Apologies to all reading; I've not been on top of the updates in the last few days and I'm leaving town tomorrow on a road trip that will take me through eastern Washington State, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and northern Colorado. I will be back next week and hereby promise to update with all of the April and May hikes, which have been quite exciting.
Though I am reluctant to jump the gun, I'm very excited about having hiked up to the top of Mount Defiance, a 5000 vertical foot slog which some folks say is as physically demanding as the ascent of Hood itself. As you can imagine, this has had an amazing psychological effect on me! Cruelly, I must make you wait until I am back in town to keep reading. I wish you all a great week and see you soon!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
April 6: Mirror Lake & Tom Dick & Harry
As you can see by the date, I slacked a little bit in March then headed home to Ottawa for Easter. As a result it was almost a month before I hiked again, and it wasn't technically even a hike - it was my first real snowshoeing experience. I went and rented some snowshoes at REI (for those of you in Canada, it's the US equivalent of Mountain Equipment Co-op) and was good to go.
Mirror Lake is a small lake in the Mount Hood National Forest, but I can't tell you much more - it was frozen over and didn't appear very big at all. The only indication we were near a lake was the lack of trees in that area - everything was under quite a bit of snow. Near Mirror Lake is Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain, so named because of the three small peaks that stick out of its main ridge. I kept annoying the guides by asking them if they knew which was which.
TD&H is around 5000' (1524 m) in altitude, but the trailhead also starts pretty high up; around 3400' (1036 m) giving this hike an elevation gain of 1600' (488 m) over 6.4 miles (10.3 km).
I managed to find both an elevation profile and Google Map at Backpacker Magazine, but couldn't get the functioning map to correctly embed in Blogger, so I just took a nice screenshot to show you guys. If you want to view the map interactively, follow this link. You can check the whole page devoted to the hike here.
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The weather in Portland was pretty nice when we left (if a little drizzly, but I guess I have lived here long enough that drizzle doesn't constitute bad weather to me anymore). As we drove up to the snow line, it started coming down pretty hard. We got a nice tour of Highway 26 after we missed the trailhead and drove on for a while in the snow. When we made it, we had to put our snowshoes on in freshly fallen wet snow, and a ton of it. We managed to get out with the last group, jumped over the precarious little wooden bridge over a creek and up we went. Today, "we" meant the carpool group I shared for the next few hikes: Pete, a wildlife biologist and old-school outdoorsman, Jerry, a firefighter and his son Christian. Pete's the guy with the beard in some of these picturs and Christian is the guy with the long red hair. I'm the funny looking guy in the hat in most instances.
Getting ready:
The hike up was beautiful. Several fresh coatings of snow covered the tree branches, and in spite of the abundant snow that was coming down, it really did feel like a winter wonderland - if only we knew what was coming ahead! Some of the trees were immense, and the scale of everything was humbling. Huge trees on the side of a large mountainside, with little ants with backpacks wending their way in between. The climb was steady with a few pretty steep pitches to give this novice snowshoer a good workout. Here are a few shots of the hike up the initial section and around the lake.
We stopped at a little clearing to eat and rest. I was feeling pretty good about the climb so far, though not a little tired. I carelessly wolfed down a sandwich and tried to relax. We were in the clouds and visibility wasn't very good and I didn't notice that we were standing at the edge of a mountain that was bigger and steeper what we've been climbing and that people were starting to break off into groups and scale the steep path going up. I groaned, bucked up, and we started what turned out to be the actual climbing part of the hike. Here we go!
While I didn't have my full backpack on yet, this particular part of the hike was good training. The visibility was next to nil, we had wind and snow blowing in our faces, and so instead of enjoying the views, we put our heads down and simply went up, up, up, without asking questions. This made me concentrate better on my climb, and making sure I kept pace with the hiker in front of me. I was also glad I brought a hooded shell.
Maybe it was the lack of visibility or the fact that we were getting rubbery legs, but we were continually teased with the promise of a summit. Every time we rounded a steep stretch thinking we were there, we were only greeted by another little hill, a turn around the side of the mountain or another little rise in the path. Our leader, Foxie, finally took us up on a little ridge where the pitch levelled of and broke for a quick rest. The ridge dipped a little, then continued up and there we were on Tom Dick and Harry. At that moment, we saw a break in the clouds looking out towards the ridge. Soon, we were treated to lovely views of surrounding hills and mountains covered in snow-frosted trees. We found a more sheltered spot to rest, rehydrate and grab a snack and enjoyed the satisfaction one gets from slogging a few hours to stand on top of something.
