Skip & Chip's Excellent Adventures
Skip & Chip's Excellent Adventures are a series of annual outings to beautiful outdoor locations. This series of adventures started in 2012 when a group of friends gathered to hike Mount Whitney, and the series has now seen some participants reach the tops of Mount Whitney & Mount Shasta, traverse the Grand Canyon, summit Half Dome in Yosemite, and complete the Kalalau Trail in Kauai, the Crow Pass Trail in Alaska, the Four Pass Loop outside of Aspen, CO, the Presidential Traverse in New Hampshire, the Cactus-to-Clouds trail in Palm Springs, CA, the Ptarmigan Lake Trail in Glacier National Park, MT, the Expedition Route in Lake Tahoe, CA, the Teton Village to Marion Lake trail in Jackson Hole, WY, the Bear Creek Trail in Telluride, CO, & the West Rim Trail in Zion National Park. Skip & Chip's Excellent Adventures are held the first Sunday of August each year.
Excellent Adventure 15.0
Excellent Adventure 15.0 will take place August 1-2, 2026 in Lake Louise, located in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. Participants will gather at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and one potential activity for participants will be portions of the 9 miles & 3,800 vertical feet Sentinel Pass hike. For more information on the next Skip & Chip Excellent Adventure, please email Skip Schweiss (CEO, Sierra Investment Management).
A Personal Note From Chip Roame & The Disclaimer
The Skip & Chip Excellent Adventures began a dozen years ago with thirteen adventurous souls hiking up and down Mount Whitney in California, the highest peak in the lower 48 states. We never dreamed that a dozen years later we would have a 250+ person distribution list and 50-75 annual participants! As the group has grown, it is easy to see that individuals in our group have a wide variety of experience levels when it comes to backcountry travel. Skip is an expert. I was a rookie twelve years ago. Please be sure you have carefully thought about the personal risks of these adventures; Skip and I cannot be responsible for participants. By coming along, you acknowledge that you are responsible for your own risk!!
Excellent Adventure 15.0
Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, August 1-2, 2026
Excellent Adventure 15.0 participants will gather in Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, with some hiking various portions of the 9 miles & 3,800 vertical feet Sentinel Pass hike.
Excellent Adventure 14.0
Zion National Park, UT, August 2-4, 2025
The group of 45 participants gathered in Zion National Park, UT, with some hiking various portions of the 16 miles & 4,000 vertical feet West Rim Trail hike.
Excellent Adventure 13.0
Telluride, CO, August 3-6, 2024
The group of 42 participants gathered in Telluride, CO, with some hiking various portions of the 24 miles & 9,100 vertical feet Bear Creek Trail hike.
Excellent Adventure 12.0
Jackson Hole, WY, August 5-7, 2023
The group of 72 participants gathered in Teton Village, WY, with some hiking various portions of the 24 mile & 5,849 vertical feet Teton Village to Marion Lake via Granite Canyon hike.
Excellent Adventure 11.0
Lake Tahoe, CA, August 6-8, 2022
The group of 40 participants gathered in Lake Tahoe, CA, with some taking on three route hikes, including the Sport Route (10.3 miles & 3,297 feet gain), the Adventure Route (17 miles & 3,700-4,200 feet gain), & the Expedition Route (33 miles & 6,699 feet vertical gain) Lake Tahoe trails. Some participants also boated on Lake Tahoe and others tackled the Via Ferrata.
Excellent Adventure 10.0
Glacier National Park, MT, August 8-10, 2021
The group of 61 participants gathered in Glacier National Park, MT, with some hiking various portions of the 27 mile & 5,774 vertical feet Ptarmigan Trail in Glacier National Park in Montana
Excellent Adventure 9.0
Palm Springs, CA, July 12-14, 2020
The group of nineteen participants gathered in Palm Springs, CA despite the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, with some hiking various portions of the 25 mile & 10,400 vertical feet Cactus-to-Clouds ascent of Mount San Jacinto in Palm Springs, CA.
Excellent Adventure 8.0
New Hampshire, July 13-15, 2019
The group of 34 participants gathered in New Hampshire, with some hiking various portions of the 22 mile & 8,211 vertical feet Presidential Traverse in New Hampshire.
Excellent Adventure 7.0
South Central Alaska, August 5-9, 2018
The group of 29 participants gathered in South Central Alaska, with some hiking various portions of the 26 mile & 3,290 vertical feet Crow Pass Trail. Some participants also kayaked in Seward, Alaska.
Excellent Adventure 6.0
Kauai, HI, July 9-11, 2017
The group of 21 participants gathered on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, with some hiking various portions of the 22 mile & 6,177 vertical feet Kalalau Trail. Some participants also kayaked along the Na Pali Coast.
Excellent Adventure 5.0
Mount Shasta, CA, August 5-9, 2016
The group of seventeen participants gathered in Mount Shasta, CA, with some hiking various portions of the eleven mile & 7,122 vertical feet ascent of Mount Shasta, CA.
Excellent Adventure 4.0
Aspen, CO, August 5-9, 2015
The group of 31 participants gathered in Aspen, CO, with some hiking various portions of the 26 mile & 7,752 vertical feet Four Pass Loop in Aspen, CO.
Excellent Adventure 3.0
Yosemite National Park, CA, August 5-9, 2014
The group of 39 participants gathered in Yosemite National Park, CA, with some hiking various portions of the fifteen mile & 5,193 vertical feet Half Dome ascent in Yosemite National Park, CA.
Excellent Adventure 2.0
Grand Canyon, AZ, August 5-9, 2013
The group of eighteen participants gathered in Grand Canyon, AZ, with some hiking various portions of the sixteen mile & 4,460 vertical feet Grand Canyon rim-to-river-to-rim hike.
Excellent Adventure 1.0
Mount Whitney, CA, August 5-9, 2012
The group of thirteen participants gathered in Lone Pine, CA, with some hiking various portions of the 21 mile & 6,000 vertical feet ascent of Mount Whitney, CA.