Skip & Chip's Excellent Adventures
Skip & Chip's Excellent Adventures are a series of annual outings combining a challenging outdoor adventure with a fun weekend together. The Excellent Adventures have three main goals, including spending time with friends, enjoying a beautiful outdoor location, and accomplishing a challenging athletic achievement of one's own choosing. This series of adventures started in 2012 when a group of friends gathered to hike Mount Whitney, and the series has now seen 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.
Excellent Adventure 14.0
Excellent Adventure 14.0 will take place August 2-4, 2025 in Zion National Park, UT, located in Washington, Iron, and Kane Counties in southwestern Utah. Participants will gather in Zion National Park, UT and one potential activity for participants will be portions of the 29 miles & 5,800 vertical feet West Rim Trail 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 getting up and down Mount Whitney in California, the highest peak in the lower 48 states. It all began when I, emerging out of the 24x7 parenting years, asked Skip to lead me up and down a mountain. I knew Skip had climbed all the Colorado 14ers and I wanted to give it a go. Skip likes to tell the story at Tiburon that I then brought along twelve friends! That is not exactly how I recall it, but nonetheless, we started with that manageable group of thirteen fellow hikers. We never dreamed that a dozen years later we would have 72 fellow hikers! 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 all hikers. By coming along, you acknowledge that you are responsible for your own risk!!
Excellent Adventure 14.0
Zion National Park, UT, August 2-4, 2025
Excellent Adventure 14.0 participants will gather in Zion National Park, UT and hike various portions of the 29 miles & 5,800 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 and hiked 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 and hiked 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, took 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 and hiked 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 and hiked 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 and hiked 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 and hiked 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 and hiked 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 and hiked 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 and hiked 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 and hiked 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 and hiked 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 Mount Whitney, CA and hiked various portions of the 21 mile & 6,000 vertical feet ascent of Mount Whitney, CA.