Below are some pictures of Foxie as we rounded the ridge, and yours truly bouncing around at the top of the hill. As a bonus, one of the aforementioned views of snow-frosted hills.
The ridge that runs the span of Tom Dick & Harry is a long one and there were some gorgeous steep drops down that made me wish I was skiing and not snowshoeing. At this altitude, the snow was less wet and very inviting to a skier. As it turns out, we got to do the next best thing. We decided to take a steep route down directly off the ridge, which Foxie used as an opportunity to teach us the plunge step - where you plant the back of the snowshoe in at a steep angle into the snow then transfer your weight onto it and bear down. The snowshoe's surface absorbs your weight and as the snowshoe flattens out you float gently down until your foot is horizontal. Repeat this and you basically run down a mountain in slow motion. It was quite fun and I ended up blasting down the drop-off with a big grin on my face. Waiting at the bottom for our whole group to arrive made me want to go back up as several of the ladies in the group got the idea that it would be a lot more fun to slide down on their butts. As much fun as running down was, this option seemed at least as enjoyable...
We descended some very steep sections, and as a farewell to the mountain before we re-entered the woods to go back to the lake and the trailhead, we decided to build a snowman at the end of the little pass we had just descended. We got to working, and ended up with something that looked more like a swine than a snowman. We christened him the Snow-Pig and left him as the watcher of the pass and guardian of whatever hikers came after us. In reality, we probably freaked out some unsuspecting hikers, though I have yet to hear tales of a mysterious pig cult operating in the mountains of Oregon.
As we went into the woods, the clouds rolled in again, following us down to the trailhead. It started snowing pretty hard as we walked past the snow-covered trees, but we were happy to note that it wasn't raining in Portland when we got back. I came home drenched, another feather in my hat. This hike was a load of snowy fun, and a nice taste of winter landscapes which, after 20 years in Canada, I was starting to really miss in the misty and wet Pacific Northwest. Any of you reading this in Ottawa think I'm nuts to miss the snow, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't.
Stay tuned for the next installment where I go hiking the back trails with a mystic!
Mirror Lake is a small lake in the Mount Hood National Forest, but I can't tell you much more - it was frozen over and didn't appear very big at all. The only indication we were near a lake was the lack of trees in that area - everything was under quite a bit of snow. Near Mirror Lake is Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain, so named because of the three small peaks that stick out of its main ridge. I kept annoying the guides by asking them if they knew which was which.
TD&H is around 5000' (1524 m) in altitude, but the trailhead also starts pretty high up; around 3400' (1036 m) giving this hike an elevation gain of 1600' (488 m) over 6.4 miles (10.3 km).
I managed to find both an elevation profile and Google Map at Backpacker Magazine, but couldn't get the functioning map to correctly embed in Blogger, so I just took a nice screenshot to show you guys. If you want to view the map interactively, follow this link. You can check the whole page devoted to the hike here.
The weather in Portland was pretty nice when we left (if a little drizzly, but I guess I have lived here long enough that drizzle doesn't constitute bad weather to me anymore). As we drove up to the snow line, it started coming down pretty hard. We got a nice tour of Highway 26 after we missed the trailhead and drove on for a while in the snow. When we made it, we had to put our snowshoes on in freshly fallen wet snow, and a ton of it. We managed to get out with the last group, jumped over the precarious little wooden bridge over a creek and up we went. Today, "we" meant the carpool group I shared for the next few hikes: Pete, a wildlife biologist and old-school outdoorsman, Jerry, a firefighter and his son Christian. Pete's the guy with the beard in some of these picturs and Christian is the guy with the long red hair. I'm the funny looking guy in the hat in most instances.
Getting ready:
The hike up was beautiful. Several fresh coatings of snow covered the tree branches, and in spite of the abundant snow that was coming down, it really did feel like a winter wonderland - if only we knew what was coming ahead! Some of the trees were immense, and the scale of everything was humbling. Huge trees on the side of a large mountainside, with little ants with backpacks wending their way in between. The climb was steady with a few pretty steep pitches to give this novice snowshoer a good workout. Here are a few shots of the hike up the initial section and around the lake.
