/Media

A few appearances around the ‘net:

Jediah Porter