I must have met Ney Grant—a pilot, adventurer, and photographer—15 years ago at the Pie Shop, a South Lake Tahoe climbing area, so I was happy to reconnect with last year. He mentioned having an open seat in his Cessna and was planning to fly around the Tahoe region and would I like to come take pictures? Of course I said yes. “Make sure you dress warmly!” he added.
We met the next morning and soon we were soaring at 17K feet high over Lake Tahoe and the mighty Sierra Nevada mountains. It was mid winter, and the plane had a missing window for photography. Even though I was wearing every layer of down I owned, I couldn’t keep warm. I also got altitude sickness, which stayed with me the rest of the day. The whole experience felt like I was at a shiver-bivy on an 8,000-meter peak. Full adventure!
I captured a few nice pictures of my favorite place in the world and I’m happy to contribute some of these images to Ney’s new book, “Fifty Classic Adventures in California,” which is now finally available!!
Ney has been working on this project for years, and I’m proud to have contributed to this photography-rich adventure guide. Hope it inspires you to have some unique adventures here in my home state! I’m certainly looking forward to checking off some of these adventures with my daughter Leila.