We stopped at a little clearing to eat and rest. I was feeling pretty good about the climb so far, though not a little tired. I carelessly wolfed down a sandwich and tried to relax. We were in the clouds and visibility wasn't very good and I didn't notice that we were standing at the edge of a mountain that was bigger and steeper what we've been climbing and that people were starting to break off into groups and scale the steep path going up. I groaned, bucked up, and we started what turned out to be the actual climbing part of the hike. Here we go!
While I didn't have my full backpack on yet, this particular part of the hike was good training. The visibility was next to nil, we had wind and snow blowing in our faces, and so instead of enjoying the views, we put our heads down and simply went up, up, up, without asking questions. This made me concentrate better on my climb, and making sure I kept pace with the hiker in front of me. I was also glad I brought a hooded shell.
Maybe it was the lack of visibility or the fact that we were getting rubbery legs, but we were continually teased with the promise of a summit. Every time we rounded a steep stretch thinking we were there, we were only greeted by another little hill, a turn around the side of the mountain or another little rise in the path. Our leader, Foxie, finally took us up on a little ridge where the pitch levelled of and broke for a quick rest. The ridge dipped a little, then continued up and there we were on Tom Dick and Harry. At that moment, we saw a break in the clouds looking out towards the ridge. Soon, we were treated to lovely views of surrounding hills and mountains covered in snow-frosted trees. We found a more sheltered spot to rest, rehydrate and grab a snack and enjoyed the satisfaction one gets from slogging a few hours to stand on top of something.
Below are some pictures of Foxie as we rounded the ridge, and yours truly bouncing around at the top of the hill. As a bonus, one of the aforementioned views of snow-frosted hills.
The ridge that runs the span of Tom Dick & Harry is a long one and there were some gorgeous steep drops down that made me wish I was skiing and not snowshoeing. At this altitude, the snow was less wet and very inviting to a skier. As it turns out, we got to do the next best thing. We decided to take a steep route down directly off the ridge, which Foxie used as an opportunity to teach us the plunge step - where you plant the back of the snowshoe in at a steep angle into the snow then transfer your weight onto it and bear down. The snowshoe's surface absorbs your weight and as the snowshoe flattens out you float gently down until your foot is horizontal. Repeat this and you basically run down a mountain in slow motion. It was quite fun and I ended up blasting down the drop-off with a big grin on my face. Waiting at the bottom for our whole group to arrive made me want to go back up as several of the ladies in the group got the idea that it would be a lot more fun to slide down on their butts. As much fun as running down was, this option seemed at least as enjoyable...
We descended some very steep sections, and as a farewell to the mountain before we re-entered the woods to go back to the lake and the trailhead, we decided to build a snowman at the end of the little pass we had just descended. We got to working, and ended up with something that looked more like a swine than a snowman. We christened him the Snow-Pig and left him as the watcher of the pass and guardian of whatever hikers came after us. In reality, we probably freaked out some unsuspecting hikers, though I have yet to hear tales of a mysterious pig cult operating in the mountains of Oregon.
As we went into the woods, the clouds rolled in again, following us down to the trailhead. It started snowing pretty hard as we walked past the snow-covered trees, but we were happy to note that it wasn't raining in Portland when we got back. I came home drenched, another feather in my hat. This hike was a load of snowy fun, and a nice taste of winter landscapes which, after 20 years in Canada, I was starting to really miss in the misty and wet Pacific Northwest. Any of you reading this in Ottawa think I'm nuts to miss the snow, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't.
Stay tuned for the next installment where I go hiking the back trails with a mystic!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
March 2: Angel's Rest, Revisited
After a satisfying start at Angel's rest, I was disappointed to miss the next week's hike due to prior commitments. To make up for it, I decided to revisit Angel's Rest alone a week after the first hike. I can thus dispense with statistics and ramble freely about the hike itself.
The training hikes are always very well-run. Designed to foster camaraderie amongst all of us who will be climbing together, no pets, spouses, friends or significant others are allowed. This has worked very nicely, allowing us to bond and make friendships instead of having people pair up and coccoon amongst each other. It tends to make for rather social climbs, and it was for that reason that my second hike up to Angel's Rest was a very interesting experience in that it was the diametric opposite of the previous week's hike; a solitary, almost meditational experience.
One advantage of hiking in a group that meets at a predetermined time and location is the incentive to get out of bed at 6AM on a weekend. Without the benefit of external motivation, I didn't make it to the trailhead until early afternoon. Whereas the first hike was a misty early morning affair with soft morning light, this was a bright noontime climb, and a lot warmer than before. The woods seemed more lush with the warm weather, and I passed some babbling brooks and mossy woods as I started climbing.
When you get to the top of Angel's Rest, before the dropoff there are several rocks that jut out just off the trail. In and on said rocks are lots of little perches and comfortable spots that people usually occupy to relax in, eat, drink or just look out over the woods and river below. As I approached the rocks, I noticed two young women sitting on top of one of them, in lotus position, facing the warm sun and meditating with their eyes closed. The sun was starting to dip towards the west, bathing them in golden light. They looked very peaceful. I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to sit up on top of the mountain and do the same. I picked a perch, ate and drank, and cleared my mind, looking out over the sweeping vistas of the gorge.
The sun was slowly starting to sink towards the horizon and the air developed a cool bite that was the signal to start climbing down. The clear day was slowly becoming a hazy afternoon, and as the sun descended the gorge became awash with golden light, which was further diffused by the haze to create a warm, almost milky landscape around me. As I walked down the path, I could see the reflection of the sun moving across the surface of the water. My mind clear and my mood mellow I slowly floated down the path stopping to take an occasional snapshot and track the sun's path across the uncharacteristically still river.
As I made my way through the section of the trail that wound through the charred trees I heard something moving in the grass and looked over and saw two snakes coiled together. They froze as I approached. I like to think that their fear instincts were actually courtesy, stopping their movement to let me photograph them in the rapidly vanishing light. After a couple of minutes, they slithered away, and when I turned around I was treated to the beginning of a gorgeous sunset through the trunks of the burned trees, which accompanied me all the way down.
If this entry seems to be on the aesthetic side to you, you're correct. A solo hike of the same route I did with the group previously was very much an aesthetic experience. I am glad to say that it was physically easier to get up there the second time, but it was also very rewarding to focus on the mountain and the zen aspect of being surrounded by the nature modern man spends a lot of time insulating himself from. Rather than just using the mountain as a sort of gym it was healthy to take it all in, from the sights and sounds to the smells of the woods, the breezes and temperature fluctuations, the patterns in the trees and the textures under foot. Maybe it sounds hokey, but to a city dweller like myself it's something that is missing in my daily life and graciously appreciated whenever it can be experienced.
I came home tired and elated and in a wonderful, mellow mood for the rest of the evening.
That's it for this entry. Stay tuned for more, coming up tomorrow!
The training hikes are always very well-run. Designed to foster camaraderie amongst all of us who will be climbing together, no pets, spouses, friends or significant others are allowed. This has worked very nicely, allowing us to bond and make friendships instead of having people pair up and coccoon amongst each other. It tends to make for rather social climbs, and it was for that reason that my second hike up to Angel's Rest was a very interesting experience in that it was the diametric opposite of the previous week's hike; a solitary, almost meditational experience.
One advantage of hiking in a group that meets at a predetermined time and location is the incentive to get out of bed at 6AM on a weekend. Without the benefit of external motivation, I didn't make it to the trailhead until early afternoon. Whereas the first hike was a misty early morning affair with soft morning light, this was a bright noontime climb, and a lot warmer than before. The woods seemed more lush with the warm weather, and I passed some babbling brooks and mossy woods as I started climbing.
When you get to the top of Angel's Rest, before the dropoff there are several rocks that jut out just off the trail. In and on said rocks are lots of little perches and comfortable spots that people usually occupy to relax in, eat, drink or just look out over the woods and river below. As I approached the rocks, I noticed two young women sitting on top of one of them, in lotus position, facing the warm sun and meditating with their eyes closed. The sun was starting to dip towards the west, bathing them in golden light. They looked very peaceful. I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to sit up on top of the mountain and do the same. I picked a perch, ate and drank, and cleared my mind, looking out over the sweeping vistas of the gorge.
The sun was slowly starting to sink towards the horizon and the air developed a cool bite that was the signal to start climbing down. The clear day was slowly becoming a hazy afternoon, and as the sun descended the gorge became awash with golden light, which was further diffused by the haze to create a warm, almost milky landscape around me. As I walked down the path, I could see the reflection of the sun moving across the surface of the water. My mind clear and my mood mellow I slowly floated down the path stopping to take an occasional snapshot and track the sun's path across the uncharacteristically still river.
As I made my way through the section of the trail that wound through the charred trees I heard something moving in the grass and looked over and saw two snakes coiled together. They froze as I approached. I like to think that their fear instincts were actually courtesy, stopping their movement to let me photograph them in the rapidly vanishing light. After a couple of minutes, they slithered away, and when I turned around I was treated to the beginning of a gorgeous sunset through the trunks of the burned trees, which accompanied me all the way down.
If this entry seems to be on the aesthetic side to you, you're correct. A solo hike of the same route I did with the group previously was very much an aesthetic experience. I am glad to say that it was physically easier to get up there the second time, but it was also very rewarding to focus on the mountain and the zen aspect of being surrounded by the nature modern man spends a lot of time insulating himself from. Rather than just using the mountain as a sort of gym it was healthy to take it all in, from the sights and sounds to the smells of the woods, the breezes and temperature fluctuations, the patterns in the trees and the textures under foot. Maybe it sounds hokey, but to a city dweller like myself it's something that is missing in my daily life and graciously appreciated whenever it can be experienced.
I came home tired and elated and in a wonderful, mellow mood for the rest of the evening.
That's it for this entry. Stay tuned for more, coming up tomorrow!
Feb 24: Angel's Rest
The training hikes have all been designed in such a way as to start out at a moderate level and escalate in intensity as the final climb date was reached. Thinking that the first hike couldn't possibly be a complete wringer, I cheerfully showed up at the meeting point to go on the very first training hike in our schedule: Angel's Rest.
Angel's rest is located near Portland, relatively speaking. It's one of the first exits on I-84, the highway that runs through the Columbia River gorge, which is east of Portland. The gorge has lovely mountains on both sides which plunge dramatically into the water. Here is a little Google Map to give you an idea of how the topography looks:
View Larger Map
At 7:45 AM, the hikers split into several groups: slow, medium and fast. Ambitiously, I volunteered for the fast group. The hike leaders: Barbara Bond, a marathon runner, climber, hiker, outdoor writer and photographer along with Stacy Allison, the first American woman to summit Mount Everest. A fine choice of hike leaders for training, but I soon learned a lesson in humility. Barbara and Stacy powered up the trail like mountain goats, Barbara cheerfully filling the group in about the various places visible from the trail as if she were sitting in a comfortable chair. I tried to valiantly keep step directly behind her, grunting my answers to her questions as politely as I could, convinced I was about to spit out my insides every time I opened my mouth. Once I could taste the iron taste of blood, I fell back a little bit, though I was satisfied with the fact that I made the scenic lookout at the top while still a part of the first and fastest group (the part in question being the tail.) Thankfully, while mild, the temperature never got warm, making this outing rather comfortable in spite of the immediate pain.
The Angel's rest hike was a wonderful start to the training, really. Steep switchbacks get you into the action right away, and some easy rocky scrambles at the top introduce some variety to the trek. According to nwhiker.com, the total distance is about 4.8 miles (7.7 km) and the elevation change is approximately 1540 feet (457 m). Below you can see a couple of maps of the trail:
I didn't bring my camera with me on this hike, and immediately regretted it. Towards the summit, charred dead trees stand as reminders of a fire that raged through the area over a decade ago. Through them, beautiful views of the gorge tease until getting to the top of the mountain, also its namesake. A dramatic rock formation creates a platform that serves as a natural observation deck with 180 degree views of the river below as the rock plunges vertically several hundred feet below. For those who like their hikes civilized, at some point some hardy souls hoisted a bench up the mountain that remains there for the enjoyment of those who come to this lovely spot.
Below is a panoramic photo made from several shots taken at Angel's Rest on another visit. It should give you some idea of how beautiful this area is.
The pain and stiffness the day after my inaugural hike obviously weren't enough for me, as I returned to the same spot shortly thereafter and took some photos this time. That entry, along with said photos will be up, hopefully, by tomorrow evening (Pacific Time, that is.)
Angel's rest is located near Portland, relatively speaking. It's one of the first exits on I-84, the highway that runs through the Columbia River gorge, which is east of Portland. The gorge has lovely mountains on both sides which plunge dramatically into the water. Here is a little Google Map to give you an idea of how the topography looks:
View Larger Map
At 7:45 AM, the hikers split into several groups: slow, medium and fast. Ambitiously, I volunteered for the fast group. The hike leaders: Barbara Bond, a marathon runner, climber, hiker, outdoor writer and photographer along with Stacy Allison, the first American woman to summit Mount Everest. A fine choice of hike leaders for training, but I soon learned a lesson in humility. Barbara and Stacy powered up the trail like mountain goats, Barbara cheerfully filling the group in about the various places visible from the trail as if she were sitting in a comfortable chair. I tried to valiantly keep step directly behind her, grunting my answers to her questions as politely as I could, convinced I was about to spit out my insides every time I opened my mouth. Once I could taste the iron taste of blood, I fell back a little bit, though I was satisfied with the fact that I made the scenic lookout at the top while still a part of the first and fastest group (the part in question being the tail.) Thankfully, while mild, the temperature never got warm, making this outing rather comfortable in spite of the immediate pain.
The Angel's rest hike was a wonderful start to the training, really. Steep switchbacks get you into the action right away, and some easy rocky scrambles at the top introduce some variety to the trek. According to nwhiker.com, the total distance is about 4.8 miles (7.7 km) and the elevation change is approximately 1540 feet (457 m). Below you can see a couple of maps of the trail:
I didn't bring my camera with me on this hike, and immediately regretted it. Towards the summit, charred dead trees stand as reminders of a fire that raged through the area over a decade ago. Through them, beautiful views of the gorge tease until getting to the top of the mountain, also its namesake. A dramatic rock formation creates a platform that serves as a natural observation deck with 180 degree views of the river below as the rock plunges vertically several hundred feet below. For those who like their hikes civilized, at some point some hardy souls hoisted a bench up the mountain that remains there for the enjoyment of those who come to this lovely spot.
Below is a panoramic photo made from several shots taken at Angel's Rest on another visit. It should give you some idea of how beautiful this area is.
The pain and stiffness the day after my inaugural hike obviously weren't enough for me, as I returned to the same spot shortly thereafter and took some photos this time. That entry, along with said photos will be up, hopefully, by tomorrow evening (Pacific Time, that is.)
Monday, May 19, 2008
Huffing and Puffing...
A hearty thank you to everyone! I have met my fundraising goal and secured a spot on a climb team heading up to the summit of Mount Hood on June 20/21st.
In the meantime, I have been training and feel like I'm making progress. Sorry about the lack of updates on this blog, but I've been sorting through my pictures, as well as other people's pictures and over the next few days will be inundating you with data and photographs of my training hikes over the last seven weeks or so.
I've managed to find Google Earth data for some of the hikes, so you can check out the trails mapped onto 3D visualizations of the topographic data for the mountain. It's rather awesome and you should download the program if you have some time to play around with it. You can download it at the link below. I'm pretty sure the download page auto-detects your OS, since I think the 4.x beta is available for Windows, Mac and Linux, so no one gets left out. Here is the download page so you can get it installed before the data starts coming at you:
http://earth.google.com/
To whet your appetites, here are a couple of random pictures of alpine views from various hikes before the proper entries get posted:
Any of these images are clickable to see larger versions. I'll keep you in suspense as to where they are taken until I get each individual hike's entry done. Keep'em coming back, as they say!
-p
In the meantime, I have been training and feel like I'm making progress. Sorry about the lack of updates on this blog, but I've been sorting through my pictures, as well as other people's pictures and over the next few days will be inundating you with data and photographs of my training hikes over the last seven weeks or so.
I've managed to find Google Earth data for some of the hikes, so you can check out the trails mapped onto 3D visualizations of the topographic data for the mountain. It's rather awesome and you should download the program if you have some time to play around with it. You can download it at the link below. I'm pretty sure the download page auto-detects your OS, since I think the 4.x beta is available for Windows, Mac and Linux, so no one gets left out. Here is the download page so you can get it installed before the data starts coming at you:
http://earth.google.com/
To whet your appetites, here are a couple of random pictures of alpine views from various hikes before the proper entries get posted:
Any of these images are clickable to see larger versions. I'll keep you in suspense as to where they are taken until I get each individual hike's entry done. Keep'em coming back, as they say!
-p
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